Here goes - I bet I get flamed for asking one of the most FAQs in this
group ...

Is it OK to leave grass cuttings on the lawn at this time of year? That
is, just belt round with the old push-me lawnmower, with no box on it.

I cut at least once a week during summer and leave the box off if I
really can't be bothered to keep going and emptying it (you have to bend
down, too, you know, to pick the box up!)

But a couple of weeks later I always start to feel that I ought to rake
the lawn and pick up all that old cut grass.

OTOH I've seen people saying it's actually good for the grass to leave
the cuttings in situ.

(This is a small lawn, c. 12m x 5m, and I have no aspirations to a
bowling green.)

p.s. I am also an avid composter, for many years, and still live in hope
of producing the sort of stuff that blooming Alan Titchmarsh and his
mates shovel out of *their* bins. But sometimes picking up the grass
is a bit too much to face after a long day at work.

Sorry John, but exercise is good for the mind as well as the body. I say
pick it up and compost it or use as mulch on the basis that is what my bible
says (hassayon ). I use my lawn a lot and so does my daughter & apart from
anything else bringing grass clippings into the house on shoes or bare feet
is a no-no with her indoors.

By brother in law, like me, uses an old Ransomes manual mower. He observed
the other day that while he actually enjoys pushing is mower up and down his
garden for about 45 mins his neighbour prefers a sit on tractor style and
cuts his lawn in about 10 minutes. The neighbour will then get in his car &
go to the gym to spend 60 mins on a treadmill. I know what I'd much rather
do.

AndyP

--
"Wisest are they that know they do not know." Socrates

"John" wrote in message
...
Here goes - I bet I get flamed for asking one of the most FAQs in this
group ...

Is it OK to leave grass cuttings on the lawn at this time of year? That
is, just belt round with the old push-me lawnmower, with no box on it.

I cut at least once a week during summer and leave the box off if I
really can't be bothered to keep going and emptying it (you have to bend
down, too, you know, to pick the box up!)

But a couple of weeks later I always start to feel that I ought to rake
the lawn and pick up all that old cut grass.

OTOH I've seen people saying it's actually good for the grass to leave
the cuttings in situ.

(This is a small lawn, c. 12m x 5m, and I have no aspirations to a
bowling green.)

p.s. I am also an avid composter, for many years, and still live in hope
of producing the sort of stuff that blooming Alan Titchmarsh and his
mates shovel out of *their* bins. But sometimes picking up the grass
is a bit too much to face after a long day at work.

"Dee" wrote in message ...
Sorry John, but exercise is good for the mind as well as the body. I say
pick it up and compost it or use as mulch on the basis that is what my
bible
says (hassayon ). I use my lawn a lot and so does my daughter & apart from
anything else bringing grass clippings into the house on shoes or bare
feet
is a no-no with her indoors.

By brother in law, like me, uses an old Ransomes manual mower. He observed
the other day that while he actually enjoys pushing is mower up and down
his
garden for about 45 mins his neighbour prefers a sit on tractor style and
cuts his lawn in about 10 minutes. The neighbour will then get in his car
&
go to the gym to spend 60 mins on a treadmill. I know what I'd much rather
do.

AndyP

Yep me to, much better to be down the gym having fun than mowing the lawn.

"Dave" wrote in message
...

"Dee" wrote in message ...
Sorry John, but exercise is good for the mind as well as the body. I say
pick it up and compost it or use as mulch on the basis that is what my
bible
says (hassayon ). I use my lawn a lot and so does my daughter & apart
from
anything else bringing grass clippings into the house on shoes or bare
feet
is a no-no with her indoors.

By brother in law, like me, uses an old Ransomes manual mower. He
observed
the other day that while he actually enjoys pushing is mower up and down
his
garden for about 45 mins his neighbour prefers a sit on tractor style
and
cuts his lawn in about 10 minutes. The neighbour will then get in his
car
&
go to the gym to spend 60 mins on a treadmill. I know what I'd much
rather
do.

AndyP





.. Yep me to, much better to be down the gym having fun than mowing the
lawn.


