It helps the compost to heat up quickly and rot down fast. I tend to alternate layers of grass clippings with layers of weeds, kitchen waste or chicken muck. Some of the clippings go on the compost heap. They know they’re about to receive a big pile of stuff to scratch in. It’s a good sized pen and the “girls” get very excited when the mower comes out of the shed. I use lawn clippings to line the bottom of my chicken pen. Your lawn will look neater and your shoes will stay cleaner when you walk across the lawn.īUT What should you do with the clippings you remove? That’s why professional greenkeepers scarify their pitches, greens and stadia at least once a year…it’s to remove thatch.īy removing clippings you will slow down (but never stop) the formation of the thatch layer. Thatch can also harbour diseases such as Fusarium patch. Thatch slows down drainage, making it harder for rainwater to soak through to where the roots need it. How about the health of the lawn? Too much dead matter in the bottom of the sward can build up a layer of thatch. We’ve already touched on the aesthetics of leaving grass clippings on the lawn – great clumps are unattractive and they will leave discoloured patches. Either rake them up after mowing (good exercise!) or pop the grass box on the mower. If the grass is long or wet (or both) it’s better to remove the clippings. In fact some say they help to conserve moisture. In other words, short dry clippings on a hot day won’t do any harm if you let them fall onto the lawn. There’s a rhyme to remember here “If it’s dry, let them fly”. On a garden lawn, it’s really for you to use your discretion. Clippings are then removed by another machine which is a bit like a huge vacuum cleaner. Our turf fields are huge and we use a tractor with a trailed mower to cut them at least twice a week. It wouldn’t work on a stadium or on an ornamental lawn. On grass cutting day, the boys couldn’t wait for play time so they could run outside and throw grass at each other. Huge clumps of clippings and if the weather was wet, it would be huge soggy lumps that congealed and gradually turned brown leaving dead patches on the surface of the grass. It smelled divine but it did leave a lot of debris behind. I remember sitting in a classroom watching a tractor and gang mowers cut the school playing field. Returning clippings to the lawn only really works well if you are only cutting a very little bit of the grass blade off – and if the grass is relatively dry. The dead plant material is pulled into the soil and broken down by minibeasts and microbes to make plant food. Some people like to let clippings fall back onto the lawn. What is the best way to deal with lawn clippings? The case for leaving lawn clippings on the lawn It also produces lots and lots of clippings over the course of a year. But which is truly the right option?Ī natural lawn generates oxygen for us to breath and it creates a cool surface to sit or play on. There are two trains of thought when it comes to lawn clippings – either leave them on the lawn to return to the soil or take them right away.
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