Any lawn needs to be mowed, whether you do it yourself or hire someone to do the job. However, when your lawn gets mowed, there will be grass clippings left over. Don’t just throw them away. These grass clippings actually can improve the health and look of your lawn, if used the correct way.
Here’s the best part, to use your grass clippings, you don’t even have to do anything with them. Just leave them on your grass, where they serve as natural compost.
Composting your grass clippings has several advantages. As they decompose, the lawn soaks up the released nutrients—such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Over time, the composed clippings improve the structure of your soil, allowing it to hold more water—up to 12 percent, according to research done at the University of Minnesota.
You will reap some benefits from composting your grass clippings as well. By leaving your clippings on the grass and not gathering them, you will save 30 or more minutes in lawn maintenance each time you mow. A study at Texas A&M found that composting your grass clippings with consistency can save you about seven hours of total yard work each year. Composting your clippings also reduces solid waste.
Composting your grass clippings directly into the yard is an easy process.
First, make sure not to mow your grass too short. Never cut more than one-third of the grass height at any one time. Keep your grass at its ideal height—3 inches for cool-season grass and 2 inches for warm-season grass. You can determine which type of grass you have by what your winter usually is like. During the peak warmer months, mow every five days rather than every seven. This may sound like more work, but research conducted by the University of Idaho found that mowing on a five-day schedule actually takes 38 percent less time over the entire mowing season. Mowing every five days also will speed up the composting process for the clippings on your yard.
You also can take your grass clippings and compost them in the traditional manner. Just attach a bag to your mower to catch the clippings and empty them into a compost bin or pile. Add dry grass that has not been treated for at least 14 days. For every 30 parts grass, add one part of “brown” material, such as dead leaves, branches or newspaper.
Remember, just because you are recycling your clippings as compost, you still need to fertilize your lawn. We recommend doing one fertilization treatment every fall, near the end of the mowing season.
Grass cutting services in the Tri-Cities
We know that your life and schedule are busy. Why not let the professionals take care of your lawn for you? Promier Landscapes offers a full range of lawn maintenance services to both residential and commercial customers. To learn more about our services, call our office at (423) 872-2988 to schedule a consultation.
Promier Landscapes is proud to offer landscape design, construction, and maintenance to clients in the areas of Kingsport, Bristol, and Johnson City in Tennessee.