Mowing the lawn or mulching the lawn: which is better?

A well-tended lawn needs to be trimmed regularly. But what is actually better: mow the lawn or rather mulch? We compare both methods.

The question of whether it is better to mow or mulch your lawn triggers heated discussions among many amateur gardeners. Some are merciless advocates of mulching, others never have and never will try it. Prejudices often play a major role in these discussions. Some only know mowing, others only mulching. We can tell you one thing right at the start: You cannot recommend one or the other in general. Depending on the lawn, location and soil conditions, mulching or mowing may be more useful. We consider the advantages and disadvantages of both methods objectively.

Mowing the lawn: pros and cons

Generally one understands by Cut the lawn the shortening of the lawn with the help of a lawn mower, in which the clippings are caught and collected in an attached grass catcher.

Advantage or disadvantage: Disposal of the lawn clippings

Disposing of the clippings can be done quickly and easily in small villages where the public composting area is just around the corner. In this case, disposal would definitely not be a reason to decide against mowing the lawn. In municipalities, however, there is an ever increasing decrease in the number of shared composting sites, so that the transport route can be significantly longer and more complex. This argument for mowing the lawn with a basket is therefore not generally valid.

Disadvantage: loss of nutrients

Another disadvantage of mowing the lawn, which is important from an ecological point of view, is the loss of the nutrients collected in the grass. As the lawn grows, nutrients are drawn from the soil. If you can't imagine how many nutrients grass contains, think of a cow that is theoretically alone live on cut grass (plus the help of rumen microbes) and even produce small amounts of milk from it can. If the cut grass clippings are disposed of, many of the nutrients in the cut grass are lost for the lawn and the soil and can only be replaced by fertilizer. It makes most ecological sense to save the transport route when disposing of the lawn clippings and at the same time also to reduce the transport of purchased fertilizer by reducing the nutrient cycle in your own garden closes. If you don't want to mulch the lawn, you can compost the clippings yourself on a compost heap and then use the fertilizer in the form of compost for flowers or vegetables.

Advantage: clean appearance of the lawn

An optical advantage of mowing is, of course, that it always looks clean when it is freshly cut. After mulching, it takes one to two days before the mulched lawn cuttings are no longer visible. However, if you are already arguing with the optical component, you should also consider that the Due to the better supply of nutrients, mulched lawn has a significantly greener and healthier color.

Advantage: less time required

The greatest advantage of mowing and the number one reason against mulching is the frequency of these two actions. Those who mow will probably have to spend a little less time on the lawn, as the lawn can grow a little longer between two mowing processes than when mulching.

Per mowing	Contra mowing
Lower frequency	Nutrients are lost
Lawn looks “clean”	Mowed lawn must also be fertilized
Lawn cuttings can be composted themselves and used as fertilizer for flowers.	Mulch provides the soil with nutrients (like a fertilizer), improves soil life and soil structure
In certain soil conditions it makes more sense (s. Mulching)	Less drought resistant in summer
Grass clippings must be disposed of

Mulching lawn: advantages and disadvantages

From the Mulching lawns one speaks when lawn is cut with a special mulching mower. This device does not have a grass catcher, it chops the cut grass into small pieces and then spreads it on the mowed lawn as "mulch".
This method is becoming increasingly popular. On the one hand, because it is more difficult or takes longer for many people to transport the clippings to a public composting area. Furthermore, because there is probably an increasing ecological awareness of this method.

Advantage: the lawn and soil benefit from the nutrient reflux

Mulching is definitely the best form of lawn cutting for lawns, soil and nature. The nutrients bound in the clippings stay where they come from. The soil life is promoted by the mineralization of the lawn clippings, i.e. their rotting. Mulching has a similar effect on the soil as fertilizing with compost. The nutrients contained in the lawn clippings slowly become available again for the soil and lawn. Just like compost, mulching improves the soil structure in the long term and allows the soil to dry out less quickly in midsummer. Mulch is therefore only partially comparable to commercially available fertilizer. Both forms of fertilizer provide nutrients for the lawn. For the soil, and thus at the same time for the lawn and its roots, mulch is much more valuable.

Disadvantage: More time required

Unfortunately, there is a catch with this seemingly wonderful mulching method. The principle of mulching only works if the lawn is not covered with mulch. This means that the lawn receives too little light, the mulch rots badly and the lawn literally suffocates. Therefore, the lawn has to be mulched as soon as 2 to 3 cm of grass clippings occur. If you want to mow the lawn to a depth of 5 cm, you have to mow it at a length of seven to a maximum of 8 cm. This means that on average you have to take out the mulching mower once a week.

Disadvantage: Not suitable for every location

Locations that naturally tend to form moss and lawn thatch due to poor soil conditions are unfortunately less suitable for mulching. These include heavy, poorly drained soils, shady or rainy locations or, in the worst case, a combination of these factors. For these locations, mulching is not fundamentally excluded, but a cut of a maximum of 2 cm would have to be carried out very consistently and only in dry conditions. Otherwise, the risk of poor rotting of the mulch and the resulting promotion of moss and thatch is too great.

Mowing may also be preferable to mulching on very sandy soils. In sandy soils, the soil organisms responsible for mulching are less active. Mulching does not work well, especially in arid regions with sandy soils, which are often very dry in summer.
At those disadvantaged locations there is an in-house compost on which the lawn clippings or part of it given, perhaps the better and simpler option of an in-garden nutrient cycle build up.

Pro mulching	Contra mulching
Closed nutrient cycle	It has to be mulched more often than mowed
Less fertilization required	On heavy, shady or damp soils, there is a higher risk of moss and soil thatch formation
Has a positive influence on the soil (soil life, drought resistance, etc.)	Mulching is not well suited for very sandy, heavily dried out soils
Nice green lawn color thanks to high nutrient intake	Immediately afterwards no clean appearance
No need to dispose of the clippings

By the way: Mulching replaces that Lawn fertilizing only partially. When you mulch your lawn, you can fertilize less regularly or in smaller amounts, but you shouldn't do without it altogether.

The bottom line: mowing or mulching the lawn?

Despite the lighting of all the advantages and disadvantages, a general recommendation for mowing or mulching is not possible. From an ecological point of view, mulching is clearly an advantage. The time required, on the other hand, speaks in favor of mowing. Under certain soil and site conditions (heavy or very sandy soils, damp regions) we would rather recommend mowing and composting yourself. In ordinary circumstances, the choice remains for that Cut the lawn or that Mulching lawns probably a question of conviction and the free time that you want and can spend on the lawn.

The following products have proven themselves in our garden: