Free lawn fertilizer? You bet! The best lawn fertilizer is right outside your door and it's FREE.
Grass clippings from your weekly mowing are the best thing for your lawn. Using a ruler or tape measure, check the height of your grass. Just place the end of the measure down on the soil. Now this works best when you mow frequently and mow one third (1/3) of the height of your grass; so if your grass is three inches tall, set your blade to mow one inch of growth. To figure the amount to cut, use your trusty calculator and divide the height of your grass by three then round off the inches.
Next, remove your grass catcher from your lawn mower and allow the clippings to drop down on the lawn. A mulching mower blade is best and can be purchased for your lawn mower, but a regular blade will work fine if you don't allow the grass to get too tall. The best height after mowing is between one and one and a half (1- 1.5) inches for Common Bermuda, one and a half to two (1.5 - 2) for centipede, and between two and two and a half (2 - 2.5) inches for St. Augustine.
Here's how it works. The clippings drop down between the blades of grass to cover the soil and keep it moist. This reduces the amount of water loss to evaporation; hence, less frequent watering is needed. Then the moist clippings begin the process of decomposing. The decomposition of clippings provides free, natural nutrients to fertilize your lawn. By the end of the season, you should have a thick, lush green lawn.
The added benefits are numerous. You don't have to bother with filling bags full of clippings, and then haul the bags to the curb. There's less refuse going into our dwindling land fills. You'll use less water; thereby reducing your water bill and conserving our most precious resource. Your beautiful, thick lawn will crowd out those pesky weeds. And finally, you'll be the envy of the neighborhood with the greenest lawn on the block.
Sam Blankenship, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
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