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#1
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Composting Grass Cuttings
Since I downsized garden, I only have 1 Dalek that I use for garden
waste etc. Grass cuttings have been excluded because of volume and go to the council recycling tip. I have just been given a second Dalek, and wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper between it as I used to do in my old large mixed content compost heaps. Would this work? or would it just result in a solid soggy mess! I would probably only want to empty it once a year at most - depending on what it produces. Thanks Roger T |
#2
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 21/08/2020 10:11, Pwllgloyw wrote:
Since I downsized garden, I only have 1 Dalek that I use for garden waste etc. Grass cuttings have been excluded because of volume and go to the council recycling tip. I have just been given a second Dalek, and wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper between it as I used to do in my old large mixed content compost heaps. Would this work? or would it just result in a solid soggy mess! I would probably only want to empty it once a year at most - depending on what it produces. Thanks Roger T grass alone is not a great compost. Add any other fibrous stuff like leaves and weeds etc. Avoid food waste. Rats. -- Climate is what you expect but weather is what you get. Mark Twain |
#3
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 10:11:45 +0100, Pwllgloyw
wrote: wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper Yes it does work, I find coreggated cardboard works best, (amazon boxes!) You will be surprised just how much you will get rid of, tear the cardboard into palm size bits, that way you get more "edges" and it will compost faster. If it starts getting slimy, you need more cardboard! |
#4
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 21/08/2020 10:11, Pwllgloyw wrote:
Since I downsized garden, I only have 1 Dalek that I use for garden waste etc. Grass cuttings have been excluded because of volume and go to the council recycling tip. I have just been given a second Dalek, and wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper between it as I used to do in my old large mixed content compost heaps. I have never bothered with messing about adding paper to mine. I might put any prunings on before the next grass cut so that they get the full benefit of a hot heap but I found that provided I was adding a cubic metre of stuff at a time it really didn't matter that much. It would be warm the next day and mad hot the day after that with a funny short chain fatty acid smell that is distinctive and borderline unpleasant. A couple of times have had it smouldering internally! Would this work? or would it just result in a solid soggy mess! I would probably only want to empty it once a year at most - depending on what it produces. It might fill up a bit too quickly. What seems to be a disaster is a small amount of grass clippings weekly that inevitably turn into a disgusting green slime. Garotta or similar will help a smaller pile but small heaps never really get hot. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#5
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 21/08/2020 14:54, Chris Hogg wrote:
Piggy-backing on this thread (apologies to the OP), since moving house I don't have room for a compost heap, let alone the pair of traditional bays I used to have, and I'm thinking of getting one of these insulated bins to speed up the composting process. https://tinyurl.com/y2o4rqm7 But I fill a 240 litre council bin every two weeks in the summer. The insulated bin is 200 litres. From your experience of hot compost heaps, how quickly will a mixture of grass cuttings, weeds and hedge prunings rot down in one of these insulated bins, do you think, or will I need half-a-dozen of them to cope with my output? I have no experience at all of insulated composters but my instinct would be that if it goes hot then it is more or less rotted down by the next time I cut the grass. Early in the season when it is cold and slow then it hangs around longer likewise if it gets too dry. I do have a sort of calibration point for you though. I have a green bin for cutting the village hall green and it was brim full fresh cut yesterday. In 24 hours it is now 40C and 80% full so by next week I expect it to be about 40% full and ponging a bit of ammonia. The wind and rain today have taken too much heat out of my open compost heap so it is nowhere near to going hot yet. Doesn't smell right. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#6
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 21/08/2020 12:27, Derek wrote:
On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 10:11:45 +0100, Pwllgloyw wrote: wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper Yes it does work, I find coreggated cardboard works best, (amazon boxes!) You will be surprised just how much you will get rid of, tear the cardboard into palm size bits, that way you get more "edges" and it will compost faster. If it starts getting slimy, you need more cardboard! Also worth waiting for rain to wet cardboard boxes. Makes it easier to rip up and remove any packing tape. -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#7
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 12:40:50 PM UTC+1, alan_m wrote:
