Don’t Throw your Grass Clippings in the Rubbish!

When growing season comes around and you are mowing your lawn a little more than normal, you are probably wondering what to do with your grass clippings. Do you throw them out? Use them in your garden? Something else entirely?

Well, what we can tell you is that they have heaps of uses, so throwing them away should never be an option! Take a look at a few of the following options to help deal with any grass clippings you may have lying around after deciding to mow your lawn over the weekend – there are some great ideas.

Recycling

Leave the clippings on your lawn! Now, don’t do this every time you mow your lawn, however occasionally leaving the grass clippings on the lawn act as both a fertiliser and a provider of nitrogen to your turf. Remember though that too many grass clippings can actually damage your lawn, burning it and causing it to become discoloured, so only leave short cuttings to avoid this occurring.

Recycling your grass clippings can provide up to 25% of your lawn’s annual nitrogen requirements!

Compost

Grass clippings are great additions to compost, due to their high levels of nitrogen. Mixed with brown waste, which makes up over half of most composts, it offers an abundance of nutrients when placed back on your garden.

We discussed lawns and composts in another blog – check it out here: Compost for lawns

Cattle Food

This may seem like a little bit of a strange one, but grass clippings can be turned into silage to be used as Livestock Feed. It has been found that silage that is created from Grass Clippings is more digestible than Hay Silage and has Protein levels of around 18%.

Mulch

This is a common one, but Grass Clippings can be used as Mulch for Garden Beds and Vegetable Gardens. Grass Clippings have a range of benefits, including:

• Block weeds
• Help retain moisture
• Offer nutrients such as Nitrogen and Potassium
• Provide all the same Fertiliser requirements

Fertiliser

Finally, Grass Clippings can be used as Liquid Fertiliser. Add all your clippings into a bucket of water and let them soak for a few days. During this time, all the best nutrients contained in the grass clipping will be released into the water such as:

• Nitrogen
• Potassium
• Amino Acids
• Phosphorus
• Much more.

After a few days is up, strain the grass out of the liquid and water your plants with it. They will appreciate it!

If you would like to know more about turf, get in contact with Rosemount Turf and we would be more than happy to assist.

Resources:

Lawn Solutions (5 ways to use grass clippings): https://lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au/lawn-care/grass-clippings/