Table of Contents
Introduction
Grasscycling is a method of recycling grass you mow or cut from your lawn. It is a safe and environmentally friendly way of taking care of your yard. When you are grasscycling, you let the grass clippings fall to the ground without packing them and disposing of them.
As a homeowner who also cares about the environment, Grasscycling can be a beneficial way to take care of your lawns. The conventional methods of lawn care are diverse, time and energy-consuming. However, Grasscycling is relatively easy and saves you time. Let’s take a look at what Grasscycling is precise.
What does Grasscycling Mean?
The grass from freshly mown lawn has a lot of nutrient and moisture, and it decomposes quickly, which in turn returns all the valuable nutrients to the soil. You can think of Grasscycling is a method in which you recycle nutrient and moisture, which will help your lawn grow as lush as ever.
Grasscycling is a natural way of nourishing your lawn by using the grass clippings from your freshly mowed lawn. The clippings are left to decompose on the lawn, while nutrients that made the grass grow returns to the soil. The process of decomposition is a fast one, and it’s not messy, so you don’t have to worry about the appearance of your lawn.
Benefits of Grasscycling
Grasscycling has a lot of benefits, especially when it comes to the environment. It helps you save on the plastic bags you’ll need to dispose of the grass clippings, you don’t have to take breaks from mowing to empty the mower bags. Grasscycling is becoming increasingly popular as homeowners are starting to embrace it, instead of bagging up the grass and disposing of it.
If you want to grow a lush turf, your soil must be rich, which is why people often use fertilizers. However, there is no need for the use of fertilizers when grasscycling as the decomposing grass acts as a natural fertilizer. Fertilizers are known to pollute the environment by adding dangerous chemicals to the soil and water tables, with Grasscycling no hazardous substances are released as the entire process is entirely natural. When next you mow your lawn, ensure you leave the grass on the turf to return the nutrients to the earth.
Grasscycling reduces waste generated in homes because the number of plastic bags which are not suitable for the environment is significantly reduced. You save time also as you won’t have to stop between cutting the grass and emptying the bags. The fastest way to mow your lawn and add nutrients to the soil for more growth is by Grasscycling.
It also promotes water conservation, mostly when you employ the proper irrigation technique. When grasscycling, it is often best not to overwater, rather wait till the turf begins to show signs of water stress as this will ensure deep and healthy roots.
How to Engage in Grasscycling to Improve Lawn
To get the best from Grasscycling, you need to do certain things. You have to cut your lawn in a way to get the optimum results.
Mowing
The best time to mow your lawn is when it’s dry. It is not advisable to cut the grass after it just rained. Before you start mowing ensure your mower blades are sharp, if the edges are dull they’ll shred the grass instead of neatly cutting, which can lead to disease.
The amount of grass to be cut must not be more than 1/3 of the length, which means you may have to mow your lawn often if your turf grows fast. When properly cut, the grass clippings are not too big as to cover up the grass, which may deprive your lawn of sunlight. If your clippings are more than a third of the grass’ length, it won’t decompose quickly and will be hay-like, which is unattractive.
Watering
You need to water your lawn in the right way, which means do not water too frequently. Frequently watered grass tend to develop short roots and are susceptible to damage. Water your turf in the morning to reduce evaporation, watering in the evening creates an atmosphere that promotes the development of the disease.
The best way to water your lawn is deeply and infrequently, this way the roots grow more in-depth, and it makes the grass healthy and disease resistant. When you overwater your yard, you not only waste water but makes the grass grows faster, which means you’ll have to mow a lot.
Fertilizing
When you want to grow a lawn, you may need to use fertilizers to kick-start growth. Use fast-acting fertilizers and organic fertilizers. Use the fertilizers moderately because overuse will cause fast growth but a weak lawn. Since Grasscycling is an environmentally friendly act, organic fertilizers are the best types of fertilizer to use when starting your lawn.
Type of Mower to Use for Grasscycling
Proper mowing technique will help the grass develop stronger roots so your lawn can survive the drought. You can use a mulching and recycling mower to get the best put of Grasscycling. These types of mowers will cut the grass into little pieces while pressing it into the ground, so it decomposes faster. You can use other types of mowers to make sure it is a good grade. To find the best lawn mower that covers your needs, you can check out this post The best lawn mower
If your lawn isn’t big, these are the best lawn mowers for your small yard. You can also use a push reel mower because it spreads the grass clippings evenly on the law. You know you have done an excellent job when the clippings are not visible on your turf.
Does Grasscycling cause Thatch?
Thatch build-up is one of the concerns people have when growing and caring for their lawns. It is dead grass primarily the stems and roots which are slow to decay. Thatch is unsightly and can prevent water from reaching the growing grass, thereby killing them or stunting their growth.
If you have been considering Grasscycling, but you are afraid of Thatch, the good news is you don’t have to worry about it. The grass clippings are cut from the top of the grass and decompose rapidly; and since Thatch is mostly dead roots and stems, you have nothing to worry about.
Also, you should know that watering your lawn frequently is a factor that contributes to thatching. When you don’t water deeply enough roots near the surface grow too large and not deep enough, thereby choking and killing the younger grass. Check out our lawn mowing beginners guide
It should be noted that not all Thatch is terrible for the lawn, Thatch that’s less than half an inch can provide insulation and prevent evaporation of water.
When to Grasscycle
You can carry out Grasscycling at any time of the year. But you get the most out of Grasscycling when the grass is at the ideal height of four inches. The reason for this is because you must not cut more than a third of the grass length, and if you have longer grass, the clippings won’t decompose fast. The best time for Grasscycling depends on how fast your lawn grows, once the blades of grass average four inches in height you need to mow it.
Please do not cut your grass too low, make sure it’s about three inches in height after mowing. Cutting the grass too close to the soil, exposes it to a lot of sunlight, which will increase the rate of evaporation and deprive the roots enough water. Cutting the grass to a length of three inches ensure that the soil is well protected and that it retains enough water.
There are certain instances where Grasscycling isn’t feasible. In situations where the grass is always wet, resulting from climate or weather, Grasscycling can be impossible. But you can use the grass clippings for composting instead of disposing of it.
Add the clippings to a pile of compost after it dries, and make sure to aerate the compost pile regularly. You can also use the clippings for mulching, however, make sure the clippings don’t contain herbicides.
Conclusion
Grasscycling is an activity you can get into quickly, especially if you are an environmentalist. It saves you time, energy and resources and has no adverse effect on the environment. Grasscycling gives you a system where nutrients are not lost; instead, they are returned to the soil to promote the growth of more grass.
You don’t need any unique technique or equipment to engage in Grasscycling. Your regular mower will do the job. You can read more about Grasscycling here‘.
