Collect clippings when mowing if weeds present?

[Himanshu]

I'm in the north-east US, and I'm trying to revive a lawn that wasn't taken of last year. In spring I overseeded with Scott's Pure Premium (Sunny area mix - Fescue/Bluegrass/Ryegrass) seeds and the lawn is green now, but there are weeds. Since I had seeded I have not use any weedkiller on the lawn this year.

Dandelions are almost all gone (I kept digging them out by their roots as I saw them), but right now there are two or three types of weeds that I haven't controlled - one is clover (white flowers are abundant), and the others I'm not sure what they are.

When mowing, my preference is to mulch, and I have been doing that. My question is if there are so many weeds in the lawn, is it a bad idea to mulch? Should I collect clippings instead of mulching?

Thanks.

-- Himanshu

[Pat Kiewicz]

Go ahead and mulch. The soil is full of weed seeds already. Some (likely under-ripe) clover seeds going down to join them won't matter in the long run. Closing in the grass canopy and preventing them from sprouting is the long-term solution.

[Suzy O]

Mulching is best and saves on fertilizer. As far as weeds gone to seed, most are either not ripe enough to grow or can be controlled with a pre-emergent next spring.

Personally, I wouldn't try to eliminate the clover. Althought it fits the broad definition of a weed, "a plant growing where you don't want it," many find it desirable. It has the ability to pull nitrogen from the atmosphere down to the soil where it can be used -- again, less fertilizing.

Suzy O