Grasscycling: Feed Your Landscape - Not the Landfill 

Minnesota's landfills are filling up and closing at an alarming rate, and citizens everywhere are recycling to help them last longer. 

Grasscycling, the natural recycling of grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn when mowing instead of bagging them, is proving to be a simple and effective way to save landfill capacity while saving you time, work and money in the landscape. 

Grasscycling Saves Time

On an average size lawn, leaving the clippings on the lawn will save 35 minutes  per mowing. After six months of grasscycling, will  have saved an average of seven hours of yard work. 

Grasscycling Does Not Cause Thatch

In the early 1960s, it was commonly believed that grass clippings were a major part of thatch and that removing clippings would slow thatch development. However, research later determined that thatch buildup is caused by grass stems, shoots and roots. The clippings are made up of mostly water and rapidly decompose and valuable nutrients are released into the soil. 

Proper Mowing

Proper mowing is the key to successful grasscycling. This includes cutting the grass at the recommended height, maintaining a sharp mower blade, mowing when the grass is dry, and mowing often enough to remove no more than one-third of the plant height.  This generally requires mowing every five days instead of every seven days. If the grass becomes too tall between mowings, raise the cutting height for the first mowing and then gradually lower it with later mowings until the proper height is reached. During stress periods, such as summer drought, raise the cutting height but continue mowing often enough to avoid excess leaf removal. 

All mowers can grasscycle and no special equipment is needed. However, many manufacturers sell mower attachments that chop clippings into smaller pieces and improve a mower's grasscycling performance.