Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area
probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to covehithe ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible Miles too much. It will just get hot and smell terrible. You can leave the grass in the open and it will dry out, you can burn it then (if you must). The best way to get rid of grass cuttings is to mow often (don't let it get too long) and leave it on the lawn. I know this works, but I bet loads of people argue! It's also quicker in the long run because you take the grass box off. I've done this for years with no ill-effects and it also stops the lawn "burning" when it's freshly cut. rubbish, it is not too much at all to use in a compost bin. I get near that from a regular mow in growing season. You are spot on about it going putrid if left however. This simply means the composter needs to mix carbon in sufficient quantities with the grass clippings in the form of leaves, shredded paper, hay, straw or saw dust. I mixed a load of saw dust in with a weekend mow of 4+ bags worth of grass. rob |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
Uncle Marvo wrote:
In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to covehithe ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible Miles too much. It will just get hot and smell terrible. You can leave the grass in the open and it will dry out, you can burn it then (if you must). The best way to get rid of grass cuttings is to mow often (don't let it get too long) and leave it on the lawn. I know this works, but I bet loads of people argue! It's also quicker in the long run because you take the grass box off. I've done this for years with no ill-effects and it also stops the lawn "burning" when it's freshly cut. rubbish, it is not too much at all to use in a compost bin. I get near that from a regular mow in growing season. You are spot on about it going putrid if left however. This simply means the composter needs to mix carbon in sufficient quantities with the grass clippings in the form of leaves, shredded paper, hay, straw or saw dust. I mixed a load of saw dust in with a weekend mow of 4+ bags worth of grass. It IS too much to use, without the balance. If you have access to sawdust then all well and good. I don't, nor leaves, shredded paper, hay or straw. So, you see, it's not rubbish, but then again I did say someone would argue. Ah well, the diversity of answers ... Kill 2 birds with one stone. Buy a good paper shredder, shred all your confidential documents and any other paper, then use the shreddings to mix with the grass. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
"Broadback" wrote
Buy a good paper shredder, shred all your confidential documents and any other paper, then use the shreddings to mix with the grass. Just don't do what I did and shred your original birth certificate a few days before you urgently need a new passport! |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
covehithe writes
My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible Should be OK. Put it in layers of 6inches, with something else in between - the something else can include paper and cardboard, ideally shredded, crumpled or torn up, but even flat it will compost eventually. Use two of your bins for filling, one for using - this spreads the grass load. When you have emptied the bin you are using, take all the unrotted stuff from the oldest of the other two bins and heave it into the empty bin so once again you have two filling and one for use. -- Kay |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:39:34 +0100, Jane wrote
(in article ): "Broadback" wrote Buy a good paper shredder, shred all your confidential documents and any other paper, then use the shreddings to mix with the grass. Just don't do what I did and shred your original birth certificate a few days before you urgently need a new passport! Reminds me of many years ago when someone went into a neighbouring office to take a copy of something, waited patiently and eventually asked where the copy came out. You've guessed it - he'd fed his document into the shredder instead of the copier. Was his face red! -- Sally in Shropshire, UK bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk Burne-Jones/William Morris window in Shropshire church: http://www.whitton-stmarys.org.uk |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
Uncle Marvo wrote: In reply to covehithe ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. I'd go for 1.5m square at the minimum for that volume of grass. YMMV Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible Miles too much. It will just get hot and smell terrible. Only if you allow it to get anaerobic and slimy wet. My compost heap is 2m square and gets about 1 cu m of grassclippings on it every week throughout the growing season. It gets extremely hot for a few days and then collapses into nothing. It will destroy hedge clippings in short order, but works perfectly well with or without "balancing" N & C content. A hot heap works much quicker. My instinct is that provided you keep the heap moist enough but not soggy and don't compress it to an anaerobic sludge it is OK to add huge amounts of grass at a time. If you can mix in hedge clippings then so much the better but it isn't essential. There is a stale smell of short chain fatty acids in the early hot phase so you don't want it near the house, but it should never small terrible. I have trouble keeping it wet enough in summer to run fast. And for a smallish compost heap it makes sense to use a starter culture like the proprietory Garotta to give the heap some encouragement. You can leave the grass in the open and it will dry out, you can burn it then (if you must). The best way to get rid of grass cuttings is to mow often (don't let it get too long) and leave it on the lawn. I know this works, but I bet loads of people argue! You can, but the fine grass clippings tread everywhere. Regards, Martin Brown |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to covehithe ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : My mother has moved house and has a fairly large garden ( grass area probably at least tennis court size). I have made her 3 wood compost bins 1 metre square. Question? I get 5-6 containers full of clippings from the mower, is this too much to put in compost bin as balance of compost material from kitchen & garden is much less. I am hoping to utilise the clippings without having to take them to council waste site, if possible Miles too much. It will just get hot and smell terrible. You can leave the grass in the open and it will dry out, you can burn it then (if you must). The best way to get rid of grass cuttings is to mow often (don't let it get too long) and leave it on the lawn. I know this works, but I bet loads of people argue! It's also quicker in the long run because you take the grass box off. I've done this for years with no ill-effects and it also stops the lawn "burning" when it's freshly cut. rubbish, it is not too much at all to use in a compost bin. I get near that from a regular mow in