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1. Bagging is needed for a quality lawn, right?

No. A lot of people with great looking lawns don’t catch clippings when they mow. In fact, lawn researchers have proven that leaving clippings results in a healthier lawn that is less prone to disease. Clippings contain organic nutrients that are returned to the lawn when left to decompose.

2. My lawn is healthy and I bag my clippings. Why shouldn’t I continue bagging?

If you mulch with your grass clippings, or compost them and use the compost, that’s fine. But you’ll spend more time bagging and hauling the grass to your compost bin than you will leaving clippings on your lawn. Putting grass in your garbage costs money on your trash bill and burdens our community’s garbage disposal system. Leaving clippings on the lawn avoids these problems.

3. But clippings cause thatch, don’t they?

Grass clippings break down quickly and don’t cause thatch if grass is mowed regularly. The brown, spongy material we call thatch starts with thick grass stems and roots. These grass parts break down slowly and can accumulate as a thatch layer, especially with our cooler soil temperatures and slower microorganism activity. Dethatch your lawn every 1 to 3 years with a dethatcher or power rake.

4. What if my lawn has a lot of weeds? Wouldn’t leaving clippings increase the problem?

Not necessarily. Continue leaving clippings until you’ve consulted with a WSU Extension agent or a Master Gardener about dealing with weeds in your lawn.

WSU Extension Agent or a Master Gardener