If you haven't mowed your lawn in a while or your grass has grown quicker than the last time you cut it, you may have an abundance of grass clippings on your lawn. If this is the case, don't fret. Some lawnmowers will clump and gather clippings for you, but if you choose to leave them alone, it's not a bad thing. Grass clippings can be left on the lawn to add nutrients to it, or bagged for easy cleanup. Below, learn what to do with excess grass clippings on your lawn.
What to Do With Grass Clippings After Mowing
There are several options as to what to do with grass clippings after mowing, but you should know when to remove them and when to leave them be. Here are some tips:
When to Remove Grass Clippings
When the grass is wet. You should not be mowing wet grass (it is dangerous to do so), but perhaps you mowed the lawn and it rained. When the lawn is wet, grass clippings become thick and mat down.
If you have dead and brown patches: Patches of diseased grass on your lawn can still cause grass clippings. You should bag these clippings and dispose of them. Otherwise, you risk letting the disease spread to other areas of the lawn.
When to Leave Grass Clippings on the Lawn
Mow the lawn before it gets overly tall: The mass of the grass clippings will not be sufficient to warrant raking (or bagging, if you use a bag attachment on your lawnmower). They do not contribute to lawn thatch build-up.
If they have been mulched: A good way to get around having to bag or rake grass clippings is to mow with a mulching mower. Mulching grass clippings chops them up finely enough that they cause no harm to the lawn.
How to Remove Excess Grass Clippings
Depending on how abundant your grass clippings are, there are several ways to remove them from your lawn. If your lawn is healthy and grass clippings are not wet or thick, you can simply rake them away. Bagging your grass clippings can be beneficial in more ways than one. Not only does bagging remove the clippings from your yard completely, but it also reduces pests and allergens. Less of a mess also means you can also repurpose the clippings as compost elsewhere in your yard.
As previously mentioned, a quick way to remove grass clippings is with your lawnmower by adding a mulching attachment. If you choose this option, be careful not to overdo it as too much mulching can smother and flatten the lawn, preventing airflow.
Benefits of Grass Clippings on Your Lawn
The nutrients provided by the grass clippings allow you to lower your dependence on chemical lawn fertilizers, thereby saving money. They are especially rich in nitrogen. This natural form of nitrogen acts as a slow-release fertilizer. You will never have to worry about it burning your lawn. Nor will it cause harm to pets or children.
Air Flow and Lawn Diseases
When grass clippings are too thick or stick together due to wetness, they can block airflow to your lawn, which encourages disease. Any type of fungal disease is more likely to occur under conditions where air does not circulate as well as it should. Here are some diseases that can attack a lawn due to improper handling of grass clippings:
Grass clippings serve as a "green" component in compost and work in tandem with "brown" components such as the leaves you rake in the fall.Freshly cut grass blades are mainly water, which is why a huge pile of them deposited into acompost binbreaks down so fast.In the process of breaking down, they heat up your compost pile, which, in turn, helps the pile's other components to decompose more quickly.
Grass Clippings in Mulch
If you prefer to use your grass clippings in mulch, there are a few things to note. You should only use dry grass clippings and no more than 2 inches of clippings at a time. If your lawn was recently treated with pesticide or herbicide, you should hold off on mulching the clippings as this can harm your plants. Grass clippings help to conserve moisture and add nutrients back to the soil, but you may want to avoid using them near garden beds as some clippings may contain seed heads, leading to weeds.
FAQ
How many grass clippings are too many?
If you mow your lawn regularly, you will greatly reduce the need for grass clippings. However, you should not cut more than 1/3 of the grass blades at a time.
Does putting grass clippings on bare spots help grass grow?
Adding grass clippings to bare spots can help grass grow, but not as a seeding treatment. Grass clippings contain nutrients and can help enrich the soil of bare spots to prepare for new grass to grow. It also aids in moisture retention. Only add a thin layer so as not to trap any airflow.
How long does it take for grass clippings to turn into dirt?
Grass clippings that are spread less than 1 inch high will decompose quickly. If clippings are a few inches, it can take a few weeks or up to four months for them to decompose into the soil.
Clippings are a valuable source of nutrients and you can use less nitrogen fertilizer if you recycle clippings to the lawn. Adding organic matter from clippings may help improve your soil if it is sandy, heavy clay or low in organic matter. Regular mowing will greatly reduce the need to collect clippings.
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.
If the clippings come out of the mower in thick batches, you should rake them up. Thick bunches will occur when the grass is too high or too wet. Stay on the safe side and rake the clippings after the first mow of the spring. After this, it's good to leave the clippings on the lawn after mowing.
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.
Some grasses spread quickly by sending out runners. Other types of grass don't spread as fast. Either way, cutting grass encourages it to put it's energy into roots and new shoots instead of height. This will help your grass to both spread and thicken.
The only way to grow lawn grass from clippings is to allow the grass to grow so long it produces seed. Then, when the seed remains in the clippings and conditions are right, it may germinate. Allowing grass to become so overgrown that it produces seeds ensures that it has an unkempt appearance.
Some good mulch options for this situation include dry grass clippings, straw, or even a light layer of sand. Be careful not to use too much as it can damage the area and prevent growth. You want just enough mulch to provide protection and to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture from the sun.
Grass clippings returned to the lawn provide up to 25 percent of your lawn's total fertilizer needs. Clippings contain about 4 percent nitrogen, 2 percent potassium and 1 percent phosphorus.
Used as garden mulch, shredded leaves help avoid fluctuations in soil temperatures that can damage plant roots. As mulched leaves decompose, they work as a soil amendment, adding organic matter and improving soil. Mowing leaves instead of raking also helps to reduce landfills.
It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing. Wet grass clippings can clog your mower, causing it to choke and spit out clumps of wet grass that could smother and kill your lawn if left unraked. It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing.
Is mowing before or after rain better? It is always better to mow before rain if possible. If your grass is dry, but you see rain on the way, it is a good idea to mow the yard before the rain arrives. Otherwise, the next best time to mow is when your grass has completely dried after rainfall.
As a general rule, grass clippings of an inch or less in length can be left on your lawn where they will filter down to the soil surface and decompose quickly. Remove longer clippings because they can shade or smother grass beneath causing lawn damage. Don't throw out bagged grass clippings as yard waste.
If you already have weeds, you should only mulch lawn clippings if you have time to pull all the weeds out, or at the very least, the seed heads. If you mulch, seeds will be left behind and the lawn mower will spread the weed seeds around your lawn. It's best to only mulch your lawn when it is completely free of weeds.
During the spring and early summer months, grass grows much quicker than in the later summer months. It might be best to bag your clippings in the spring and early summer when your lawn isn't as pressed for moisture. During the summer months when the grass is growing slower, bagging might not be as necessary.
But grass clippings do not cause thatch buildup. Clippings consist mostly of water, and the remaining tissue is quickly broken down through microbial activity.
Generally, the depth of grass roots mirrors the height of the grass. Thus, when grass isn't as healthy (for example, in periods of drought), it is better to let grass grow taller and, in doing so, to strengthen the root systems.
Put them in your compost bin. Or, change your mower setting to mulch and leave them on your lawn. Use mulching mower - Cut to 4 inches - Leave the mulched clippings -Sharpen blades after every 25 hrs of use.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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