Hi, Does anyone have any good ideas on getting rid of all of my grass cuttings? I have a large garden on which I have to use a tractor mower, so I create quite a lot! I already have three huge compost heaps and I don't want a fourth. I'v tried burning them but they just smolder for days, and I don't want to upset the neighbours (especialy as I have only lived here for just over a month) Please let me have any of your ideas.
Thanks, Owen

"Owen" wrote in message
...

Hi, Does anyone have any good ideas on getting rid of all of my
grass
cuttings? I have a large garden on which I have to use a tractor
mower,
so I create quite a lot! I already have three huge compost heaps
and I
don't want a fourth. I'v tried burning them but they just smolder
for
days, and I don't want to upset the neighbours (especialy as I
have
only lived here for just over a month) Please let me have any of
your
ideas.
Thanks, Owen


I'd just make a huge pile in the back of your lot and leave them.
Don't make a working compost pile, just let them compost naturally.
Will take a while, but someday there will be decent compost. Just
don't toss the clippings.
Bob-tx

Bob said:

someday there will be decent compost

Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

--

Eggs

-A jumper cable walks into a bar. The barman says "I'll serve you, but
don't start anything."

"Owen" wrote in message
...

Hi, Does anyone have any good ideas on getting rid of all of my grass
cuttings? I have a large garden on which I have to use a tractor mower,
so I create quite a lot! I already have three huge compost heaps and I
don't want a fourth. I'v tried burning them but they just smolder for
days, and I don't want to upset the neighbours (especialy as I have
only lived here for just over a month) Please let me have any of your
ideas.
Thanks, Owen

mulch. A garden that is fallow, around trees, under hedges etc etc. Just
keep away from stems & trunks of plants that are growing.

Even better, if the grass is cut fine & evenly distributed leave it on the
lawn. A few days of fine weather will see it dry & get incorporated back
into the soil as fertiliser.

rob

on 8/26/2007 6:07 AM Eggs Zachtly said the following:
Bob said:


someday there will be decent compost


Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

I have a decent compost heap from just mowing grass, weeds, dead leaves,
and whatever other vegetation is laying on the lawn. No kitchen scraps
or anything else, except lime. It's been producing compost for 22 years.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

willshak said:

on 8/26/2007 6:07 AM Eggs Zachtly said the following:
Bob said:


someday there will be decent compost


Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

I have a decent compost heap from just mowing grass, weeds, dead leaves,
and whatever other vegetation is laying on the lawn. No kitchen scraps
or anything else, except lime. It's been producing compost for 22 years.

Which proves my point. You don't have /just/ grass clippings.

--

Eggs

-It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.

Owen wrote:
Hi, Does anyone have any good ideas on getting rid of all of my grass
cuttings? I have a large garden on which I have to use a tractor mower,
so I create quite a lot! I already have three huge compost heaps and I
don't want a fourth. I'v tried burning them but they just smolder for
days, and I don't want to upset the neighbours (especialy as I have
only lived here for just over a month) Please let me have any of your
ideas.
Thanks, Owen






Get a mulching mower and let the clippings melt back into the lawn.

Just curious. What happens to piles of grass clippings if left alone to
decay without aids? Am assuming you're speaking of St.Augustine. What
about Bermuda or fescue? Are you imagining all blowing away in the wind,
turning to fairy dust or what? Or just non-specifically negative without
explanation?

Are there any common vegetation, added to grass clippings, that won't aid
its decomposition to compost?
Dave

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
Bob said:

someday there will be decent compost

Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

--

Eggs

-A jumper cable walks into a bar. The barman says "I'll serve you, but
don't start anything."

Dave wrote:
Just curious. What happens to piles of grass clippings if left alone to
decay without aids? Am assuming you're speaking of St.Augustine. What
about Bermuda or fescue? Are you imagining all blowing away in the wind,
turning to fairy dust or what? Or just non-specifically negative without
explanation?

Are there any common vegetation, added to grass clippings, that won't aid
its decomposition to compost?
Dave

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
Bob said:

someday there will be decent compost
Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

--

Eggs

-A jumper cable walks into a bar. The barman says "I'll serve you, but
don't start anything."


