To mulch or not to mulch, that is the question. There are two ways of thinking when contemplating this issue. Unfortunately, neither choice is conclusive.

There are those who claim that it is better to leave the clippings on the lawn after mowing. This approach not only saves time and effort, but the clippings decompose quickly and add critical nutrients back into the ground.

In fact, recycling grass cuttings has recently become quite a popular idea. Those in favor of it call this approach "grass-cycling" and claim that leaving these clippings in place not only saves time and effort while nurturing the soil, it also avoids unnecessary use of landfill space.

According to the Professional Lawn Care Association, roughly twenty percent of all waste that ends up in a landfill is organic debris and approximately half of that comprises grass clippings. With landscape waste bans taking effect in quite a few areas of the country, "grass-cycling" will give you a different option, while it enhances the health and attractiveness of your lawn.

Lawn clippings are 85 percent water. Hence, they decay rapidly, and return nutrients to the soil with no the build-up of thatch. This natural practice delivers 20 percent of the clippings' nitrogen to the soil to nourish the lawn's root system. Also, grass-cycling can take place year-round with most mowers.

On the other side of the debate, others believe that leaving clippings in your yard is not only unattractive, but it can harm to your lawn as well. However, leaving grass clippings on the lawn becomes a problem only if they are too heavy. If you mow the lawn before it grows very tall, the mass of the grass cuttings will not be thick enough to require raking.

When cut grass remains in huge clumps, it could prevent the grass beneath it from getting the sunlight and water that it needs to grow. This could leave behind unpleasant brown patches of dead grass.

An effective way to avoid having to rake grass cuttings is to mow with a mulching mower. When you have a mulching mower, it cuts clippings into small pieces and redistributes them evenly back into the lawn.

Mulching mowers could not only reduce your yard maintenance

work, but they can also help make your grass greener. Otherwise, you might end up either raking or bagging your grass clippings. This, in turn, means disposing of those grass clippings or recycling them, all of which means additional work.

In conclusion it seems that as long as you are mowing on a regular basis and you don't leave behind clumps of clippings, there is nothing wrong with leaving those clippings right where they are.