Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David

"David Cleland" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David

Yes - if you want, but it is better to mix the grass with leaves and other
compostible materials - otherwise you can finish with a nasty slimy mess (as I
know from personal experience). Since our council started providing green
recycling bins, I now prefer to let them compost my grass cuttings.

Bevan

Yes but mix it well with other stuff or you will get a horrible 'lump' of
black stuff :-((

OR, it will dry out and do nothing, depending on the weather and the heat of
the day/night

Mike


--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Lanc Bomber Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 3 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
British Pacific Fleet. Derby 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Denby Pottery
"David Cleland" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David

Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David

Yes - if you want, but it is better to mix the grass with leaves and other
compostible materials - otherwise you can finish with a nasty slimy mess
(as I
know from personal experience). Since our council started providing green
recycling bins, I now prefer to let them compost my grass cuttings.



Our council does not do that - so it would be best to keep grass to a
minimum to get the best results ?

David

Go on google groups and type in uses for grass clippings,I raised the same
question and there were other uses for it.If you have a biggish lawn you
will have to many clippings in summer ,especially if you have just started
composting.Like someone else has said you need a good mixture ,clippings
alone turns in to soggy cow pats .Someone said they spread it around the
borders in summer for a mulch!

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"Mike" wrote in message
...
Yes but mix it well with other stuff or you will get a horrible 'lump' of
black stuff :-((

OR, it will dry out and do nothing, depending on the weather and the heat
of
the day/night

Mike


--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Lanc Bomber Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 3 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
British Pacific Fleet. Derby 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Denby Pottery
"David Cleland" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings
in
there ?

David

David Cleland wrote:
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

Yes - if you want, but it is better to mix the grass with leaves and other
compostible materials - otherwise you can finish with a nasty slimy mess
(as I
know from personal experience). Since our council started providing green
recycling bins, I now prefer to let them compost my grass cuttings.

Our council does not do that - so it would be best to keep grass to a
minimum to get the best results ?

A minimum or a maximum according to taste. Once you add more than a
cubic metre at a time it doesn't really matter what the material is the
heap will go hot and rot the stuff down fairly rapidly. You might need
to turn it once to get the outsides done. It rots even faster if there
is some woody material as well but it will work OK with pure grass
cuttings.

You can make smaller amounts go faster with proprietory compost
accelerators like Garotta (cut with cheaper ammonium sulphate).

If you add small amounts of grass cuttings and compact it down then it
will go slimy anaerobic and horrible.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Go on google groups and type in uses for grass clippings,I raised the same
question and there were other uses for it.If you have a biggish lawn you
will have to many clippings in summer ,especially if you have just started
composting.Like someone else has said you need a good mixture ,clippings
alone turns in to soggy cow pats .Someone said they spread it around the
borders in summer for a mulch!


I know it's been done before, but this one comes to mind with this thread
;-))


Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the
subject of lawns:

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is
going on down there? What happened to the dandelions,violets, thistle and
stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan.Those
plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with
abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies,
honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of
colours by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites.
They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill
them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colourful. It doesn't attract
butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms.It's temperamental
with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing
there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and
keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning
any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast.
That must make the homeowners happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut
it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in
bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow.
And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes, Sir.

God: These Earthlings must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the
rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a
lot of work.

St. Francis: You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops
growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they
can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer
stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the
spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall
to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and
protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to
enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new
circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay
to have them hauled away.

God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter
and to keep the soil moist and loose?

St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something
which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of
the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

God: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine,
you're in charge of the arts. What movie have they scheduled for us
tonight?

St. Catherine: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.....

God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

"David Cleland" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?



They can go in the compost bin but not if you're using selective weed
killers on the lawn.

--
Regards,
Alan.

Preserve wildlife - Pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.

"David Cleland" wrote in message
...


Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings
in
there ?

David

Yes - if you want, but it is better to mix the grass with leaves and
other
compostible materials - otherwise you can finish with a nasty slimy mess
(as I
know from personal experience). Since our council started providing green
recycling bins, I now prefer to let them compost my grass cuttings.



Our council does not do that - so it would be best to keep grass to a
minimum to get the best results ?

