Grasscycling--Easy way to a healthier, greener lawn
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Grasscycling can save up to one-third your mowing time
Called grasscycling, this simple method will save you hundreds to thousands of dollars in fertilizer and water over the lifetime of your lawn, and you'll get a more beautiful lawn in the bargain. Learn just how easy it is right here. You'll also find links to some of the best chemical-free lawn care wisdom currently available, and a host of other resources, including in-depth reading. Your local library can provide any of the books listed here absolutely free to you.
Every time you mow
If your lawn is typical, by the time you've finished your weekly mowing, you've hauled 70-140 pounds of filled garbage sacks to the curb. Trucked away week after week, those bags, along with your neighbors', contribute about half the waste going to the landfill between May and September. Collection and landfill costs rise, passed back to you in higher fees. This can be you
You can save as much as one-third of your lawn mowing time over an entire season by letting grass clippings lie. While you relax, those grass clippings are settling between the living leaves, locking in moisture, shading the roots from the hot sun, and beginning to break down and feed nitrogen and other nutrients to your lawn. You save time and $$. 
Grasscycling saves!
When you grasscycle, you save both time and money because you water and fertilize less. 3 ways to save your water bill and get a greener lawn
- Grasscycling saves water. Properly mowed, grass clippings settle quickly between the growing blades of grass where they shelter the roots from the sun and conserve moisture. You'll need to water less.
- Deep, healthy roots don't require as much water. Plus, they deliver more lush, green-enhancing nutrients to the grass leaves above the soil. Easiest way to get deep, water-saving roots is to water deeply and less frequently. Here's why: Light, frequent watering encourages shallow roots and may lead to increased disease and stress injury to the grass plants.
- To avoid losing up to 60 percent of the water to evaporation, irrigate in the morning, between six and ten, before the sun is high. Use a low sprinkler head that saturates the ground, rather than a high shower. On a hot day, most of the water from a high sprinkler evaporates before it can sink into the soil.
If you live in a dry climate, such as the Rocky Mountain states, save even more by watering at night. This won't work if you live in a moist climate, though, where a damp lawn after dark is more prone to disease.
Rule of thumb
Water only when the grass is dry--most lawns need no more than one inch water per week, even in arid areas of the country.
Weekend gardener?
You'll like this book
Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Safe and Easy Lawn Care: The Complete Guide to Organic, Low-Maintenance Lawns (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides (Houghton Mifflin))
Amazon Price: $3.95 (as of 02/15/2012)
The title says it all. Grow a safe lawn your children can romp on all summer long. Go ahead, show them how to whistle through a blade of grass.
With Grasscycling, you'll use one-third less fertilizer
Fewer Saturdays pushing the fertilizer hopper
As grass clippings break down, they release moisture and nutrients into the soil, including the nitrogen that keeps your lawn green and lush. You'll need to fertilize less, about one-third less, according to studies.Less is more! Most grasses require modest levels of nitrogen for good color and controlled growth. Excess fertilizer makes grass grow faster, requiring more mowing, and does not necessarily improve the health of the plant.
For optimum lawn health, follow this schedule.
- Fertilize only in the fall. A fall application boosts spring growth.
- Fertilize again in spring, but only if the lawn needs it.
- For slower, more uniform growth, choose fertilizers with the label "water insoluble nitrogen" or "slow release nitrogen." These increase the amount of time the grass can use the nutrient.
- Let clippings do the job through the summer.
For a healthier lawn, mow high and a little more frequently
You'll still save time
Set your mower height to 3"-4" and trim no more than 1/2-3/4" each time. Mowing high reduces shock to the grass plant because less of the blade is removed. Grass looks healthier because it is, from the roots up. Short, dry clippings fall between the grass blades, where they shade the roots and soil, retaining moisture, while breaking down unseen. Grasscycling cuts your mowing time by about one-third
Even though mowing high requires mowing a little more often during the peak growing cycle--about every five days--studies conducted by the University of Idaho and elsewhere show that most grasscycling homeowners reduce overall mowing time by about one-third over the course of a season. For a safe, healthy lawn, go organic
The Organic Lawn Care Manual: A Natural, Low-Maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn
Amazon Price: $8.74 (as of 02/15/2012)
Everything you need to know to build a lush, green lawn your kids can romp on safely is right here. Go ahead. Lie down. Feel the earth supporting you. Pluck a blade of grass and indulge in its sweetness while you watch the clouds skuttle overhead. This is the book to help you get that lawn.
