Naughty Naughty Naughty……

I reviewed with interest the National Gardening Association’s survey regarding how “green” people believe they are when it comes to caring for their lawn and landscape. Two “clippings” caught my eye. To make a “lawn story short” only 44% of people leave grass clippings in place on their lawn and only 39% cut their lawn at the highest recommended mower setting. “Naughty Naughty Naughty” to those who don’t do these two simple things. Get a good mulching blade on your mower and mulch the clippings back into the turf. Clippings are valuable because they are 80% water and 5% nitrogen, both good things for your lawn. Raising the deck to the highest setting on your mower allows more leaf surface for grass to photosynthesize, shades the crown, soil and roots reducing water stress, and gives the lawn a competitive edge against weeds reducing weed killer use. This survey points out less than half of people are exercising these two simple methods that are environmentally friendly and good for your lawn at the same time. For the 56% who don’t mulch their clippings and the 61% who don’t use the top mower setting let’s hope Santa is napping on a beach in Cancun because I’m sure you’re nice and deserve some new garden equipment this Christmas……(Hoe, Hoe, Hoe).