The use of grass clippings in your garden is a resourceful way to get more out of what you have left over. It’s also a great way to help keep things green! Learn how to use this resource and make the most of its benefits in your garden.
1. Add to Compost
Grass clippings are a great nitrogen source. When mixed with some shredded paper, straw, or other fibrous materials, they also break down quickly. This is especially helpful as the weather warms up and you want your composting microbes and insects to work faster so that you have plenty of material to spread in autumn.
2. Use as Mulch in Garden Beds
Instead of watering your plants less, try using grass clippings as a mulch around them. Spread a thick layer of 2-3 inches around beds and plant areas, and top up with more clippings when they’re spent. The height of the mulch will drop down as it decomposes or is taken into the soil by worms. It won’t be very aesthetically pleasing, but you might have ordinances to abide by that would prohibit bark or rocks.
3. Use As a Mulch for Grass
This might sound strange, but in England it’s fairly common for people to cut the grass and then spread the cut grass as they go. The cut grass will eventually break down and feed the lawn while you’re doing your yard work. You don’t need to lug a bag of clippings around with you!
You’ll need to check with your local zoning board or HOA before you decide on this. If you have bagged up your lawn clippings, spread them across the soil in different spots of the yard. Make sure to thinly spread the cut grass so you don’t prevent light from reaching it and striping the nutrients away.
Smaller clippings will break down more quickly and won’t contribute to dry grass wherever you need to rake.
4. As a Mulch for Planting Containers
When it’s hot outside, plant containers dry out very quickly, due to the temperature and the direct exposure to the sun. Putting a thick layer of grass clippings around your plants can help retain some moisture.
5. Make Into a Liquid Feed
A liquid organic fertilizer can make your garden grow at a faster rate. It is possible to make your own by stirring a handful of cut grass into a bucket of water and leave it indoors (to eliminate mosquitoes) or use an organic solution for mosquito control. After about 2 weeks, the weeds should look like the image shown above and will smell terrible, but your plants will love this fertilizer as you water them. You can also create this fertilizer with perennial weeds too.
6. As a Livestock Feed
Electric and push lawn mowers can be used to help feed herbivores. I remember when I was a kid and would grab handfuls of grass to feed the guinea pig and rabbit. You’ll want to use Dried Grass, not Wet Grass since it spoils quickly and can make the animal sick.
7. Layer in a Raised Bed
If you’re building your own raised garden bed, here’s a tip: you can use a thick layer of grass clippings to provide nutrients and build up your garden. The best part is that the grass clippings actually break down the carbon rich fibrous material in a hugelkultur bed.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our tips on how to use grass clippings in your garden. Grass clippings are a great way to add nutrients and improve the health of your plants. So get out there and start using them! And, if you have any other clever ways to use grass clippings, be sure to share them with us in the comments below.