Where do gardeners get free mulch?

Most gardeners prefer to spend time caring for their gardens rather than their lawns.

Because mowing, weeding, and pruning sure sounds like a lot of effort when it comes to lawn maintenance.

Your hard work will pay off with a nicely groomed lawn, but only for a short time.

Soon enough, you’ll need to head back outside and give that lawn a haircut all over again.

Have you ever wondered what you could do to make the most out of the pile of grass clippings from all the time and effort you put into maintaining the lawn?

Tossing them all into your compost is one common way to handle fresh grass cuttings, but there are better ways.

That’s right. We’re not going to dive into composting grass. Instead, let’s talk about using fresh-cut grass directly as mulch.

For the least amount of effort, this method yields the best results.

Here are some benefits of having a grass mulch layer to get you mow-tivated!

Keep things cool

Save those fresh grass clippings from your mowed lawn and use them as mulch by spreading them directly on your garden soil.

This is the perfect alternative if you’re terrible at composting grass and always end up with anaerobic layerings of poor compost.

You don’t have to worry about turning them or waiting for the grass to dry. It won’t take more than a day for them to dry out entirely because the grass mulch layer is only a few inches thick.

Covering with a mulching layer of grass can shield your soil from the scorching sun and keep it from drying up during the hottest days.

If you live in a hot and dry area, this grass layer will certainly do your garden a big favour by maintaining soil temperature and keeping the plant roots from overheating.

Seal in that moisture

In warmer regions, a mulching grass layer can act as a cover that helps keep soil moisture from evaporating.

In this manner, grass mulching helps reduce the watering frequencies, especially during dry periods.

The grass clippings layer is also designed to let water penetrate the soil and reach the roots easier.

On hot days, when the soil is dry and hydrophobic, the grass layer will help nourish the soil and retain the moisture from the rainwater so that it may permeate the soil more effectively. 

Using grass clippings as part of your garden’s soil maintenance routine will not only help you achieve a bountiful harvest, but you’ll also spend less money in the long run.

Make sure to cut the grass into a fine texture to avoid suffocating your soil beds. It is best to use a lawnmower with mulching blades!

Keep an eye on those weeds

“The more we mulch, the less time we’ll spend weeding throughout the year.” 

We all agree that weeding is the most tedious and time-consuming gardening task.

Mulching with grass trimmings can be a huge time saver for us. 

Grass clipping mulch can prevent the light from reaching weed seeds, thus stopping them from germinating and expanding.

Also, the grass mulch keeps the soil soft and loosened enough to make the roots of weeds less of a chore to pick out by hand.

Nourish the soil

Yet another great advantage of grass cuttings is that they return nutrients and organic matter to the soil bed as they break down.

It’s almost like on-the-spot composting! You just need to simply scatter the grass over the entire bed and avoid the soil where you’re planting.

One thing to concern is that if the grass layer is too thick, it can slowly rot and turn into unwanted anaerobic compost over time.

To address this issue, try combining your grass clippings layer with various forms of mulch. This can both increase the carbon content of your soil and prevent the grass from decaying.

Fresh or dry, grass clippings make for great mulch because of the high nitrogen content they supply to a flourishing garden.

Not all grass works that way

Not all grass can be recycled and repurposed for the garden. 

You shouldn’t use grass clippings as mulch or compost in the garden if you’ve used any form of herbicide or pesticide on your lawn.

Please steer away from mulching contaminated grass as it endangers the health of your plants and those who feed from your garden. 

So, remember to always keep your mulch fully organic and weed-free.

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