Solana Center Composter Newsletter

As the summer approaches and San Diego's stage of drought continues, many people wonder how to keep their lawn thriving during the hot summer months while using less water as well. Although planting natives that require very little water would be ideal, we understand the lawn is often considered a staple for a home owner and usually a hallowed play place for children. Here are a few ideas to make your lawn green while also being green:

Water during the early mornings so the ground has a chance to absorb the water before the sun evaporates it.
Mow your lawn at higher lengths, providing more shade to the ground resulting in less water evaporation and a deeper root system.
Aerate your lawn for deeper water penetration.
Plant grass that is drought tolerant and appropriate for the San Diego climate. Visit the

Water Conservation Garden

at Cuyamaca College to see their "Turf Exhibit."
Don't fertilize! Less nitrogen available for your lawn means that it will not be able to grow as much so less water will be necessary. Also, fertilizing before watering is a no-no! This causes the fertilizer to runoff the lawn into our storm drain system, polluting our waterways and ocean!
GRASSCYCLE!

What is Grasscycling? It is basically mowing your lawn and leaving the clippings on the lawn to decompose. The grass clippings will decompose quickly, leaving behind valuable nutrients in the soil.

Why grasscycle?It can save time, money, and is good for the environment. When you grasscycle, you don't have to spend the time emptying and bagging your grass clippings and there is no need for fertilizer because the grass clippings add that themselves. The extra organic matter that the clippings add to the soil also helps the soil retain water, reducing water usage. To add to this, 6.5 tons of grass clippings are generated per acre each year. A majority of this gets put into the landfill where it creates methane gas. Adding clippings back into the lawn allows these nutrients back into our urban landscape.

How to grasscycle:Make sure your mower blade is sharp (so the grass isn't being shredded) and ensure the surface is dry. CalRecycle suggests following the "1/3 rule: mow the lawn often enough so that no more than 1/3 of the length of the grass blade is removed in any one mowing. Proper mowing will produce short clippings that will not cover up the grass surface." Not sure if you should mow or let it grow? Here's a great chart provided by CalRecycle:

Mow Heights
Grass Type	Mower Setting (inches)	Mow when grass is: (inches)
Bentgrass	½ - 1	¾ - 1 ½
Bermudagrass (common)	1 - 1 ½	1 ½ - 2 ¼
Bermudagrass (hybrid)	½ - 1	¾ - 1 ½
Kentucky Bluegrass	1 ½ - 2 ½	2 ¼ - 3 ¾
Kikuyugrass	1 - 1 ½	1 ½ - 2 ¼
Perennial Ryegrass	1 ½ - 2 ½	2 ¼ - 3 ¾
Tall Fescue	1 ½ - 3	2 ¼ - 4 ½
St. Augustine	1 - 2	1 ½ - 3
Zoysia	½ - 1 ½	¾ - 2 ¼

COMPOST that grass! Grass is very high in nitrogen and is an ideal addition to the compost pile. When adding grass to your compost pile, make sure to spread it throughout the pile to avoid clumping. When grass clumps, oxygen is excluded from the decomposition process, resulting in unpleasant smells. Once your compost is completed, rake about ¼" of compost throughout your lawn for very healthy (and green) grass!

For more information, please consider visiting these websites:
CalRecycle Grasscycling Website
All About Lawns