The Lawn Care Mistake That’s Costing You Free Fertilizer

If you’re bagging those grass clippings and leaving them in bags by the curb, then you’re wasting a natural resource that your lawn is giving you for free. That’s because those grass clippings contain valuable nutrients you can return to the soil or even use around your yard to bolster your gardens and landscaping. But to get these benefits, you have to use grass clippings the right way. 

Related: Wait For This To Happen Before Spraying Your Lawn for Weeds

Why Grass Clippings Are Valuable

When you leave grass clippings on your lawn or use them for mulch, they act as a natural slow-release fertilizer that you don’t have to pay for:

They Contains Nutrients 

As with most organic material, grass clippings contain nitrogen, which is valuable for your lawn or garden. 

They Break Down Quickly

When you cut your yard, you shred those grass leaves into tiny pieces, especially if you use your mower’s mulch kit. When the grass blades are cut into tiny pieces, they break down more quickly, making the nutrient inside them more readily available to your lawn and other plants.

Natural fertilizer

Unlike bagged fertilizer that you purchase in the store, grass clippings are a natural fertilizer. With grass clippings there is no chance of you accidentally over fertilizing your yard and burning the plants, nor is there the risk of fertilizer running off and polluting ground water. 

The Best Way to Use Grass Clippings

Leave them on Your Lawn

This is the easiest way to recycle your grass clippings. Simply leave them on the lawn. The clippings will break down quickly, returning nutrients directly to the soil. Plus, by leaving the clippings on your lawn, you save the time and labor of bagging them or raking them up post mow. 

Use Them as Mulch

Bag the clippings then spread them on your landscaping garden beds in a thin layer. The grass will amend the soil as it breaks down and help to block out weeds. Apply them in a 1 to 2 inch layer to prevent matting and foul smells as the grass breaks down. 

Add Them to Compost

Grass can serve as “green” material in your compost pile. Simply mix the grass clippings in to your compost bin as you mow. 

Related: Your Neighbor’s Lawn Is Green—Yours Isn’t. Here’s Why

Grass Clipping Mistakes To Avoid

• Leaving thick clumps of grass: Leaving thick clumps of grass will end up smothering and killing the grass below it.
• Mowing infrequently: If you wait until the grass is too high to mow, you’ll end up with long clippings that won’t break down quickly and can smother your lawn. 
• Using clippings treated with herbicide: If you’ve recently treated your lawn with herbicides or pest control products, avoid using them in your garden beds or in compost as they can harm your plants. 

When You Should Still Bag Clippings

Leaving clippings on your lawn is the best plan, but there are times when you’ll still want to bag:

• Overgrown Lawn: If your lawn is overgrown, then you’ll need to bag the clippings to prevent them from clumping up on your lawn or clogging your mower deck. 
• Disease: If your grass is suffering from a disease, collect and dispose of the clippings to avoid spreading that disease. 

How to Do It Right

To get the best results out of your grass clippings, follow these guidelines:

• Use a mulch kit: You don’t want to dump clumps of lawn clippings on your lawn.
• Mow Regularly: By mowing on a schedule and not allowing your lawn to get overgrown, you can keep the clippings short.
• Mow dry: Avoid mowing when it’s wet, which causes lawn clippings to clump.
• Follow one-third rule: Don’t remove more than a 1/3 of the grass blade height when you mow to keep the clippings short. 

Can Grass Clippings Replace Fertilizer?

While leaving grass clippings on your lawn significantly reduces the need for fertilizer, it doesn’t replace it. Lawn clippings return nitrogen back to the soil, but they don’t provide all of the nutrients that your lawn needs to grow and thrive. You’ll still need to apply fertilizer, just less of it.