Best Way to Get Rid of Grass Clippings? Compost! Here’s How. | Davey Blog | Davey Tree (2024)

FAQs

Best Way to Get Rid of Grass Clippings? Compost! Here’s How. | Davey Blog | Davey Tree? ›

Attach a mower bag to catch grass clippings. Add dry grass that hasn't been treated in the last 14 days to your compost pile. For the correct 30:1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, mix about 50% grass clippings and 50% brown material, like brown leaves, branches or newspaper.

You can also spread a thin layer of soil or compost over the lawn after mowing. The organic material in the soil will help grass clippings break down faster, just like what happens in a compost pile.

Some of our customers use grass clippings as mulch; it's one of the cheapest and most readily available mulches around, and is generally safe to use. However, if you use broadleaf weed killer chemicals on your lawn, the herbicide can remain active in the clippings and harm your trees.

Compost & Mulch

You can use all grass clippings as mulch or add to the compost bin as long as weed killer hasn't been used. All other products we sell are safe. If you've used weed killer refer to the instructions on the container.

You can add clippings to the backyard compost pile. Composting involves mixing grass clippings and other plant materials with a small amount of soil containing microorganisms that decompose organic matter. Grass clippings are excellent additions to a compost pile because of their high nitrogen content.

Avoid adding too many grass clippings in one go – mix them with plenty of brown material instead. Dry and fibrous with little decomposition – this is usually caused by too little moisture and too much brown material. Water the compost in summer if it looks dry, and mix in more green waste.

How Long Does It Take For Grass Clippings To Decompose? If you allow grass to decompose on your lawn, it'll be gone soon, usually within a few weeks. If you compost grass in a pile and turn regularly, it'll turn into compost in a few months.

Sometimes you may need to put really long grass clippings to work, and these are just the job for laying at the base of fruit trees and bushes. They'll dry out in time and create a cool, weed-free surround to your fruit – magic stuff!

Grass that grows close to trees hinders the growth from root to top. If you don't remove grass or similar vegetation it means that the growth might decrease up to 1.7 inches per year.

Grass competes with the tree for water and nutrients, but, more importantly, mowing poses a physical threat. The main reason to answer, “Should you let grass grow around trees?” with a resounding “No,” is the potential damage from lawn maintenance.

Should grass cuttings be left on lawn? ›

Overall, grass clippings can be a healthy addition to your lawn. Leaving them behind when you mow, also known as grasscycling, can help build a healthy lawn. Contrary to popular belief, clippings do not lead to thatch buildup, which damages the grass.

Dispose of them into the lawn as the grass is cut. Set the mower to mulch or close all ports. Let the mower continue to cut the loose grass and let it fall between the blades. If any of it clumps go over the area a gain or lightly rake the area until the blades disappear.

Unless you've let the lawn grow excessively long, or the clippings are in thick clumps, grass clippings are a good source of nutrients. Leaving clippings helps save fertilizer costs and thereby prevents ground and surface water contamination.

to cattle – Freshly-mowed grass clippings, as well as fully fermented clippings can be safely consumed as long as they do so within 8 hours of the mowing. to goats and/or sheep – if freshly mowed, grass clippings can be fed in small amounts or if you have allowed the clippings to dry completely.

Be warned, farm mice also enjoy a grass-clipping snack!

You can add several things to compost to speed up the process, including worms, manure, grass clippings, and coffee grounds. You can also mix in a compost accelerator to speed up the process even further. Compost accelerators usually contain bacteria or enzymes that help speed up decomposition.

Unless you consider gardening to be a workout, in which case a fan rake will work wonders. If, however, you're staring at a case of “excessive clumping”, then dispersing them might not be your best option. Instead, you'll want to rake them up, pop 'em in a wheelbarrow and leave them for your dustbin-men to deal with.

Alfalfa is a legume plant rich in nitrogen and other nutrients that can boost the composting process. It contains natural hormones that stimulate plant growth and root development. To use alfalfa as a natural compost booster, you will need: alfalfa, water, and a pair of scissors or a knife.

If you get a mulching mower and you won't have an issue. However if you don't have one and can't afford one then you'll need one of those lawn sweepers that gather the grass clippings in a large canvas bag and then you empty it where you want or into a lawn bag. Otherwise raking is your other option.