You may think that composting your grass clippings from your lawn (along with the weeds) is the best thing for your garden.
But in this video, I’ll show you all the problems with composting fresh grass and that there is a better way! We will mulch with the grass instead and spread it everywhere in the garden!
Grass clippings can help in growing your own food.
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With most of us, it’s not just the garden that needs the attention.
We have to set aside time to maintain our lawn as well.
With all the time we spend to keep up that grass, wouldn’t it be great if it could also benefit the garden? Well it actually can!
Cutting grass is one of those jobs you just want to keep putting off.
You can avoid it for a while but then you’re going to have to chop a few inches off.
When it’s that long, there’s no way your mulching blade is going to handle that.
They need to be collected.
And then what do you do with it all?
You might think… just toss it all on your compost and you’re done but
this is not the best way to handle grass when it’s freshly cut.
If you simply dump it all in one large heap the bacteria will start decomposing it quickly.
You’ll know that it’s breaking down by the heat.
It’s a moist heat because fresh grass has a ton of water in it .
It starts getting released as it breaks down.
And then the grass gets limp and the pile starts to compress.
Over the next few days the heat will quickly reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
After a few more days, it’ll continue to compact down and start blocking the air getting into the pile.
A properly working pile that has the good bacteria that we want depends on a constant supply of oxygen. But now, since less air can get in, anaerobic bacteria will start taking over.
This is NOT the best state for your compost to be in.
The grass will compress down and create layers which get quite dense and definitely block any oxygen and moisture from getting through.
The composting slows way down.
When you have a colony of anaerobic bacteria growing, the grass gets dark green and slimy.
We can get around this problem by drying it out first.
Dump the grass next to your regular compost and then add more air flow by
fluffing it up with a garden fork once a day.
This will allow more oxygen in to feed the good bacteria.
Once most of the moisture is gone you can then mix it into the compost pile.
But my recommendation… and this is your BIG takeaway from this video today… is to avoid the compost pile all together. We’re not going to compost the grass at all !
Instead we’ll use the fresh grass directly in the garden as a mulch.
It has the least amount of work but with the greatest return.
All we have to do is lay it down an inch or two thick around your plants and that’s it.
Using the grass as a mulch has a ton of other benefits.
First, if you spread it only a few inches thick, it will easily dry in place.
Adding mulch will stop the sun from baking the soil and protect the roots from overheating.
It will also help keep the moisture in the soil from evaporating quickly.
Mulching will reduce the need to water as often. And that’ll help save you some money.
When you water, or when it rains, it will easily pass through the mulch.
And for those times when the soil is too slow to absorb it, the grass will help keep the rain in place until it can penetrate.
Mulching can also help us with weeding and can be a huge time saver for us.
The more we mulch, the less time we’ll have to spend weeding.
Covering the soil reduces the germination of weed seeds
and then blocks their light; slowing their growth,
If any weeds poke up through it, you can simply pluck them out.
You could also pull back the mulch and use a hoe to dislodge the weeds.
And then just spread it back into place.
If your soil contains any roots from perennial weeds, like dandelion or thistle,
then a mulch will not stop them.
This is especially true for thistle.
See my other video on how you can fight that weed.
You don’t even have to wait until your plants are large to see a benefit with mulching.
Before you plant your seeds just spread the grass over the entire bed first.
But leave the soil exposed where you intend on planting.
And then just do your planting as normal.
You can keep laying down the mulch until the end of the season.
And then it can protect the soil from the sun and the wind all through the winter.
One important note though through all this is if you use any herbicides or pesticides
on your lawn, don’t use that grass in your garden or in your compost pile.
You want it to remain organic.
Now you know that a lot of the time you spent on your lawn was a good investment for your garden.
If you found this video helpful, please give me a thumbs up and consider subscribing.
My channel is all about using your garden organically and productively.
Thanks very much for watching!
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