Clever Garden Recycling With Lawn Clippings

It's easy to quickly think about how often our lawns are mowed each year, and then to think about how many lawn clippings are removed, not just at each service, but over the course of a year of lawn mowing. In most cases these clippings are simply thrown away. To be driven away by rubbish trucks, around the city and eventually finding their way into land fill.

With such great nutritional benefits in lawn clippings, it can be a waste. Especially when we look at how much money we spend on fertilisers, soils, manures, and other garden supplements. Or looking at gutless and poor soils, when our humble lawn clippings could have been a great garden friend over the years.

Lets have a look at the uses and benefits of the humble lawn clipping.

Clippings Left On The Lawn

If you don't have a rapidly growing lawn that thatches up quickly, or even during the slower growing seasons, leaving the clippings on the lawn during lawn mowing can be a great idea. Especially when the clippings are small, they will quickly break down, releasing their nutrients and feeding the lawn.

Lawn mowing regularly will ensure not only a great yard, but will assist in the rapid deterioration of clippings into the soil, due to the small size of clipping being produced.

The practice can also be beneficial by protecting the soil beneath lawns from evaporation during the Summer months.

Mulching Lawn Mowers

In recent years, manufacturers have been releasing mulching lawn mowers. These are Rotary Lawnmowers with 4 blades and a special Mulching Plug which inserts into the rear chute of the mower. The special design of the lawn mower base, mulching plug, and the 4 blades, combine to send the clippings through the blades several times before being ejected. This process finely chops up clippings to be broken down quickly. Another feature is that the finely chopped clippings are actually pushed by the fan action of the blades into the lawn, reducing the visible appearance of the clippings being left on the lawn.

When combined with regular lawn mowing, the clippings rarely look out of place being left on the lawn, usually disappearing altogether within a couple of days.

Exceptions

Do not leave clippings on the lawn when:

• the grass being mowed is too long,
• when the lawn grows rapidly, and will leave too many clips on the lawn,
• weeds are present, and especially when seed heads are already formed, this simply propagates the weeds for their next generation,
• any weed spraying has recently been completed, these clippings MUST be placed in the bin.