All I know is I left a good pile on the ground and in a couple of weeks
it had a really bad ammonia smell. I turned it and it was moldy inside.
Finally just loaded it up and took it to the local compost facility.
There they mix it with other plant material, ie leaves, plant stems and
other organic material. they also have a big machine that turns and
chops it every so often. Turns into a great organic mulch, though I
usually sift it before I use it.

[top-posting fixed]

Dave said:

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
Bob said:

someday there will be decent compost

Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

Just curious. What happens to piles of grass clippings if left alone to
decay without aids? Am assuming you're speaking of St.Augustine. What
about Bermuda or fescue? Are you imagining all blowing away in the wind,
turning to fairy dust or what? Or just non-specifically negative without
explanation?

You need more than /just/ grass clippings, in order to make a quality
compost. That's what I'm saying, Dave. Don't you understand that? Grass
clippings are nitrogen-rich, but you also need brown matter (carbon-rich)
in there, too (chopped leaves, etc). A good mix would be 25 parts brown to
1 part green (roughly, by weight). The green materials provide protein for
the microbes, the brown materials provide energy for them.


Are there any common vegetation, added to grass clippings, that won't aid
its decomposition to compost?

I avoid pine needles, which can raise the acidity, or at least make it hard
to control. I also avoid weed roots and seedheads.

--

Eggs

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
willshak said:

on 8/26/2007 6:07 AM Eggs Zachtly said the following:
Bob said:


someday there will be decent compost


Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

I have a decent compost heap from just mowing grass, weeds, dead leaves,
and whatever other vegetation is laying on the lawn. No kitchen scraps
or anything else, except lime. It's been producing compost for 22 years.

Which proves my point. You don't have /just/ grass clippings.

My compost pile is 95% or more grass, and composts fine. I spread the clippings
evenly over the pile a few inches deep, and sprinkle a bit of dirt over it to
innoculate the compost layer with the necessary bacteria. This avoid smelly
compost and uncomposted lumps within the pile, since I don't turn it. I let it
pile up until the bin is full, gradually emptying the other bin. When the second
bin is empty, and the first is full, I start filling the other bin. When I want
compost from the first bin, I shovel the uncomposted layer from the top onto the
other bin, and thereby access fully composted grass.

You said you want 25 parts brown to one part green? My mix is much closer to 25
parts green to one part brown. It composts fine, and keeps my garden going good.

Bob

i use a mulching mower and i let it decompose back into the lawn and
it works wonders, especially since using Bahia grass the seeds are
well dispersed when you do that. I took my yard from looking like
complete crap when i moved in (barely could call it grass, tons of
patchy areas, uneven across the yard) to looking decently nice in a
month just by using a mulching lawn mower and letting the seeds and
dead grass feed the lawn. I also don't water the lawn, and it looks
great.

On Aug 28, 7:14 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message

...



willshak said:

on 8/26/2007 6:07 AM Eggs Zachtly said the following:
Bob said:

someday there will be decent compost

Not from only grass clippings, there won't.

I have a decent compost heap from just mowing grass, weeds, dead leaves,
and whatever other vegetation is laying on the lawn. No kitchen scraps
or anything else, except lime. It's been producing compost for 22 years.

Which proves my point. You don't have /just/ grass clippings.

My compost pile is 95% or more grass, and composts fine. I spread the clippings
evenly over the pile a few inches deep, and sprinkle a bit of dirt over it to
innoculate the compost layer with the necessary bacteria. This avoid smelly
compost and uncomposted lumps within the pile, since I don't turn it. I let it
pile up until the bin is full, gradually emptying the other bin. When the second
bin is empty, and the first is full, I start filling the other bin. When I want
compost from the first bin, I shovel the uncomposted layer from the top onto the
other bin, and thereby access fully composted grass.

You said you want 25 parts brown to one part green? My mix is much closer to 25
parts green to one part brown. It composts fine, and keeps my garden going good.

Bob