The Gym......................................what a splendid name for a pub
eh?

"Dave" wrote in message
...

"Dee" wrote in message ...
Sorry John, but exercise is good for the mind as well as the body. I say
pick it up and compost it or use as mulch on the basis that is what my
bible
says (hassayon ). I use my lawn a lot and so does my daughter & apart
from
anything else bringing grass clippings into the house on shoes or bare
feet
is a no-no with her indoors.

By brother in law, like me, uses an old Ransomes manual mower. He
observed
the other day that while he actually enjoys pushing is mower up and down
his
garden for about 45 mins his neighbour prefers a sit on tractor style
and
cuts his lawn in about 10 minutes. The neighbour will then get in his
car
&
go to the gym to spend 60 mins on a treadmill. I know what I'd much
rather
do.

AndyP





.. Yep me to, much better to be down the gym having fun than mowing the
lawn.


The Gym......................................what a splendid name for a pub
eh?

If you are an avid composter seems a shame that you do not pick up the grass
cuttings as in my experience leaving them results in thatch
Compost is actually incredibly easy if you have the right mix of ingredients
and you turn it every 6 weeks ........mine matches a mix of peat and john
innes without too much effort


"John" wrote in message
...
Here goes - I bet I get flamed for asking one of the most FAQs in this
group ...

Is it OK to leave grass cuttings on the lawn at this time of year? That
is, just belt round with the old push-me lawnmower, with no box on it.

I cut at least once a week during summer and leave the box off if I
really can't be bothered to keep going and emptying it (you have to bend
down, too, you know, to pick the box up!)

But a couple of weeks later I always start to feel that I ought to rake
the lawn and pick up all that old cut grass.

OTOH I've seen people saying it's actually good for the grass to leave
the cuttings in situ.

(This is a small lawn, c. 12m x 5m, and I have no aspirations to a
bowling green.)

p.s. I am also an avid composter, for many years, and still live in hope
of producing the sort of stuff that blooming Alan Titchmarsh and his
mates shovel out of *their* bins. But sometimes picking up the grass
is a bit too much to face after a long day at work.

Cat litter in the compost....?!

Is that with cat poo in it, or fresh from the bag?

JP


"sw" wrote in message
...
John wrote:

Here goes - I bet I get flamed for asking one of the most FAQs in this
group ...

Is it OK to leave grass cuttings on the lawn at this time of year? That
is, just belt round with the old push-me lawnmower, with no box on it.

[-]

p.s. I am also an avid composter, for many years, and still live in hope
of producing the sort of stuff that blooming Alan Titchmarsh and his
mates shovel out of *their* bins. But sometimes picking up the grass
is a bit too much to face after a long day at work.

Crumbs. I've asked my neighbour for his grasscuttings to add to my
compost heap, as our small lawn doesn't generate enough. Fresh
grasscuttings mixed with sawdust cat litter plus generous watering with
dilute urine are producing *marvellous* crumbly brown compost incredibly
quickly in this heat.

regards
sarah


--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on

Jez Phillips wrote:

Cat litter in the compost....?!

Is that with cat poo in it, or fresh from the bag?

Seriously? Without the cat poo. Cats being carnivores have rather
inefficient guts, which is why their poo smells so um, meaty. It's
likely to attract rats.

Use the sawdust pellets (it pongs less/better than the grey clay stuff,
too). Put the cat poo in the ordinary rubbish using any convenient
utensil. Our three rarely 'bury' anything in the litterbox, so it's easy
to then scoop out the mounds of damp/expanded sawdust that form where
they've peed. Put that to go for compost. Occasionally you'll need to
sieve the contents of the box to separate a buildup of sawdust from the
pellets; the sieved sawdust goes on the compost, too. I am a little
careful when doing anything with the sawdust, as it may contain eggs
from any parasites the cats have. Although I hope the terpenes in the
sawdust do something to reduce the viability of the eggs.

