Many people around the world cut their grass, and either leave the clippings right wherethe lawnmower spits them out, or toss them into the yard waste bin. While those are perfectly fine ways to dispose of them, there are several beneficial uses for grass clippings around the homestead.
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been taught to make the best with what you’ve got, and that philosophy seems to apply pretty well to grass clippings, too. I’ve personally used grass clippings in all sorts of ways including the nine uses below. So without further ado, I’ll get right to my favorite uses for grass clippings.
Compost Additive
无论你是有一个菜园还是花圃,堆肥箱里的草屑都有很多用途。草地堆肥只是躺在地上(帮助喂草坪),但如果你打算把它用作花园床,你必须把它收集起来,扔进堆肥箱。
一个合适的堆肥需要绿色和棕色物质,所以新割的草需要混合一些棕色物质。干树叶和干草效果很好。如果你在将剪下的草放入堆肥堆之前让它们晾干,就没有理由担心添加任何额外的棕色或干燥的材料。
在混合绿草的时候,一定要把你的草堆翻过来,因为它会垫起来,弄得一团糟。此外,确保你保存的草地上没有除草剂。
Liquid Fertilizer
Fresh grass clippings are high in nitrogen and potassium which is great for making fertilizer or compost tea. All you have to do is gather your fresh grass clippings, toss them into a 5-gallon bucket about two-thirds of the way full, add water, and let them steep for three days.
Related Post:How to Make Compost Tea
Make sure to stir the liquid fertilizer at least once a day until it’s ready. Liquid fertilizer is rather fast-acting. It works wonders for newly transplanted plants as well as blossoming or fruiting plants.
Don’t get carried away, though. You only need to add the liquid fertilizer about once every two weeks or when your plants need a little boost. Too much of a good thing can go bad.
Worm Bin Bedding
Fresh green grass clippings contain a healthy dose of nitrogen which is a good source of food for worms. Again, you don’t want to add too much. Just sprinkle the green clippings into your bin, and make sure they’re spread out to avoid clumping.
Related Post:Worm Bin Essentials: Getting Started with Vermiculture
When using grass clippings for worm bin bedding, set it aside in a sunny spot and let it dry out and turn brown. Brown grass clippings are an excellent source of carbon for the soil where the worms live, but as mentioned above, be sure there are no herbicides on the grass you’re using for your worms.
Animal Bedding
我们在我们的宅地上养了一些漂亮的兔子,但是当你有不止两只兔子的时候,床上用品就会变得很贵。我的兔子喜欢我们把剪下来的草屑当作它们的床上用品,因为它们可以一边吃草一边在上面打盹。
We gather all the grass that’s free of weeds or other plants and set it to dry completely. Once it’s dry, we swap out the old grass bedding and replace it with the new grass.
One cool thing is that the old bedding we remove from their bunny houses goes into a compost pile so it is really a beautiful circle. And as always, make sure there are no harmful plants or chemicals in the mix.
I also use dry grass clippings for my dog. In the cooler months, I take the dry clippings and make a little burrow or nest in the dog house for her to sleep in — and she loves it. Grass clippings are good bedding for most livestock.
Animal Feed
Our rabbits really enjoy nibbling on their grass bedding. The fresh and dry grass clippings both work as feed for our rabbits (though it’s not the only food they eat). Goats seem to really love it, too. And (one more time), make sure there are no harmful plants or chemicals in or on the clippings you intend to use for feed.
Natural Dye
Grass stains can be a struggle to get out of clothing or material which means the clippings work well as a natural green dye. So you can usefresh lawn clippings to dye fabrics! The color that’s normally produced is yellow-green. Before soaking your fabric in the grass clippings dye liquid, it must be soaked in a fixative for an hour in order for the color to set into the fabric.
Related Post:How To Dye Fabric Naturally
To create natural grass clipping dye, all you have to do is collect fresh lawn clippings, add them to a pot, add water (about twice the amount of the grass), bring it to a boil, simmer for an hour or so, and strain. Add your fabric right into the pot of green grass dye.
如果你想要深色的,让织物浸泡一夜。Here are somestep-by-step instructionsfor the dying project. There are different methods, so simply find one that suits you well and go for it.
Paper-Making Projects
In school, we did a paper-making project with natural materials that I thought was pretty neat. You can use grass clippings and all sorts of plants to make paper. The video shows you exactly how to do it, but if you plan on doing this one with the littles, be aware there are some chemicals involved such as sodium hydroxide lye. Lye is poisonous and corrosive so make sure to wear gloves and take safety precautions.
You’ll need a large pot, metal stirring spoon, the sodium hydroxide lye, napkins, a blender, water, grass clippings, and a plastic tub, and a paper-making press.
Mulch
Grass makes an incredible mulch for both floral and edible gardens. Grass mulch can cool the root system, hold in moisture during dry spells, help reduce weeds, and provide much-needed nutrients.
When using fresh grass clippings, you need to layer 1/4 inch of material around your plants. This allows the grass to break down more easily and keeps the plants from having too much moisture. Excess moisture can cause root rot and mold. Dry clippings, on the other hand, can be layered much thicker.
Weed Barrier
I remember a trick my grandparents used when I was little. They raked all of their grass clippings over to the places they didn’t want any weeds or new grass to grow because they had plans for the area next season.
They had a nice little pile of clippings and no issues with any weeds or new grass. I tried it myself around the edges of my gardens to keep down the grass and weeds for a future bed and it worked wonders. I later removed the grassy weed barrier and added it to the compost pile.
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There are several other uses for grass clippings (and probably some I have never even heard of) but I wanted to share my favorite personal uses for grass clippings around my little homestead.
你有没有试过这些用途?你吃过这单子上没有的吗?我们很乐意听到你的声音,所以请在评论中给我们留言。快乐的家庭!
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