[crussell]

Question - What do you all do with your grass clippings?

Our local garbage company offers yard debris cans for this type of thing, but I've also been looking at building a compost bin in the corner of my lot. I'm not sure what I would do with it once I develop a stock pile... Does it have a use for top dressing?

Thanks!
Casey

 

[g-man]

I don't bag. I mulch them into the lawn. It is free OM and keeps "recycle" nutrients back into the soil.

 

[crussell]

Does that present a thatch problem over time?

 

[g-man]

Not in my experience. The worms and microbes take care of dissolving them.

 

[jha4aamu]

Does that present a thatch problem over time?

as long as you are cutting the yard frequently and not letting the clippings get excessively long it wont contribute to thatch accumulation. the clippings will actually contribute to the breakdown of thatch. i thought about doing a compost pile last year and adding the clippings to it but i would much rather have them back in my yard as its a good source of organic fert too.

 

[Killsocket]

I always mulch them back into the lawn. A good mulching lawn mower and frequent mowings that clip top third off or less is ideal.

I've read that proper mulching for a season of mowing is equal to one fertilizer application. I wish I remembered where I heard that.

 

[jimmy]

I, too, mulch them. I mulch my fall leaves too. I mulch any organic matter I can into my lawn.

No thatch problems.

 

[thytuff1]

Mulching clippings and fall leaves is the way to go. It returns nutrients to the lawn. Grass clippings are over 90% water, and as long as you are mowing at a relatively decent frequency than they will break down very quickly. They do not add to thatch accumulation.

 

[osuturfman]

Mulching clippings back into the lawn will not contribute to thatch accumulation. Dead plant parts and other biomass contributes to thatch accumulation.

Those clippings are over 80% water, by weight. They also contain 3-5% nitrogen by weight (along with other micro and macronutrients) which is why it's a great idea to mulch and return clippings to your lawn.

 

[scz71864]

I always mulch. In the fall I'll mulch my leaves but then go back over with the bagger to get some up. The collected mulched leaves go into my flower beds. I have a ton of trees in my yard.

 

[Green]

The way I look at it, is if you don't mulch the clippings back in, you're stealing nutrients from the soil over time...such as Potassium. However, some people (usually avid gardening hobbyists) prefer to compost separately, which is just as valid.

 

[g-man]

If a picture is a worth a 1000 words, how much is a video?

I think this timelapse of one month explains the worm effect.

this is a cool video showing what woims do.

 

[gene_stl]

On the subject of mulching , Professor Pete (GCI Lawn Care , NC) has a video about the way he does it after trying many different things. He mulches in the grass clippings but he blows the leaves off the lawn and has them hauled away. He thinks the pieces shade the lawn too much and that even with two passes they don't get ground up enough. I do like composting leaves separately but in my new place I am going to try to grind them in in place.

 

[Ballistic]

I got about 3 acres and just got a corner i dump them in for now, when im in the area with the mini excavator or farm tractor ill stir the pile up. Wouldn't mind finding a better use for it though..

 

[social port]

Those clippings are over 80% water, by weight.

[/quote]

Grass clippings are over 90% water

That raises a question: Is there any link between grass clippings and disease outbreak during humid months?

 

[sicride]

The correlation is likely higher with frequency of cut and size of clippings. Excess clippings restricting airflow would increase exposure to moisture and be a result of cutting too much off the blades stressing the plant to begin with. Mow regularly and the moisture in the grass blades won't actually lead to disease as much as water the soil. Remember you aren't supposed to be mowing if it's already wet...

 

[mmacejko]

The only times I bag my clippings are the first mow of the year to pick up and "junk" in the lawn and if I am out of town and couldn't mow regularly and lawn got a bit too long. Other than that I mulch mow and try not to cut more than 1/3 of the blade off.

 

[Tsmith]

I mulch when I can although I do tend to bag in early spring if I'm dealing with a lot of poa Annua seed heads which means I tend to bag every spring.

When I do I bag my clippings I put them in the brown bags available at Lowe's or depot since the small can we get for yard waste just doesn't hold enough. The bad news is clippings tend to smell after a few days so always good to plan your cutting around your pickup day so you can get rid of them quickly