Making compost with grass clippings seems like a logical thing to do, and it is, but you do need to be aware of some things about composting lawn grass before you go ahead and do it. Knowing more about composting with grass clippings means that your overall compost pile will be better off.
What to Know Before Composting Lawn Grass
The first thing to know before adding grass clippings to your compost pile is that you don't have to compost your grass clippings. Gathering up cut grass to compost can be a big chore and if you mow your lawn properly, it is an unnecessary chore.
Cutting your lawn at the proper height and with the proper frequency means that the clippings will decompose naturally on your lawn without posing any harm. In fact, allowing grass clippings to decompose on your lawn naturally will help to add nutrients to the soil and reduce your lawn's need for fertilizer.
If you need to remove your lawn clippings though, you still need to know more about the process of making compost with grass clippings. Most importantly, you need to be aware that freshly cut grass is considered a ‘green' material in your compost pile.
A compost pile needs to have a proper balance of green and brown material in order to decompose properly, so when you are composting with grass clippings that are freshly cut, you need to make sure that you also add browns, such as dry leaves. But if you have allowed your grass clippings to dry out completely before you add them to your compost pile (they will be brown in color), they are then considered brown material.
Many people also have concerns about composting lawn grass that has been treated with herbicide and how that will affect their compost. If you are composting residential lawn clippings, then the herbicide that can legally be used on your lawn is required to be able to break down within a matter of a few days and should not pose any further danger to other plants that receive compost made from these grass clippings.
But if you are using grass clippings from a non-residential location such as a farm or a golf course, there is a significant chance that the herbicides used on these grass clippings may take weeks or even months to break down and therefore, can pose a threat to plants that receive compost made from these kinds of grass clippings.
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How to Compost Grass
One may think that grass clipping composting is as easy as just tossing the grass into the compost pile and then walking away. This is not true, especially if you are talking about fresh grass clippings.
Because grass is a green material and tends to form a mat after being cut and piled, simply tossing grass clippings into your compost pile can result in a slow and/or smelly compost pile. This is due to the fact that grass can become compacted and overly wet, which prevents aeration and leads to the death of the microbes that make composting happen.
In other words, improperly handled grass clippings in the compost heap can result in a putrid, mucky mess. Instead, when making compost with grass clippings, make sure that you mix or turn the grass clippings into the pile. This will help distribute the green material evenly through the pile and will prevent the grass from forming a mat in the pile.
Composting with grass clippings is a great way to recycle the nutrients your lawn uses and to add much needed green materials to your compost pile. Now that you know how to compost grass, you can take advantage of this abundant resource and help keep landfills just a little less filled.
FAQs
A compost pile needs to have a proper balance of green and brown material in order to decompose properly, so when you are composting with grass clippings that are freshly cut, you need to make sure that you also add browns, such as dry leaves.
How much grass clippings to add to compost? ›
Add the ingredients
- Layer one: Spread coarse plant material, such as twigs and branches.
- Layer two: Add 6-10 inches of fine plant material, such as dry leaves, fresh grass clippings, and kitchen scraps.
- Layer three: Put 1 inch of soil or manure.
- Repeat layers two and three until the compost pile is about 5 feet tall.
To compost grass clippings traditionally in a pile or bin:
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.
How long does it take for pile of grass clippings to decompose? ›
A well-managed compost pile with shredded materials under warm conditions usually will be ready in one to four months. But if a pile or bin is left unattended and material is not shredded, the pile may take a year or longer to decompose.
Why not compost grass clippings? ›
Grass clippings should not be the only compost material. As with mulches, a thick layer of grass clippings in a compost pile will lead to bad odors from anaerobic decomposition. Mix them with dry materials such as leaves or straw. See Composting and mulching – A guide to managing organic yard wastes.
Is it OK to put fresh grass clippings in the garden? ›
In the short term, a layer of grass clippings also acts as a mulch, cooling the soil, slowing the loss of moisture, and holding down the germination of new weeds. When used correctly, grass clippings can serve as a great mulch for your vegetable garden.
How can I speed up my grass compost? ›
How To Speed Up Composting
- Make a larger pile. The way your organic waste turns into nutrient-rich fertiliser for your plants is with heat. ...
- Have the proper ratio of brown materials to green materials. ...
- Shred everything. ...
- Turn your pile over and aerate. ...
- Keep your pile moist. ...
- A few more fast composting tips:
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.
Do grass clippings turn into soil? ›
Just as you can add other plant and organic matter, such as leaf litter, coffee grounds, and cutting from your flower beds into a compost pile, lawn clippings can be left on the ground to break down and add organic matter to the soil.
What helps grass clippings decompose faster? ›
Use a mulching mower & leave them in the grass. If you have a compost area, mow them with a bagger & toss them in a big pile. Put a bit of soil every few inches or so to help it break down faster. You can also take mulched or smaller tree leaves and simply spread them in your garden.
To help speed up the composting process in organic gardening, you can use compost accelerators. Homemade accelerators made from organic ingredients like urine, grass clippings, alfalfa, or spent coffee grounds are safe and effective.
Is dry grass good for compost? ›
First, know that a healthy compost pile requires a mix of dry, carbon-rich "brown" items (e.g. dry leaves and grasses, newspaper, dead plant clippings, wood branches, hay, straw, sawdust, and pine needles) and wet, nitrogen-rich "green" items (e.g. grass clippings, food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, and fresh ...
What happens if you leave grass clippings in a pile? ›
If you just put it in a pile somewhere, you will notice that the clippings become difficult to work with really quickly. First of all, the grass gets really warm when it starts to decompose. And when it's been lying around a few days, the clippings form thick clumps that are difficult to put around the plants.
Do grass clippings make soil acidic? ›
A persistently acidic pH is indicative of prolonged anaerobic conditions. Adjustment of the pH with limestone or other additives is not ordinarily necessary. Composting of high nitrogen materials such as grass clippings may lead to pHs as high as 8.5-9.5 as ammonia is released.
Can you burn old grass clippings? ›
Don't Ever Burn Your Clippings
Lastly, never burn your fresh or dried grass clippings. It can be harmful to your health and is not good for the environment.
How to make compost in 7 days DIY? ›
5 Steps to Quick Compost
- Use equal parts by volume of green and brown materials. This will deliver the 30:1 ration of carbon- to nitrogen-rich ingredients you're after. ...
- Chop them small, into ½- to 1½-inch pieces. ...
- Layer greens and browns in a pile at least 36 inches square and 36 inches high. ...
- Add water. ...
- Turn the pile.
Under optimum conditions, thermophilic composting with frequent mixing or turning can produce useable compost within a month or two. A worm bin requires three to six months to turn food scraps to compost, and an unmanaged leaf pile may take more than a year to break down.
