There’s no shortage of internet advice on what to do with your lawn clippings. However, allow us to add our own take.
The common question of what to do with natural grass yard clippings has a bit of a difficult answer. Leaving your grass clippings where they fall after mowing is generally a good thing that saves time and money. In our view, really the only situation in which you don’t want to leave the clippings is when they are wet or form a too thick layer on top of your lawn.
Here are the pros and cons of leaving your grass clippings on your lawn after mowing:
Pros:
- It’s less work because you don’t have to physically rake up or blow away the grass clippings.
- It’s natural, and the clippings will act as a slow release fertilizer.
- This will lower your lawn’s dependence on using chemical lawn fertilizers, in turn, saving you money.
- The leftover grass clippings won’t harm pets or children like other fertilizers would.
Cons:
- When grass clippings are wet or too thick, they block airflow to your lawn. This is never a good thing because poor airflow can cause diseases to attack your lawn.
- In the case of an already dry lawn, the blockage of airflow is still a risk.
Our final recommendation – evaluate the airflow to your lawn before deciding to leave all of or some of the clippings. If the layer is too thick where it risks harming your lawn, skim away some of the debris to leave only a light, nurturing layer of clippings across the top of your yard.
Contact us here if you need any help with your next landscaping project!
