Since I didn't get to mow a couple of weeks ago because of rain, it had been two weeks and the grass was tall. As I mowed, I noticed lots of clippings being left behind. I know they are good for compost but as we don't have compost set up yet, I was wondering what to do with it. I thought I had remembered hearing once that leaving them on the lawn was good for it?
Does anyone know for sure? With about 3 acres of space that I regularly mow, I have too much to bag up and even when we do have a compost bin, it will be too much to put it all in there every week. So what do you all do? Do you rake it up? Do you just leave it where it lays and let it decompose back into the grass and soil? Thanks for any advice!
we leave ours on the gound and it essentially acts as another rnitrogen source. We never bag up our grass.
ReplyDeleteNitrogen! I thought there was some nutrient good for things. Thank you!
DeleteNo need to bag it up! Enjoy it, it is good for your grass.
ReplyDeleteVelva
Yay! thank you!
DeleteYou see a lawn to mow, I see a beautiful sheep pasture, LOL. Leave the grass, let it compost into the lawn. Or if you are into gathering it up use it as mulch for flower beds or around trees.
ReplyDeleteHa, i totally understand. Thank you for the info. I never thought about flower beds! Of course I don't have them yet, but I will. Thanks!!
DeleteWhen the grass gets high and is mowed, it gets laid back down in thick rows which kills the lawn. So, if you let the mower throw the grass where you can mow over it again, it helps not to kill the lawn. I only rake grass to take it to the chickens' pen. Otherwise, it lays where it falls.
ReplyDeleteOooh, great idea (for the future) of chickens. I do mow it so it throws it around, when I see it too high, I scatter it around with the mower. Thank you!
DeleteWe (and by we I mean the hubbs) rake the clippings and most gets composted. Some of it used to fill low spots. Of course we gave not quite .7 acres so we can do that.
ReplyDeleteYou can always get pull behind bagger to gather all your clippings. Then you can add it to a compost pile.
Fill low spots? I have some of those. Thanks for that suggestion too! Composting is a good thing huh?
Deleteyou can leave it lay there if you cut it often and the cutting are short. otherwise it kills the other grass.
ReplyDeleteYes, cutting is short for sure, and our mower has an extra blade to chop it up finer so I'm thinking that's good too. :-)
DeleteI'd leave the grass clippings. You mow often enough so that even a larger clump will be dispersed next mowing and not kill your grass.
ReplyDeleteYep, once a week at this point. Barring rain of course, ha. Thanks for the confirmation.
DeleteMy two cents worth is that if the grass was tall when you cut it, leaving it there will shade the short stuff and probably brown it or kill it. If one is to leave the grass, it must be short so that it can get closer to the ground and not shade the blades that are remaining so that they can see the sun. Otherwise, collect it for mulching and the such. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely cutting it short and the blades are sort of mulching it. Thank you for the tips, I will definitely have to not let it get too long in the future. Great week for you too!!! As always!!
DeleteIf our grass gets too tall, I use the push mower and catch the clippings to use as mulch in my garden (over the old newspapers my husband saves). Most times though, we use the riding mower, with its mulching attachment, and leave the clippings on the lawn. I've never had to buy fertilizer, as the clippings give it all the nourishment it needs.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of no fertilizer, let's do it all naturally!
DeleteWe have about 6 acres. Now that we are here permanently, it's a little easier to keep up with. That said, we often fall behind, still.
ReplyDeleteHubby either bush hogs and then mows, depending on how long it is; or after he mows, he will put the clippings into circular piles with a riding mower. He has this skill down really well. Then we gather them for the compost pile (which you can start anywhere), or to mulch as stated earlier.
AH, a bush hog, would love one of those, ha. I sort of made circular piles, uniintentionally of course, but that's a good idea. I'll have to become more adept at it, ha. Six acre that all have to be mowed. I think we only have about 3 in total to mow, the other 7 are mostly undeveloped. I time, I'm sure that will expand. :-)
Deletefirst off - start your compost bin mister! i mean it! you will thank me 3yrs from now - i promise! we are 2yrs into composting all of our food scraps, yard stuff and the like and we are only now getting some really good compost to use. you don't have to pick up the grass if you mow it regularly. but like others have said, if it goes too long then you should rake it up. and either put it in your compost bin (get that started now! i mean it!), or you can use dry grass as mulch for your veggies, fruit and trees.
ReplyDeleteget working on that compost bin....like, NOW! teehee. your friend,
kymber
Or if, like me, you are a dud at composting, trench compost! I just bury my kitchen scraps, and they decompose in place. Since I do mostly wide row gardening, I bury my scraps in the pathways, then just make sure to plant there the following year. That's how my grandma always did it, so it's good enough for me, LOL! I do have a leaf pile that also gets garden vegetation, but grass clippings and kitchen garbage go straight into, or on, the garden.
DeleteAnnie - have you ever heard of Ruth Stout? what an amazing woman. and she did the same thing - just chucked her compost right on to her beds! your Grandma knew exactly what she was doing!
DeleteGrandma could always count on having baby potatoes in the garden, as they'd grow from the peelings she buried! I try to keep the seeds out of my compost materials, and I seldom peel the potatoes, so I don't worry too much. I do have a few stray potato plants in my pathways though, LOL!
DeleteY'all are cracking me up. Would that be Annie's Great Granny? Great Great Granny? I'm confused, HAHA!!
DeleteSometimes the old ways are the best ways huh?
I need to get our compost bed started I guess. I need ot figure out the best way. Might be asking for advice on that next, ha.
That all depends on whether we consider Annie to be my daughterdog or my grandaughterdog. Since I'm called her "Granny", I would assume my grandmother would be her great-great-granny, and she would be a great-great-grandaughterdog!
DeleteNow you have ME confused!
can we please keep the conversation to composting grass clippings? the both of you are confusing the heck out of me - bahahahahahahah!
DeleteBut your great grand puppy dog, or great grand daughter dog would be your great great grandmother's dog by the grand dog twice removed and then the great dog will be the grand dog of the, oh wait, now I'm just confused....Grass clippings it is!!! :-)
DeleteJust a drop by to hey and wondering if you ever got around naming your garden spot?
ReplyDeleteHEY! nice to see you again. I do have a name, I'm working on the sign now so I can have an unveiling. It's silly and goofy but hey, why not, LOL! Soon!!!
DeleteDo a google search for 'Drunken Compost' for a quick way to compost grass clippings. I have used this method with dry grass and some stable manure with brilliant results. I will use it once we have green grass in Spring. We are in the middle of Winter at the moment. As a composting method it is fantastic. Love your blog - we are on 50 acres in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome, I just googled it. Thanks for the heads up. Middle of Winter. Sigh. If only, Winter seems like an eternity away here, LOL!
DeleteThank you for the kind words, 50 acres? Wow. Amazing.