Ok gardeners, what should I do with my grass clippings 1. Having them collected costs money here. That is not an option, I dislike spending money. 2. Feed them to the horse in a nearby field. However I understand they can get ill if they eat too much rich food. Do horses react badly to weed and feed? 3. Compost them. Too much clippings is bad for compost. Plus I would fill my compost bin in about a week. 4. Leave them on the lawn. I don't mow regularly enough to do that. My son would carry the cuttings in on his shoes. I have moss problems if I'm not careful. Not an option. 5. Throw them in the hedge and corners of the garden when SWMBO is not looking. 6. Place them around shrubs and other areas to prevent weeds from growing. Does that actually work. Is this my best option? 7. Buy a goat. Probably will eat everything except the grass. Any comments on the above or other suggestions gratefully accepted. How do you get rid of yours.
I have a recycling mower that takes the clippings and puts it down in a thin layer over the grass sort of a mulch. Grass loves it.
Save some for compost. You can add the leaves in a few months. I usually bag every third mow. I have a mulching mower like JB so I leave on the grass the other two times. See if any other gardeners are in need of it. Ifv you lasagna garden you can use layers of grass as an organic layer.
I bought a nice mulching mower, can't even notice the clippings, except for when mowing the edge along the driveway because they blow up on the concrete. I have been very happy with it.
I live in an arid area where lawns are not really practical. I've always wondered about the human fascination with making more work for themselves and spending money and time on a piece of green grass. I find it exceedingly odd that lawns are as prevalent as they are. Death to the lawn. Die grass, die! To answer your question; leave the clippings as mulch and fertilizer thereby saving yourself work collecting and disposing of them and ultimately money for more chemical fertilizer.
You could steam distill them and make "Flatfish's Lawn" Essential Oil! You could then sell it to some of the soapmakers around here for use in their irish-spring smell-alike shaving soap. BTW, does anybody make an Irish-spring scented shaving soap?
It's your choice for what works for you. One trick to use when mowing is to do it in such a manner that you go over the clippings as you cut. They are spewed out of the mower to the side, so that is the next line that you mow. That will greatly reduce the clippings to a smaller length.
Kevin is correct as long as the amount of grass you leave on the lawn is not deep. Since a deep layer of clipped grass will shut out the sun an kill the grass beneath it.
I would just try to mow it a day or two earlier to cut down on clipping size. Also you can run over to areas again if their is a lot of clippings in certain areas. Clippings are a natural fertilizer when cut small enough. It is actually worse for your lawn if you remove clippings from your yard every single time unless you have lots of fert. and water. I work at a golf course on the weekends and we do not pick up clippings unless we are mowing the greens, which costs thousands of dollars to maintain due to chemicals we put on there. I think you live over seas, but in the US you can go to Home Depot and get a mulching blade for $15 that helps cut the clippings even smaller so they can be used of to fertilize your yard.
I hire a guy to do the lawn cuz I absolutely abhor that job. Don't like to spend the money but like the job even less. If I didn't have the job done by someone else, the lawn would probably get about waist high and the the buffalo would move in. BTW, he carts off the clippings so I don't know what happens to them.
