Short grass clippings may be left on the lawn area to serve as mulch. In this manner, the nutrient supply and quality of the soil is improved. Leave longer stalks of grass to dry, and then sweep them up from the lawn to be spread under shrubs, hedges and trees as a layer of mulch which are three to five centimetres in thickness.
However, grass clippings may also be composted. To this end, it is best to first leave the clippings to dry for a while. So that the grass clippings do not rot and stink on the compost heap, they should be placed on the heap in layers which are no higher than 10 cm. Other dry forms of garden waste such as straw or dry leaves should form the layers in between. Whether in layers or directly mixed in prior to composting: It is important that the grass clippings are mixed with dry compost material, gardening soil or fresh compost in order to ensure the ideal decay of the composted material.
In order to achieve ideal results when mulching, mow the lawn more frequently and only a little so that the short straws slip through the blades of grass onto the soil and thus decay quickly.