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You hate to rake. It is a drag and you get blisters. So you have a bag attachment for your mower and it makes you smile. But what do you do with all of those clippings from your lawn? Do you bag them up and send them out with your garbage or do you make a huge pile that will please bugs and birds alike? Basically, you have two options that depend on whether you use a bag on your mower or not.
WITH THE BAG
So you love the bag and you don't mind dumping it regularly. That is just fine. But don't just make a pile of clippings that looks like it might soon sprout legs and shamble off; becoming the Lawn Creature of Justice. Go ahead and dump your clippings in a pile, but then take your garden rake to the pile and the layers of clippings to break them up. Then, keep them wet! As you do this, your pile of clippings will shrink and will compost. Why? Because as you water that pile the worms will come forth from the ground and feast upon your clippings. Then, next spring, you can dig the bottom layers out and use that nicely decomposed stuff to fertilize your garden and grass!
WITHOUT THE BAG
If you are going to mow without the bag and you also hate raking, you need to mow every week. If you mow every week, letting the mower naturally mulch the clippings, those tiny clippings will settle into the soil and become perfect fertilizer. So mow, let the clippings mulch, and water well later that day. If your clippings were long enough to become a slight pile, then mow that pile of clippings again so that it disappears into the roots of the grass.
Both of these approaches work with leaves as well. If you deeply despise raking them as well, go ahead and use your mower. You might need to set the cutting level higher if you have a lot of leaves. Then, lower the level and mow again. Isn't the mower a great tool?
The big point here? Don't waste your clippings! They can form the foundation and core of a wonderful program of mulching and composting. And all it takes is a bit of extra thought and some timely watering.
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Author Bio Box: Jared Garrett
 http://www.helium.com/user/show/45690
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