The Dotte

Recycling Yard Grass

Many people bag their grass clippings because they believe grass clippings cause thatch.  But Kansas State University research shows that grass clippings do not contribute to thatch.  Thatch is made of decay-resistant surface roots, runners and stems found close to the soil surface.  Grass clippings are actually beneficial to your lawn.

The best way to recycle your grass clippings is to let them fall back into your lawn.  Grass clippings consist of 85% to 90% water and nutrients.  When the clippings are left to dry on the yard, they shrink about 90%.  Once dry, they will settle into the turf.  The clippings contain approximately 4% nitrogen, 5% phosphorus, and 2% potassium. 

A few helpful tips for grass cycling include:

• Mow your grass only when it’s dry.
• Cut grass regularly.  Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the total leaf length at any one mowing. 
• Maintain a sharp blade on mower.  

Some advantages to leaving your grass clippings on your yard are that:

• It saves you time as you are not bagging all your clippings. 
• It serves as a natural lawn fertilizer as up to 25% of your lawn’s needs are supplied by clippings left on the lawn.
• Grass clippings account for a majority of yard waste.   Your grass clippings do not need to be taken to the landfill.  
• It helps to reduce stormwater runoff pollution.  Grass clippings blown on driveways, sidewalks or the street are carried by rain water runoff to storm sewers directly to area streams, rivers and lakes.

For more information:

http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2110.pdf

http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/solw2/EP10.PDF

http://www.kansasgreenyards.org/p.aspx?tabid=32

earth-friendly lawn care