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Grass Clippings for Lawn
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Posted by applebuilder North Orange County (My Page) on Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 20:28
| In hot, dry areas do grass clippings left on the lawn dry before they decompose? I ask because a lawn full of dry clippings is fire fuel. |
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RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| It's usually hot and dry here. This year is an exception--we had almost three inches of rain in June. But it's normally dry from June through August or September. I mulch mow my lawn and I never see the clippings. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| hello applebuilder, It depends on how much grass clippings you have and if you are using a mulching mower. A mulching mower is designed to cut the crass clippings several times (making them very small) before letting them fall on the grass. Since they are very small they simply filter down to the matt and decompose. If you do not have a mulching mower then you better not let the clippings stay on the grass because they will not decompose before the grass dies from a lack of sunlight or decomposition heat. Grass clippings are so thin that they become very compact when they are in a layer, even a fairly thin layer. If you have ever left a pile of clippings on the ground and then looked at it a week later you will notice that the top layer is dry, but just undrnieth the outer layer is fresh green grass, green like you cut it yesterday. This is because the clippings are just like playing cards - wide but thin. In effect they make their own protective layer that shuts out air from getting past even as thin as a half an inch thick. And the longer the grass is when you cut it the more damage it will do to you lawn if not cleaned up. In addition to needing the proper mix of ingredients for your pile is also the different textures of the material you need in your pile. One of the benefits of using dry leaves and small twigs in a pile that has lots of grass is that these other ingredients break up the grasses ability to form that tight air proof layer allowing oxygen to move inside the pile. Be sure to rake up those grass clippings if you do not have a mulching mower. Grass clippings are just as deadly to your grass as anything else you leave on your lawn. Try leaving a hose on your lawn for several days and you will find that you have dead grass everywhere the hose was - or anything else for that matter. Happy gardening and welcome to composting. Nice to talk to someone who lives in the land of fruits and nuts. But, of course, everyone knows that all we do in SoCal is sit around the pool sunning ourselves and wasting time like movie stars - lol. Tom |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| If, after mowing, you have grass clippings on the surface you either moved too fast or waited too long and cut too much grass off. A properly mowed lawn will not have any clippings on the surface. In a good, healthy soil those clippings that get down to the soil will not be there long, even though about 1/2 inch of thatch is an indication of a good, healthy soil not the problem some "conventional" theorists indicate it is. That 1/2 inch of thatch will be an aid in maintaining soil moisture as well as an aid in suppressing some "weed" growth as well as feeding the soil bacteria that will be feeding your plants. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| And if you get clippings mulched into the lawn (as described above) the moisture from the clippings (which is mostly what they consist of) will get into back into the soil. Helping keep the growing grass moist and fertilized. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| Mulch your grass, it is free fertilizer. Come September, if it makes you feel better, pick it up. Dan |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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- Posted by pt03 3 Southern Manitoba (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 4, 09 at 11:23
| Yes, on occasion the clippings do dry out on top in some areas and yes they would be a fire hazard. But, it is easier to control a short grass fire than a tall grass fire. And usually if it's that dry, the grass isn't growing much anyways so not a lot of clippings. For those of us that live in close proximity to fields of grains with large machinery that can occasionaly catch on fire, fire is always on our minds. We keep hoses at the ready and I personnaly keep a 200 gallon tank of water on a trailer pulled by my tractor at the ready as well. Some people may scoff at us for maintaining a large lawn area but it could be an effective fire break for the 10-15 minutes it takes for the volunteer fire department to get out to us. Not to mention there are no hydrants so at full pumping, the fire truck has mere minutes of capability so every little bit might help save some building assets. Lloyd |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| "In hot, dry areas do grass clippings left on the lawn dry before they decompose? I ask because a lawn full of dry clippings is fire fuel." It's "fuel", but because the clippings are flat and matted on the ground, they are not "ladder fuel" that will lead flames onto your house. Fire will "lay down" when it hits short fuel and creep slowly instead of doing the wall of flame thing. Put screens to prevent flying embers from getting under porches into accumulated duff, or onto the porch itself. Keep your roof clear of dry burnable stuff. Clear out dead branches, brush, piles of leaves and such for as far as you legally can around your house - shred and compost them. Make a barrier of gravel or raked dirt all around your house and fuel tanks. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| I was not talking about fire fuel. I was talking about the grass clipping's ability to kill the grass. What I said was that the lawn would die before the clippings decomposed - hence rake them up if you do not have a mulching mower or use a grass catcher. It had nothing to do with being a fire hazard. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| Lawns have no place in hot, dry areas. They suck up valuable water and do nothing useful for the environment. They are a relic of Victorian days, but England has a very different climate from California. I will never understand the North American fascination for lawns, particularly in areas like the interior West. |
RE: Grass Clippings for Lawn
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| I agree with drhorticulture, which is why I recently removed two areas of lawn and opted for a native garden (fire-safe) and a vegetable garden. I only have one patch of grass left (front lawn) and will get to that later since I can only do so much at one time, but I'd like to continue in lowering my environmental impact along the way, which is why I was seeing if using 'grass clippings' fertilizer was a viable option. As for the 'North American fascination for lawns' I think it's mostly custom. I know from personal experience that it's hard to understand alternatives when everybody is doing the same thing, but hopefully we can look around and see things for what they are as we mature. |
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