On 21/08/2020 12:27, Derek wrote: On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 10:11:45 +0100, Pwllgloyw wrote: wondered if I could dedicate this just to grass cuttings - probably with shredded paper Yes it does work, I find coreggated cardboard works best, (amazon boxes!) You will be surprised just how much you will get rid of, tear the cardboard into palm size bits, that way you get more "edges" and it will compost faster. If it starts getting slimy, you need more cardboard! Also worth waiting for rain to wet cardboard boxes. Makes it easier to rip up and remove any packing tape. -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#8
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:31:15 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:
I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire Highly unlikely, seen a large mound of wood chip smoulder in the middle, that turned to ash, but no flames, but your small amount will not generate enough heat |
#9
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 22/08/2020 20:31, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 17:03:41 +0100, Martin Brown wrote: I have a green bin for cutting the village hall green and it was brim full fresh cut yesterday. In 24 hours it is now 40C and 80% full so by next week I expect it to be about 40% full and ponging a bit of ammonia. The wind and rain today have taken too much heat out of my open compost heap so it is nowhere near to going hot yet. Doesn't smell right. Useful comments. Thanks. I may try one, and if it doesn't compost its contents fast enough, I can either just put the excess into my green bin (which is actually brown!) or buy a second composter. I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire in the centre and actually destroy the bin. Time will tell. I doubt if it can get that hot in the limited volume of a green bin but even if it did then I expect it would self limit for lack of oxygen. I think it has happened to me about three times in 25 years with 2m cubic heaps pretty full with a large addition of grass cuttings in one go. Getting above 60C is fairly routine in high summer but becoming hot enough to smoulder internally is incredibly rare. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#10
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 23/08/2020 15:41, Derek wrote:
On Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:31:15 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote: I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire Highly unlikely, seen a large mound of wood chip smoulder in the middle, that turned to ash, but no flames, but your small amount will not generate enough heat I've definitely had charring in the middle of an acre of grass cuttings back in the day when I collected rather than mulched them -- "Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it." - Stephen Vizinczey |
#11
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Composting Grass Cuttings
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 23/08/2020 15:41, Derek wrote: On Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:31:15 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote: I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire Highly unlikely, seen a large mound of wood chip smoulder in the middle, that turned to ash, but no flames, but your small amount will not generate enough heat I've definitely had charring in the middle of an acre of grass cuttings back in the day when I collected rather than mulched them I'm not surprised if you had an acre of grass cuttings, that's a big pile! ... or did you mean a pile of cuttings from mowing an acre? :-) -- Chris Green · |
#12
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 24/08/2020 23:16, Chris Green wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote: On 23/08/2020 15:41, Derek wrote: On Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:31:15 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote: I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire Highly unlikely, seen a large mound of wood chip smoulder in the middle, that turned to ash, but no flames, but your small amount will not generate enough heat I've definitely had charring in the middle of an acre of grass cuttings back in the day when I collected rather than mulched them I'm not surprised if you had an acre of grass cuttings, that's a big pile! ... or did you mean a pile of cuttings from mowing an acre? :-) The latter -- "The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." - Leo Tolstoy |
#13
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Composting Grass Cuttings
On 24/08/2020 15:45, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 23/08/2020 15:41, Derek wrote: On Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:31:15 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote: I have a slight concern though, that if the contents get too hot they'll catch fire Highly unlikely, seen a large mound of wood chip smoulder in the middle, that turned to ash, but no flames, but your small amount will not generate enough heat I've definitely had charring in the middle of an acre of grass cuttings back in the day when I collected rather than mulched them A third of an acre is enough if the conditions are just right. I'm pretty sure a green bin can't go critical though. The VH one I did last week there is now an inch gap around the block of fermenting block of lawn clippings. I've never really bothered to look every day before. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
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