3 Ways to Utilize Grass Clippings in Your Garden
If you’re like many others, you might mow your lawn, dump your grass clippings into leaf & lawn bags, and set them on the curb to be taken away by the city. But did you know that they are actually a very valuable resource? Today, I am going to share with you three ways to utilize grass clippings in and around your garden.
WHY ARE GRASS CLIPPINGS SO BENEFICIAL?
Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen, which is one of the main macro-nutrients required for plants to grow. Nitrogen is commonly found in store-bought fertilizers so it makes sense that natural sources of nitrogen are very beneficial for your garden too. And the best part about using lawn clippings is it’s free!
3 WAYS TO UTILIZE GRASS CLIPPINGS IN YOUR GARDEN
1. USE IT AS A MULCH
Grass clippings make an excellent mulch for your vegetable garden. Mulching has several benefits including regulating soil temperature, retaining moisture by preventing the soil from drying out, and helping to prevent weeds from popping up.
In addition to the above mentioned benefits, grass clipping mulch also has the added benefit of contributing nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.
You can use your clippings either fresh or dried. If you want to use fresh clippings, spread them in an even 1/4″ layer all around the base of your plants. Don’t make the layer too thick or it may begin to mold or mildew before it has a chance to break down.
You can also set your clippings aside for a week or two and let them dry out before using. If you decide to do this, you can make your mulch layer thicker (up to an inch) and you’ll have a lower risk of mold.
I usually add some fresh grass clippings to my garden each time I mow. After about a week they will dry out and look like this:
2. MAKE A GRASS CLIPPING TEA
Another method of utilizing grass clippings in your garden is to make a grass clipping tea. Once again, this is a means of utilizing the nitrogen and other valuable nutrients found in grass clippings.
There are many ways of making grass clipping yea, but I will share the easiest method:
Take a 5-gallon bucket and fill it completely full with fresh grass clippings.
Next fill the bucket with water, submerging all the grass clippings.
Let it sit for about three to five days.
Now, you can strain out the “tea” and apply it to the base of your plants with a watering can. I personally just hand scoop as many clippings as I can and then use whatever is left to water my garden. If some pieces of clippings get into my garden, no biggie! It will all break down into the soil anyway.
3. ADD IT TO YOUR COMPOST BIN
Another great way to harness the nutritional benefits of grass clippings is to add it to your compost bin, or better yet, add it to your VERMICOMPOST bin!
As a quick review, compost is created by combining carbon-based and nitrogen-based organic materials and allowing them to break down naturally into a nutrient-rich soil additive.
Vermicomposting accelerates the compost process by using composting worms (often Red Wigglers) to eat all of the organic matter. They digest it and turn it into super nutrient-rich worm castings, which will give your garden a huge nutrient boost. For a full explanation of vermicomposting and how to build a worm bin, check out the related articles below!
The rest of the clippings go into my traditional compost pile where they can break down, and always be stored for later use in the worm bin and garden.
Conclusion
That pretty much wraps this article up friends, I hope it was helpful and gave you a little inspiration on how to recycle your grass clippings and harness all those nutrients.
If you have another way to utilize your grass clippings, I’d love to hear it, so please feel free to comment below!
Happy Gardening,
Cody
Thistle Downs Farm