What to do with Grass Clippings

You have a few options for your grass cuttings. You can leave them on the lawn in some circumstances or compost, mulch or recycle them. 

Leave them on the Lawn

You can leave grass clippings on the lawn if they don’t clump. In other words the clippings need to form a fine layer rather than be in piles or ridges. This recycles a little bit of moisture and some nutrients back into the lawn but mainly saves some work and recycling.

To achieve this if using a standard cylinder or rotary mower you need to:

• Use a with the box off (check the instructions allow this)
• Cut only a little of the grass off
• Mow frequently so that the clippings are fine

If using a mulching mower you should be able to mow weekly. And if using a robot mower it can be programmed to cut daily which is perfect. 

The Best Time to Leave Clippings on the Lawn

Any time you treat the lawn with fertiliser (liquid or granules), iron sulphate, moss killer, wetting agents, seaweed or weed killer always leave the first cut or two on the lawn even if some clumping occurs. Most products get absorbed into the leaves of the grass so leaving them on the lawn for a while longer is highly beneficial.

When Not to Leave Cuttings on the Lawn

Basically anytime you see flowers or seed heads in the lawn. Weed grasses, particularly annual meadow grass seeds profusely all the time. In addition from March to August broad leaved weeds are flowering and seeding. So if you leave clippings containing these seeds on the lawn you are increasing the weed problem! This is the biggest argument against mulching and robot mowers. Having a standard rotary mower as a standby for weed seeding times or temporarily stopping the recycling in the mulching mower allows you the best of both worlds.

What to do with Removed Grass Clippings

Compost & Mulch

You can use all grass clippings as mulch or add to the compost bin as long as weed killer hasn’t been used. All other products we sell are safe. If you’ve used weed killer refer to the instructions on the container.

If using clippings in a mixed compost heap add some cardboard before as this prevents the heap getting too wet. It also breaks down nicely improving the compost and recycling your card board at the same time.

Recycling Bin

As above, you can recycle but once again if you’ve used weed killer refer to the product instructions.

Grass Compost Heap & the Wildlife Garden

One of my favourites is to find a sheltered spot tucked away from site and to just make a pile of grass clippings. A gentle heat will be generated in the pile of dry grass, which then becomes a favoured spot for grass snakes to lay eggs. What a treat for the garden!