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grass clipping mulch
I waited way too long to mow my backyard, and as a result, I have alot
of clippings... can these be used to mulch around my tomatos and peppers, cuces, etc?? or am I asking for disaster? I guess the clippings would provide good organic matter when they get tilled under, but will they let enough water past into the soil?? will there be any other problems I need to look out for?? thanks for the input!! email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well! |
grass clipping mulch
Dave Allyn wrote:
I waited way too long to mow my backyard, and as a result, I have alot of clippings... If you leave them laying on your lawn you'll have a lot of little dead spots. If you have a riding lawn mower you can just run over them again and chop them up to nearly nothing if they're not to wet or too dry. On a hot, dry day only takes about 15 miniutes for them dry out enough to be mulched real easy, doesn't take long. Too much work for a push mower tho :o/ |
grass clipping mulch
I use clippings green, but don't pile them too thick. Maybe 2" or
less while fluffy. They'll get thinner as they dry and mat down. I've never had any problems. Regards, Dianna _______________________________________________ To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address. |
grass clipping mulch
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grass clipping mulch
I waited way too long to mow my backyard, and as a result, I have alot of clippings... can these be used to mulch around my tomatos and peppers, cuces, etc?? or am I asking for disaster? I guess the clippings would provide good organic matter when they get tilled under, but will they let enough water past into the soil?? will there be any other problems I need to look out for?? thanks for the input!! Yes grass clipping make excellent mulch for vegetables. As long as you only put them a couple of inches deep, you should have no problems with water penetration. I use leaves rather than grass clippings on tomatoes, in something of an attempt to hold down foliar diseases, but the clippings are better than bare soil. |
grass clipping mulch
writes:
I waited way too long to mow my backyard, and as a result, I have alot of clippings... can these be used to mulch around my tomatos and peppers, cuces, etc?? or am I asking for disaster? I guess the clippings would provide good organic matter when they get tilled under, but will they let enough water past into the soil?? will there be any other problems I need to look out for?? thanks for the input!! My tomatoes, etc., have been fantastic, and I attribute it partially to the grass clipping mulch placed at planting and for a while after. The grass clippings keep the soil warm while decomposing so you have the advantage of warm soil as well as moisture retention. The added bonus is weed control; by the time the surround soil warms enough for the weed seeds to grow, the tomato plant has reached a height that it shades the area which discourages weed growth. With a good supply of grass clippings around the veggie plants, the plants grow better and weed growth is at a minimum . . . works for me, your mileage may vary. Never use any clippings from treated areas. Do keep an inch or two around the stem free of mulch as a precaution against mold or other nasty things; I've not had a problem with it, but some climates might have. In addition to the grass clipping mulch, all of my watering (sans rain) is done as surface watering (soaker system or drip lines) . . . and an ample supply of water, always a good soaking never light watering. Since none of my garden receives more than 50 percent sun (surrounding trees), my conclusion for my own garden has been the water is more important than the sun, not something someone growing up in eastern Washington on a farm would have thought. Last year's web page is still on line but not updated after July; www.pacifier.com/~glenna (the tomato plants speak for themselves). Enjoy your garden and do what "feels right" to you. I don't follow any "rules" or I might have a real garden g. So far, I've not had any problems with insects or birds . . . I feed the birds and so do the insects. :-) Also important, an always full bird bath is beside the garden so the birds never go to the tomatoes, etc., as they have plenty of water available. Of course, all is subject to change during any year, but so far my ignorance has served my garden well. Glenna who mows for mulch (in shorter supply each year as the garden expands) |
grass clipping mulch
(Glenna Rose) writes:
My tomatoes, etc., have been fantastic, and I attribute it partially to the grass clipping mulch placed at planting and for a while after. The grass clippings keep the soil warm while decomposing so you have the advantage of warm soil as well as moisture retention. I think people worry too much about the water-shedding qualities of thick mulch. Yes, in a hard rain, the water won't all soak though. But the mulch also prevents evaporation, so it's hard to say which effect is stronger. I know that I've never pulled back several inches of compacted grass clippings and found dry soil underneath. It's always moist or even muddy. The added bonus is weed control; by the time the surround soil warms enough for the weed seeds to grow, the tomato plant has reached a height that it shades the area which discourages weed growth. With a good supply of grass clippings around the veggie plants, the plants grow better and weed growth is at a minimum . . . works for me, your mileage may vary. All good reasons. My goal is to have my entire garden mulched this year, and a couple more lawn-mowings should do it. I've also got straw which I'm going to spread on top of the grass mulch around vining plants like tomatoes and melons, to keep their fruit dry. -- Aaron |
grass clipping mulch
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grass clipping mulch
On 25 May 2003 06:30:28 -0500, Aaron Baugher
wrote: I think people worry too much about the water-shedding qualities of thick mulch. Yes, in a hard rain, the water won't all soak though. But the mulch also prevents evaporation, so it's hard to say which effect is stronger. I know that I've never pulled back several inches of compacted grass clippings and found dry soil underneath. It's always moist or even muddy. I've been using grass clippings for mulch for several years now with good success. I leave the grass clippings in a heap for a few weeks before using them. I have a good size lawn area to mow, and always have two or three grass heaps on the go. When planting potatoes in my main garden area, I plant them quite shallow and then put a good layer of clippings over the bed. As the plants grow I shovel more clipping around the plant. I also grow potatoes around the base of some of my fruit trees. With these I don't plant them in the soil but just lay them on top. I then shovel a good layer of lawn clipping mulch over the potatoes. With these also, as the plants grow I shovel on more mulch. Harvesting the potatoes around the fruit trees is easy as there's no heavy digging. After harvesting the potatoes around the fruit trees, I take away about half the well broken down mulch to dig into a garden bed. I then lay some more seed potatoes on the remaining decomposed clippings and cover with more fresh mulch. Trevor |
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