Mix about one part sawdust, damp or otherwise, with at least four parts
grass clippings. Pile the mixture into the compost bin, soak with dilute
urine, and watch it rot down! After about a month, turn thoroughly and
add some more grasscuttings if you've got some. And dilute urine, too.

regards
sarah



--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on

Jez Phillips wrote:

Cat litter in the compost....?!

Is that with cat poo in it, or fresh from the bag?

Seriously? Without the cat poo. Cats being carnivores have rather
inefficient guts, which is why their poo smells so um, meaty. It's
likely to attract rats.

Use the sawdust pellets (it pongs less/better than the grey clay stuff,
too). Put the cat poo in the ordinary rubbish using any convenient
utensil. Our three rarely 'bury' anything in the litterbox, so it's easy
to then scoop out the mounds of damp/expanded sawdust that form where
they've peed. Put that to go for compost. Occasionally you'll need to
sieve the contents of the box to separate a buildup of sawdust from the
pellets; the sieved sawdust goes on the compost, too. I am a little
careful when doing anything with the sawdust, as it may contain eggs
from any parasites the cats have. Although I hope the terpenes in the
sawdust do something to reduce the viability of the eggs.

Mix about one part sawdust, damp or otherwise, with at least four parts
grass clippings. Pile the mixture into the compost bin, soak with dilute
urine, and watch it rot down! After about a month, turn thoroughly and
add some more grasscuttings if you've got some. And dilute urine, too.

regards
sarah



--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on

In article , sw
writes
Jez Phillips wrote:

Cat litter in the compost....?!

Is that with cat poo in it, or fresh from the bag?

Seriously? Without the cat poo. Cats being carnivores have rather
inefficient guts, which is why their poo smells so um, meaty. It's
likely to attract rats.

Use the sawdust pellets (it pongs less/better than the grey clay stuff,
too). Put the cat poo in the ordinary rubbish using any convenient
utensil.

That's a bit unfair on the dustmen, isn't it? I put ours down the loo.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Kay Easton wrote:

In article , sw
writes

[-]

Use the sawdust pellets (it pongs less/better than the grey clay stuff,
too). Put the cat poo in the ordinary rubbish using any convenient
utensil.

That's a bit unfair on the dustmen, isn't it? I put ours down the loo.

Why? It's no worse than ripe bones from the roast, (or nappies from our
neighbours) -- all kitchen waste is bagged within the black bag. If you
flush it that results in more treatment/sludge/etc. Best of all would be
to um, macerate it and add it to the compost but I can't quite face that
yet.


regards
sarah


--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on

In article ,
says...
Best of all would be
to um, macerate it and add it to the compost but I can't quite face that
yet.

Spread it on the lawn immediately before cutting the grass. It comes out
ready mixed in g
--
David
Visit http://www.farm-direct.co.uk for your local farmgate food supplies.
FAQ's, Glossary, Farming Year and more!

In article , sw
writes
Kay Easton wrote:

In article , sw
writes

[-]

Use the sawdust pellets (it pongs less/better than the grey clay stuff,
too). Put the cat poo in the ordinary rubbish using any convenient
utensil.

That's a bit unfair on the dustmen, isn't it? I put ours down the loo.

Why? It's no worse than ripe bones from the roast, (or nappies from our
neighbours) -- all kitchen waste is bagged within the black bag. If you
flush it that results in more treatment/sludge/etc. Best of all would be
to um, macerate it and add it to the compost but I can't quite face that
yet.

The bones have been cooked, the babies are unlikely to be parasitised,
but easy for even well cared for cats to get parasites. Yes, OK, it may
be double bagged, but that doesn't stop foxes, stray dogs etc ripping
the bags open.

I dunno. Shades of my mother, I think. She'd have been horrified at
putting any sort of turd in the dustbin. Difficult to shake off the
feelings you've been brought up with.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , sw
writes
Kay Easton wrote:

The bones have been cooked, the babies are unlikely to be parasitised,
but easy for even well cared for cats to get parasites.

If the babies are at crawling stage and allowed outside they may well
have worms; we used to.

