Nature's Mulch & Compost

Spring is here, and the ornamental cherry tree outside my window is bursting with pink blossoms. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and other spring bulbs are adding color to the yard. Ahh… Every gardener’s favorite time of year! I wish I could just sit back and enjoy it all, but I know that soon, I’ll have to begin my two least favorite tasks: mowing the lawn and pulling weeds.


One thousand square feet of lawn yields about 200 pounds of grass clippings annually, and most people just bag them and toss them to the curb like garbage. Weeds, once sprouted and producing seeds, take over both your garden and your time. The easiest solution, and the one that is the most economical and earth-friendly, is to use your grass clippings as mulch in your flower and vegetable gardens.


If you have a mulching mower – one that double cuts the grass clippings into tiny pieces and shoots them back down into your grass – it is advisable to let it do its job. The grass clippings will break down quickly and add much needed nutrients to your lawn. If you use weed-killers, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides on your lawn, you should not use the grass clippings in your gardens. However, if you pick up your non-treated grass clippings, they make excellent mulch around any type of plants.


Grass clippings should be placed in thin layers around plants and allowed to dry before adding another layer. If you put a thick layer, the grass clippings will clump together and rot, producing bad odors and actually preventing water from getting down to the plant roots. Grass clippings break down quickly and will be feeding your plants all season long while preventing weeds from sprouting. Why pay for expensive bags of mulch when nature provides?