Whenever I mow, I say I'm doing it for the sake of my lawn -- to keep it neat and tidy so that the neighborhood can be proud. What a benefit I'm providing. But my loyalties really lie with the garden.
This year, I annexed a huge portion of the lawn to create a homeland for vegetables and herbs. They deserve it. But it's not enough.
So each time I mow, I attach the bag to the back of the mower and save the clippings for the compost heap, which will soon enrich the soil of the garden.
I maim the delicate tips of each head of grass, greatly reducing their fertility. Draining their life force this way has the added benefit of increasing the biodiversity, allowing stronger, more robust groundcover such as clover and dandelions to enter and multiply.
Maybe the grassim don't like it. Maybe they would rather their own clippings enrich their own soil. But that's irrelevant to me. The garden deserves more. It will never be enough.
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