Grasscycling
Your lawn produces more valuable resources than you may think. One thousand square feet of bluegrass lawn generates about 200 pounds of clippings annually. About 3/4 of those clippings is water. Instead of tossing them in the trash, use them to help fertilize your lawn. Clippings break down quickly and encourage beneficial microorganisms and earthworms.
- Use a mulching mower, which returns the grass clippings to your lawn
- Use grass clippings in your compost pile
- For the best mulch, be sure to clip your grass at the appropriate height for its type. For example, you should mow Kentucky bluegrass when it is 1.5 to 2.5 inches high and tall Fescue at two to three inches.
- Offer to share your mulching mower with a friend who has a traditional mower
- If you have extra grass clippings from your lawn, share them with others as an effective fertilizer for their yards
- Spread the word! Yard waste makes up 20 percent of materials sent to landfills annually. When you see a neighbor mowing, be sure to share with them the benefits of mulching