Keep your mower blade sharp
to keep your lawn healthy
Mow when the grass is dry
Consider a mulching mower
If this is the year you're planning to buy a new mower
This mulcher comes highly recommended
Earthwise 50118 18-Inch 12 amp Electric Side Discharge/Mulching Lawn Mower
Amazon Price: $194.16 (as of 02/15/2012)
Amazon reviewers are especially pleased with its mulching capabilities and ability to handle uneven terrain.
Will grasscycling cause thatch?
GRASSCYCLING DOES NOT CAUSE THATCH
Build a healthy lawn
Building a Healthy Lawn: A Safe and Natural Approach
Amazon Price: $9.93 (as of 02/15/2012)
You know the advice is good when a professional landscaper, for whom time lost on lawn care is money lost, recommends the organic route. Franklin gives you the deep view on how grasscycling and avoiding harsh chemicals net a more beautiful, durable lawn.
Tip
Wear golf shoes while mowing. The spikes help to aerate your lawn, which improves soil health.
Aerate your lawn
But don't bother with a big noisy machine
ECCO Men's Casual Cool Hydromax Golf Shoe
Amazon Price: (as of 02/15/2012)
These handsome shoes can go from the early morning lawn mow directly to a round on the links.
Grasscycling is good for your community and the environment
Good citizens grasscycle!
- Curbside clippings collection increases trash hauling and handling costs, which you'll see in your trash bill.
- Grass clippings can represent from 20 to 50 percent of the solid waste going to landfills in the spring and summer, and cities across the country are fast running out of new land to fill.
- Clippings contribute to landfill gas and leaching, putting our groundwater and air at risk and raising environmental management costs.
- Grass clippings increase odors during storage, collection, and disposal of trash.
- Runoff from a heavily fertilized lawn carries fertilizers to our rivers and streams, putting fish and wildlife at risk.
Teaming with microbes: A gardener's guide to the soil food web
Like the play on words?
"Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller. A cast of characters without eyeballs or backbones. Battle scenes with bizarre creatures devouring one another. Only this book is about as terrestrial as it gets."
Debra McKinney, Anchorage Daily News, September 14, 2006
Summary
How recycling your grass clippings saves lawn care costs
- Grass clippings supply up to one-third of a lawn's nitrogen fertilizer needs
- Clippings decompose rapidly, feeding soil organisms that keep soil healthy and help to prevent turf diseases
- Grasscycling saves one-third of the mowing time during the growing season
- Grass clippings do not cause thatch
- Grasscycling is good for the community: Saves garbage collection and landfill costs
Grasscycling is easy
Cut the sweat
Grasscycling is for the birds!
and the soil and the water and the air and all of us
Will you switch to grasscycling this year?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byNo way, Grasshopper. My lawn is hooked on drugs.
Ah yes, Ladybug. I've got better things to do than feed and mow and water all summer.
Graceonline says:
EditionH, I get it now. Thanks for updating. Too bad about the weather leaving your lawn/meadow always wet. That's got to be a challenge, but I love hearing how your lawn is naturalizing to something that, apparently, likes the weather more.
Posted August 27, 2011
EditionH says:
Hi Grace,
my observation is based on about 15 years of "grass cycling" in one garden in comparison to 30+ years mowing in the standard way with removal of the grass. (my own garden, my mothers garden).
I cut the grass only every 10-14 days. I.e. in some places the grass is much longer than recommended for grass cycling.
The climate in Germany is relatively moist even in summer. As a result one cannot avoid that clippings get wet after cut and start to rot.
I admit that I cut the grass when it it much longer and not very regular. As a result I have wild flowers in my "lawn". That habit might contribute to the fact that my lawn has changed to a state between meadow and lawn (uneven soil). But as said I do not mind as I am not a fan of sterile looking lwans anyway.
Posted August 25, 2011
goldenecho says:
Wow...I was grasscycling already and didn't even know it! See, I grew up on a boat (no lawn there) and then moved to the mountains (no lawn either, unless you count newly dropped pineneedles) so when we got a house and my husband's aunt got us a mower with no bag...I just figured that was what all mowers were like and never even considered doing anything with the grass but leaving it lie. :-) Ah, I love easy good deeds!
