Oz wrote:

"TG'sFM" wrote in message
ups.com...

Jen wrote:

"TG'sFM" wrote in message
ps.com...


"The grass clippings left behind by a mulching mower essentially
function as a lawn fertilizer, as if you were applying compost to the
lawn.

Compost gets to very high temperatures, that's another reason
compost/grass
clippings should be composted first.

As for fertilising, like someone else said, dead organic matter takes
nutrients *out* of the soil until it's properly composted.

That's correct, yet our resident member of The Australian Society of
Horticultural Science doesn't even know the basics it seems.


Maybe you better have a good long think there, Mulching mowers dont leave
large clumps of dead matter on the lawn, it is cut up very finely and
because of this it is deposited below the growth line of the lawn, it acts
as a mulch to the inhibit evaporation and breakes down VERY QUICLKY =====
this is the important bit.


Right.

Large masses of static organic matter break down very slowly, they generate a
lot of heat and amonia during the decaying process, the debris left by a
mulching mower is very small and very fine particles, spread in a thin layer
throughout the lawn, when they break down they produce vurtualy no heat and
vurtualy no amonia, instead they contribute their nutrients to the top soil
much faster than if the same organic matter was caught and stored in a pile
to break down.


Right again. In fact the particles are so fine, they really don't have
to 'break down'.

as I said, 10 years working as a greenskeeper, doing the Greenkeeper trade
course as well as doing the Horticultural certificate at the same time, then
getting other post graduate qualifications, plus another 10 years on top of
that working in the industry has taught me a thing or two about lawn
maintenance. one of the first things you learn with Bowling greens for an
example , is when you rest them, you take the catcher off the cylinder mower
and it gets turned into a very fine mulch that is left on the green to help
speed up the recovery process, the only reason that we catch the clippings
on a green that is in use, is because the bowlers complaine about all the
clippings sticking to their balls.
the same is also true for cricket pitches and golf greens.
so your personal expirence in the Lawn maintenance industry is????




--

rgds,

Pete
=====
http://pw352.blogspot.com/
'Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else'