Grass Clippings Around Tomatoes to Fertilize

Fertilizer

• Grass clippings contain as much as 3 to 4 percent nitrogen, .5 percent phosphorus and 2.5 to 3.5 percent potassium. Mulching tomatoes with grass clippings may reduce your need for fertilizer, depending on your soil type, but plan on amending the soil with additional fertilizer at planting time and mid-summer as well. Nitrogen fertilizer applied early in the season encourages lush growth and reduces tomato production, so wait to apply grass clippings until after the plants have begun blooming.

Method

• When applying grass clippings to your garden, spread the clippings lightly, adding no more than 2 inches weekly. Adding a small amount of clippings allows them to dry out thoroughly and begin decomposing. If you add a heavy layer, the grass clippings will not decompose, but become soggy and smelly.

Additional Benefits

• Grass clippings not only add nutrients to the soil, but they also reduce weed growth. Grass clippings around tomato plants eventually decompose, working their way back into the soil, where they improve soil texture and drainage, similar to compost or manure.

Recommendations

• Leave grass clippings on the lawn in early summer, where they'll break down and provide nutrients to the grass. Begin mulching tomato plants in mid-to-late June, depending on your climate. Leave 2 to 3 inches between the tomato plants and the grass clippings so water and oxygen can reach the tomatoes. Don't use grass clippings that have been treated that season with herbicides or pesticides. Recently treated grass clippings can cause herbicide damage when spread in the vegetable garden.