Posted August 19, 2011
Graceonline says:
Ah, EditionH, thanks for sharing your experience. I welcome your thoughts. I'll respond in kind. 1. Even though you have to mow a little more frequently, the overall time saving has proven to be about 1/3 over conventional lawn care methods in the course of a season. 2. To prevent clippings lying on top of the mown grass and turning brown between trimmings, first, mow when the grass is dry. This is essential. Second, set the blade high, so the grass is always 2-3" long, and you cut no more than 1/2-3/4". This assures the clippings fall between the blades, where they serve as mulch, rather than lying on top, turning brown and ugly. 3. I've never seen an uneven lawn as the result of grasscycling, nor has it been demonstrated on long-term projects of which I am aware. There are a number of factors that could cause the soil to buckle and become uneven. Can you provide more information about your experience with that, please?
4. Moss grows in damp, moist environments. Grass prefers dryer conditions and may not be an appropriate installation in perennially damp soil.
Posted July 25, 2011
EditionH says:
Hi, I work that way for many years now. I learned that treating the lawn that way has disadvantages too:
1. You need to mow more often in order to keep clippings short
2. Nevertheless clippings take time to compost on site,that process will affect the lawn too, the grass tends to get brown i.e. rot too.
3. After some years the lawn will get pretty much uneven too
4. The chance that you will get moss in your lawn increases a lot.
I do not mind these things, but other people do. I never would treat my lawn with chemicals, but I can understand those who prefer to remove the clippings from the lawn.
Posted July 25, 2011
Did you know?
According to Word Spy, the term grasscycling was first used in 1990 in this article.
"Grasscycling" simply requires a person to mow a little more frequently, Boyd said. "Grass clippings are 90 percent water so in a few days they're gone," he explained. " If you mow frequently, the clippings are very small. I don't ever pick them up. It's too much work."
-"How to 'grasscycle'," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 11, 1990
Make yours a chemical-free lawn
SAFE FOR YOUR WEE ONES
The Chemical-Free Lawn: The Newest Varieties and Techniques to Grow Lush, Hardy Grass
Amazon Price: $5.96 (as of 02/15/2012)
List Price: $14.95
Want to save even more time and money? Not only does this book give excellent grasscycling info, it shows you how to mow your lawn in a third less time by mowing in a spiral. Try it. It works! (No, you won't get dizzy, but you will have some fun.)
Do you have a lawn? How do you care for it?
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Chris
Jul 8, 2010 @ 8:55 pm | delete
- We try to recycle every blade of grass we have left over in each yard. It's important to dolawn care in an environmentally responsible way.
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tandemonimom
Sep 23, 2009 @ 5:33 pm | delete
- I love the idea of wearing spiked shoes while you mow to aerate! Brilliant! Kudos on a great lens. Lensrolled to Recycle and Precycle.
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poutine
May 2, 2009 @ 5:42 pm | delete
- Will try some of your ideas this summer.
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TheGreenerMe
Feb 28, 2009 @ 11:18 am | delete
- Great idea for going green. I'm not much of a mower, but I'm passing this info along to a few people who I know should see this. Thanks! Lensrolling to a couple of my recycling lenses.
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gbenton789
Feb 15, 2009 @ 11:02 pm | delete
- This is great. Thanks!
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What bloggers say about grasscycling
- Green mantra: Reduce, reuse and recycle
- On the other hand, grasscycling refers to the employment of nutritious grass as fertilizers by leaving them on the field. These two practices promote recycling of waste products and the outcome is highly productive. Thus, we may conclude that 'Green ...
- In the Garden: Making an impact
- To make mowing faster and easier and return nutrients to the soil, try "grasscycling" and leave the clippings on the lawn. * Consider reducing the size of your lawn, the most energy and resource demanding part of any landscape, and replace that space ...
- Planning now makes a better garden in spring
- The most recent issue suggests "grass cycling," or leaving the clippings on your lawn after you mow to provide much of your lawn's fertilizer needs. Another idea is to reach out to the local cooperative extension office for help you with soil testing, ...
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What I love about grasscycling, besides how good it is for the environment, is how much time and money it saves over the course of a summer. Who doesn... more »
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