growing season. You are spot on about it going putrid if left however. This simply means the composter needs to mix carbon in sufficient quantities with the grass clippings in the form of leaves, shredded paper, hay, straw or saw dust. I mixed a load of saw dust in with a weekend mow of 4+ bags worth of grass. It IS too much to use, without the balance. If you have access to sawdust then all well and good. I don't, nor leaves, shredded paper, hay or straw. So, you see, it's not rubbish, but then again I did say someone would argue. Ah well, the diversity of answers ... rubbish, to some, a good source of organic compost for others. Yes, I agree with you that it is too much without the balance. You are thr carbon, I am the nitrogen. Leaves or paper or saw dust shouldn't be too hard to scrounge in most places. Neighbours have trees in abundance round here and I can get acres of paper from work. I enjoy a good tongue in cheek argument. rob |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say : [snip] rubbish, to some, a good source of organic compost for others. Yes, I agree with you that it is too much without the balance. You are thr carbon, I am the nitrogen. Leaves or paper or saw dust shouldn't be too hard to scrounge in most places. Neighbours have trees in abundance round here and I can get acres of paper from work. I enjoy a good tongue in cheek argument. Any leaves, paper or sawdust I can scrounge go on the fire. We used to do paper but, as I am the IT manager [giggles] the office is now paperless so far as I can make it so. I gave up newspapers when I discovered that the Su Doku is reproduced the day after on The Times website, so I have a total of one A4 sheet per day. And that doubles as a shopping list, notepad, and fuel. You can't beat a good argument though. What does the panel think about leaving cuttings (short) on the lawn? It's usually very much one way or the other. |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : [snip] rubbish, to some, a good source of organic compost for others. Yes, I agree with you that it is too much without the balance. You are thr carbon, I am the nitrogen. Leaves or paper or saw dust shouldn't be too hard to scrounge in most places. Neighbours have trees in abundance round here and I can get acres of paper from work. I enjoy a good tongue in cheek argument. Any leaves, paper or sawdust I can scrounge go on the fire. We used to do paper but, as I am the IT manager [giggles] the office is now paperless so far as I can make it so. I gave up newspapers when I discovered that the Su Doku is reproduced the day after on The Times website, so I have a total of one A4 sheet per day. And that doubles as a shopping list, notepad, and fuel. You can't beat a good argument though. What does the panel think about leaving cuttings (short) on the lawn? It's usually very much one way or the other. You must be very cold. Hopefully the guy with the grass isn't as cold and can get some carbon. I lifted a sack from a local tree miller yesterday, all free and untreated, he was happy to get rid of it, went in with my grass today. Lets argue, as long as you don't call me a red nosed **** like you did to the clown. rob |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
Uncle Marvo writes
What does the panel think about leaving cuttings (short) on the lawn? It's usually very much one way or the other. Hardly the "panel" - but we're thrilled with our mulching mower. We also have a regular one to collect clippings early in the Spring, with the leaves in Autumn, and when things get out of hand (often!), but normally the clippings are chopped the size of dust and just disappear - and the grass looks healthy. The best thing: mowing takes literally half the time and is infinitely easier without having to empty the heavy bag! -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : [snip] rubbish, to some, a good source of organic compost for others. Yes, I agree with you that it is too much without the balance. You are thr carbon, I am the nitrogen. Leaves or paper or saw dust shouldn't be too hard to scrounge in most places. Neighbours have trees in abundance round here and I can get acres of paper from work. I enjoy a good tongue in cheek argument. Any leaves, paper or sawdust I can scrounge go on the fire. We used to do paper but, as I am the IT manager [giggles] the office is now paperless so far as I can make it so. I gave up newspapers when I discovered that the Su Doku is reproduced the day after on The Times website, so I have a total of one A4 sheet per day. And that doubles as a shopping list, notepad, and fuel. You can't beat a good argument though. What does the panel think about leaving cuttings (short) on the lawn? It's usually very much one way or the other. You must be very cold. Hopefully the guy with the grass isn't as cold and can get some carbon. I lifted a sack from a local tree miller yesterday, all free and untreated, he was happy to get rid of it, went in with my grass today. Lets argue, as long as you don't call me a red nosed **** like you did to the clown. Ho ho. Well spotted, it wasn't me who thought of "UM", it was someone else :-) It sort of stuck. |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Composting Grass Cuttings ??
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to George.com ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : [snip] rubbish, to some, a good source of organic compost for others. Yes, I agree with you that it is too much without the balance. You are thr carbon, I am the nitrogen. Leaves or paper or saw dust shouldn't be too hard to scrounge in most places. Neighbours have trees in abundance round here and I can get acres of paper from work. I enjoy a good tongue in cheek argument. Any leaves, paper or sawdust I can scrounge go on the fire. We used to do paper but, as I am the IT manager [giggles] the office is now paperless so far as I can make it so. I gave up newspapers when I discovered that the Su Doku is reproduced the day after on The Times website, so I have a total of one A4 sheet per day. And that doubles as a shopping list, notepad, and fuel. You can't beat a good argument though. What does the panel think about leaving cuttings (short) on the lawn? It's usually very much one way or the other. You must be very cold. Hopefully the guy with the grass isn't as cold and can get some carbon. I lifted a sack from a local tree miller yesterday, all free and untreated, he was happy to get rid of it, went in with my grass today. Lets argue, as long as you don't call me a red nosed **** like you did to the clown. Ho ho. Well spotted, it wasn't me who thought of "UM", it was someone else :-) It sort of stuck. the master of lightning wit, backchat and repartee |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Composting Grass Cuttings | United Kingdom | |||
Rock elm cuttings no go, but sour cherry cuttings are going | Plant Science | |||
Composting nasties suchas couch grass | United Kingdom | |||
Composting anything was Composting ivy | United Kingdom | |||
Leave grass clippings on site? (not composting this year) | Gardening |