Grasscycling and Other Ways to Utilize Yard Waste

It’s garden season and that means you may find yourself with a lot more yard waste. Grasscycling is an easy way to combat one of the most common types of yard waste: grass clippings. Here we’ll explain what exactly grasscycling is and how you can start this practice with your lawn, as well as a few other ways to make use of your yard waste.

What is Grasscycling?

Grasscycling is the process of recycling grass clippings by leaving them on your lawn after you mow. The grass clippings will quickly decompose and give valuable nutrients back to the soil. Grasscycling provides extra moisture and nutrients for your lawn which means greener grass and a deeper, healthier root system that increases your lawn’s resistance to disease, drought and insects. This will save you time, money and effort as less watering, less hauling and bagging, and less fertilizer will be required for your lawn.

Five Reasons to Grasscycle

1. Grasscycling improves lawn quality. When grass clippings are allowed to decay naturally on the lawn, they release valuable nutrients, add water-saving mulch and encourage natural soil aeration by earthworms.
2. Grasscycling saves time and work. A recent study in the United States found that 147 homeowners who quit bagging their clippings saved an average of 35 minutes per mowing. That's an average of seven hours per season ... or a day at the beach.
3. All lawn mowers can grasscycle. No special mower is necessary. For best results, keep the mower blade sharp and mow only when the grass is dry.
4. Grass clippings are a free, high-nitrogen fertilizer. When clippings decompose, they release their nutrients back to the lawn. They contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, as well as lesser amounts of other essential plant nutrients. When left on the lawn, clippings are rapidly broken down into these nutrients, which are returned to the lawn. There's no polluting run-off, no use of non-renewable resources and no damage to soil organisms or wildlife.
5. Grasscycling is a simple, easy opportunity for every homeowner to do something good for the environment. Grasscycling is a responsible environmental practice and an opportunity for all homeowners to reduce their waste. And, the best part is, it take less time and energy than bagging and dragging that grass to the landfill.

Rules of Thumb

• Don't cut more than one third of the grass blade.
• Cut regularly. If the grass is long, cut off short amounts in several mowings rather than all at once. Cutting too short and not often enough are common errors of lawn care.
• Use any kind of mower, but make sure it has a sharp blade.
• Mow only when the grass is dry.
• Never mow during a drought.
• Prevent excessive grass growth by watering (and fertilizing) in moderation.
• Spread out large clumps of grass with a rake in order to evenly distribute clippings over your lawn.

Myths about Grasscycling

Myth #1

Leaving grass clippings on the lawn causes thatch.

Facts:

Clippings and thatch are simply not connected. Thatch results from the abnormally fast growth of roots and other plant tissues and is caused by improper fertilizing and watering. Grass clippings left on the lawn decay quickly and release valuable nutrients back to established grass.

Myth #2

Grasscycling is messy.

Facts:

Grass clippings decay quickly and disappear within a day or two. lf you're worried about people tracking grass into your home or pool, try mowing late in the day so that clippings have time to dry and settle overnight.

Myth #3

Grass clippings damage lawns,

Facts:

Mowing regularly and at the proper height improves your lawn. lf you allow the grass to grow too long between cuttings, the thick patches of mowed clippings will suffocate your lawn in those areas. Gradually reducing your lawn to its proper height over a period of two or three mowings, rather than scalping it back to that height in one mowing can minimize this problem. A good rule of thumb is: Never remove more than one third of the leaf surface at any one time.

Myth #4

Grasscycling spreads diseases.

Facts:

The spores that cause grass diseases are present whether clippings are collected or not. Watering properly, only when needed (one inch of water every five to six days, in early morning) and keeping your mower blade very sharp for clean cutting will help your lawn resist disease

Other Ways to Utilize your Yard Waste:

Grasscycle with leaves

You can also grasscycle with leaves in the fall! Just run your mower over dry leaves that fall on your lawn to break them into smaller pieces. You’ll want to make sure that the pieces are small enough that they can settle into your lawn and decompose, which may take a couple turns over them with your mower. Make sure to do this before the leaves get wet, as they can get stuck in your mower and are much harder to chop. The decomposing leaves will give your soil valuable nutrients and make your lawn grow strong and healthy through the spring.

Compost in a backyard composter

If you have the ability, composting leaves, grass, and other yard and garden waste is a great way to prevent a trip to the landfill! Layering yard waste with other food scraps in your backyard composter can really improve the quality of your compost. The compost can then be used to make your garden flourish in the spring.

Use leaves, grass, and wood scraps to make your own mulch

This is a great way to use yard waste that can benefit your garden as well as save you the cost of buying mulch. Piling leaves, grass, and chipped wood scraps on your garden can keep your beds moist and full of nutrients. 3-6 inches of leaves and other clippings are recommended. It can also insulate and protect plants during the winter. Then in the spring or summer you can turn the mulch into your garden, giving your plants healthy soil to grow.