il Mon, 19 Apr 2004 20:45:39 -0400, Fred Theilig ha scritto:

Grass clippings will remove a lot of the nitrogen from the soil to
help it break down. Sounds like if it's in bags you may be making
silage...


Are you sure of that? My understanding (and experience) is that grass
clippings will add nitrogen to
the soil. I used fresh clippings on tomatoes many years ago and I had
giant plants with few fruit.
Also, they matted down a lot and I had trouble with blossom end rot.

To break down they need the nitrogen, but once it's broken down I
guess it's back. Blossom end rot seems to be due to an inconsistency
of moisture. If mulch prevents water actually reaching the soil, then
it's a problem I guess. Even loose soil on top can be a mulch by
breaking the capillary action.
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]