Really?! :-) The only time I ever got worms was when my boyfriend of the
time was teaching at a minor boys boarding school.


I hate to tell you this, but your own garden soil poses a similar hazard
if your neighbours have cats. In fact it's worse, as it may also give
you tetanus, leptospirosus, and other things that our cats *don't* have.

Well, yes, I know that of course. And as a caver I'm well aware of
leptospirosus. I wasn't intending to suggest it was a danger to the
dustmen, merely, given most people's reaction to poo, that it was a sort
of 'ugh' factor for them should a bag burst.

Actually, I've always felt the dangers of not being able to build up
your own antibodies by exposure to germs is a greater danger than the
things you may or may not come across in your garden soil - works for my
family, anyway :-)


Yes, OK, it may
be double bagged, but that doesn't stop foxes, stray dogs etc ripping
the bags open.

No, the manner and time in which I put them out ensures this *will not*
happen.

Oh, you're lucky! Our bags are in a wooden compound and safe, but one
set of dustmen hoick them out and take them round to the road at the
crack of dawn, and another set come around at midday and put them on the
dustcart. In that time the local stray dogs come and take their pick,
and if there's any wind, all the inedible stuff ends up in our front
garden!

To be fair, double bagging does seem to work - I make sure anything
meaty of fishy is double bagged to cut down the smell, and it's the
neighbour's rubbish that ends up in our garden , not ours.
I dunno. Shades of my mother, I think. She'd have been horrified at
putting any sort of turd in the dustbin. Difficult to shake off the
feelings you've been brought up with.

I know. But that one I regard as unreasonable -- I cannot see that cat
poo poses a significant risk, especially when compared to the bushels of
dog poo that end up in the same place.

As I said, I wasn't thinking of any risk. Merely the shudder factor.
You'd have though dustmen must develop strong stomachs - but then you'd
have thought the same about anyone who's brought up young children, and
that certainly isn't true.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , sw
writes
Kay Easton wrote:

The bones have been cooked, the babies are unlikely to be parasitised,
but easy for even well cared for cats to get parasites.

If the babies are at crawling stage and allowed outside they may well
have worms; we used to.

Really?! :-) The only time I ever got worms was when my boyfriend of the
time was teaching at a minor boys boarding school.


I hate to tell you this, but your own garden soil poses a similar hazard
if your neighbours have cats. In fact it's worse, as it may also give
you tetanus, leptospirosus, and other things that our cats *don't* have.

Well, yes, I know that of course. And as a caver I'm well aware of
leptospirosus. I wasn't intending to suggest it was a danger to the
dustmen, merely, given most people's reaction to poo, that it was a sort
of 'ugh' factor for them should a bag burst.

Actually, I've always felt the dangers of not being able to build up
your own antibodies by exposure to germs is a greater danger than the
things you may or may not come across in your garden soil - works for my
family, anyway :-)


Yes, OK, it may
be double bagged, but that doesn't stop foxes, stray dogs etc ripping
the bags open.

No, the manner and time in which I put them out ensures this *will not*
happen.

Oh, you're lucky! Our bags are in a wooden compound and safe, but one
set of dustmen hoick them out and take them round to the road at the
crack of dawn, and another set come around at midday and put them on the
dustcart. In that time the local stray dogs come and take their pick,
and if there's any wind, all the inedible stuff ends up in our front
garden!

To be fair, double bagging does seem to work - I make sure anything
meaty of fishy is double bagged to cut down the smell, and it's the
neighbour's rubbish that ends up in our garden , not ours.
I dunno. Shades of my mother, I think. She'd have been horrified at
putting any sort of turd in the dustbin. Difficult to shake off the
feelings you've been brought up with.

I know. But that one I regard as unreasonable -- I cannot see that cat
poo poses a significant risk, especially when compared to the bushels of
dog poo that end up in the same place.

As I said, I wasn't thinking of any risk. Merely the shudder factor.
You'd have though dustmen must develop strong stomachs - but then you'd
have thought the same about anyone who's brought up young children, and
that certainly isn't true.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm