![]() ![]() You save money by avoiding purchasing commercial fertilizer and reducing waste pickup fees. Clippings can be up to 10 times more concentrated in nutrients than composted grass or commercial fertilizer.Īs well as benefiting your plants, recycling grass clippings saves resources and reduces landfill. Grass clippings are 5-7% nitrogen by dry weight and 2-3% phosphorus. They are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients that plants need to grow. Grass clippings are a major source of organic materials for your soil. ![]() The decomposition gives the soil a rich texture, providing ample organic matter. Grass clippings are especially beneficial for plants that need regular fertilizing. ![]() Or, instead of feeding the plants, the residue can suffocate your plants. If the clippings don’t have time to break down before you water the plants, the decomposition will come to a halt. Plants love moisture, and the decomposition process takes place quickly when the clippings are absorbed into the soil. These oils also contribute to the break down of the clippings. Grass clippings contain oils that are responsible for that distinctive smell. As time passes and they dry out, the nutrients deteriorate. If you have just cut the grass, you can use the clippings in the garden. When they’re cut, they release a lot of oxygen, giving plants a vital boost. It’s packed with nitrogen as well as other nutrients. You cannot compost grass clippings on their own: you must add a source of carbon, otherwise the grass remains a slimy green mess.Grass clippings are one of the best natural fertilizers there is for gardening. Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen for the compost, too. Mulch with grass clippings around lettuces and they suffocate. This plan only really works for large, hearty vegetables such as spuds, cucurbits and globe artichokes. However, a thin layer – no more than 10cm thick – quickly dries out, yet still suppresses weeds and feeds growing spuds. Both warm and wet, it makes an ideal hotel during the day for the blighters. Too thick a mulch and you get a hot, slimy layer that does nothing more than please the slugs. Grass clippings heat up quickly as they break down. I mulch all summer long with grass clippings, using them to earth up the potatoes, suppress weeds around pumpkins, courgettes and squashes, and spread on the paths between beds. Grass clippings are a rich source of nitrogen, which feeds the bacteria that help vegetable roots grow well. But no madder than when I steal my neighbours' bagged grass clippings left out for green waste pick-up. I know I look mad as I hurriedly sink into a pile of grass and gather it up. The large mowers used in parks often leave huge piles of clippings that are gold dust. Until then, I carry a bin bag in case I hit cutting day. If I had my way, I'd cut a strip around the edge and a couple of desire lines through the middle for those in a hurry, leaving the rest so we can all make daisy chains. Last year was so wet that the field was cut only once every six weeks, and as a result this spring it boasted lady's smock ( Cardamine pratensis), pignuts ( Conopodium majus) and ever-larger patches of good friday grass ( Luzula campestris). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |