Gardening Tips & Tricks

Grow more, grow better, save time, and reduce the use of chemicals.

1. Why Use Grass Clippings as Mulch?

After mowing the lawn, I use grass clippings as an organic mulch around my plants. Hay works too. The key is to spread it in a thick layer—at least 2–3 inches. The thicker, the better.

Benefits of grass clipping mulch:

• Weed control: Most weeds die under the mulch. Any that manage to poke through are weak and easy to pull.

• Water retention: Mulch keeps soil moist by reducing evaporation, helping plants survive even on hot days.

• Natural fertilizer: As clippings decompose, they feed your plants with organic matter and encourage healthy soil microbes.

• Cleaner harvest: Fruits and vegetables like strawberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes stay clean since they don’t touch bare soil.

• Comfortable pathways: Spread between rows, clippings act like a soft carpet, letting you harvest even on muddy days without dirty shoes.

• Long-term soil health: Returning organic matter year after year enriches the soil naturally, boosting harvests without chemicals.

• Free and abundant: Grass clippings are often discarded. You can even collect them curbside on garbage day—neighbors bag them for you!

2. Why Avoid Commercial Mulch Products?

Most store-bought mulch comes from wood industry byproducts—bark chips, sawdust, and wood shavings—often dyed and bagged in plastic.

Drawbacks of commercial mulch:

• Costly: You’ll hesitate to use it freely in large amounts. Grass clippings are free.

• Not safe for vegetables: Commercial mulch may contain dyes, glues, or chemicals. For example, dill plants have been observed turning purple when grown near dyed mulch. Be mindful of what ends up in your food.

• Slow to decompose: Wood chips can linger in the soil for years without breaking down into nutrients. Grass clippings, on the other hand, turn into rich soil by the next season.

3. How to Control Unwanted Plants (Without Roundup)

I avoid using Roundup. Instead, I rely on a simple homemade weed spray that works well with repeated use.

Homemade weed solution:

• 1 gallon vinegar (5–10%)

• 200 g salt

• ½ bottle dish soap
  Mix well and spray generously on weed leaves during a hot, sunny day.

How it works (vs. Roundup):

• Contact only: Vinegar burns leaves but doesn’t kill roots. Roundup spreads through the whole plant, killing it from inside.

• Persistence needed: Spray again if you see regrowth—eventually the roots die when no leaves remain.

• Safer for nearby plants: If vinegar touches part of a “good” plant, that branch may die but the plant usually survives. With Roundup, even a drop can kill the entire plant.

• Stronger mix = more caution: Adding more salt makes the solution more potent, but too much vinegar or salt can change your soil’s pH. If needed, you can balance it later with amendments like limestone.