Grass is a great source of compost and in some gardens it provides most of
the organic matter.
It also heats up really really well and so can get a new heap cooking at a
great rate.
As already pointed out, the only problem is to stop it going slimy.
I know two ways to do that and it is worth doing both.
1) mix it with drier stuff (I have even heard of people using straw and
buying bales of it specifically for that purpose;
I have also heard of newspapers being used); the best I have used have been
shreddings; it is worth synchronising a bout of shredding with a fresh pile
of grass collection but it can be hard to generate enough shreddings to make
this work long term.
2) turn it regularly (say every 4 weeks). This means thoroughly turning it
over with a fork/or moving it to a new spot.

I also have seen people using the clippings fresh as a mulch. It looks ugly
but is cheap and good for the soil.
If you do not take care of the clippings in a compost heap they do indeed go
slimy and you end up with gunk that stinks (anaerobic decomposition giving
sulphides) and is very hard to manage.

Des





David

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings

My experience supports that of other contributors to this discussion. I have
four compost bins on the go at any one time and I put grass clippings in all
four. They are right, too, to argue that you should add to the clippings.

I add:

1. Output from my shredder (mainly wood chippings and chopped up leaves)
2. Shredded office paper
3. Kitchen waste
4. Other bits of garden refuse
5. A dose of pelleted chicken manure once a month or so
6. I have at times added a product called Garotta, but I have not noticed that
it makes a great deal of difference.

I don't fork it over, but I do move the cooking compost from one bin to another
in regular succession.

I don't know what the scientific justification for this is, but it seems to
work, and produces lovely compost.

Laurie

Laurie Moseley wrote:
I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass
cuttings

My experience supports that of other contributors to this discussion.
I have four compost bins on the go at any one time and I put grass
clippings in all four. They are right, too, to argue that you should
add to the clippings.

I add:

1. Output from my shredder (mainly wood chippings and chopped up
leaves)
2. Shredded office paper
3. Kitchen waste
4. Other bits of garden refuse
5. A dose of pelleted chicken manure once a month or so
6. I have at times added a product called Garotta, but I have not
noticed that it makes a great deal of difference.

I don't fork it over, but I do move the cooking compost from one bin
to another in regular succession.

I don't know what the scientific justification for this is, but it
seems to work, and produces lovely compost.



Don't forget of cause Mr flowerdews magic ingredient - recycled beer and
cider!

pk

On 1/12/05 10:03 AM, in article
, "David Cleland"
wrote:

Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David


A quick question deserves a quick answer-Yes.

On 1/12/05 10:28 AM, in article
, "Bevan Price"
wrote:


"David Cleland" wrote in message
...
Just a quick question

I am going to try and start a compost bin - can you put grass cuttings in
there ?

David

Yes - if you want, but it is better to mix the grass with leaves and other
compostible materials - otherwise you can finish with a nasty slimy mess (as I
know from personal experience). Since our council started providing green
recycling bins, I now prefer to let them compost my grass cuttings.

Bevan




Composting grass can end up in a slimy mess if it is left out in the rain.
Cover it. And mix in some free manure from someone who has it and wants to
get rid of it. Add the manure after each load of grass you put in your
compost pile...just a 'sprinkling' or more or less...now with a cover on,
your compost may need a 'sprinkling' of water now and then. Keep it moist
but not wet! Now, really, how can a compost be moist but not wet? Yet, that
is what 'they' say.

On 1/12/05 2:15 PM, in article , "Mike"
wrote:

Go on google groups and type in uses for grass clippings,I raised the same
question and there were other uses for it.If you have a biggish lawn you
will have to many clippings in summer ,especially if you have just started
composting.Like someone else has said you need a good mixture ,clippings
alone turns in to soggy cow pats .Someone said they spread it around the
borders in summer for a mulch!


I know it's been done before, but this one comes to mind with this thread
;-))


Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the
subject of lawns:

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is
going on down there? What happened to the dandelions,violets, thistle and
stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan.Those
plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with
abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies,
honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of
colours by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites.
They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill
them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colourful. It doesn't attract
butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms.It's temperamental
with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing
there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and
keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning
any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast.
That must make the homeowners happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut
it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in
bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow.
And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes, Sir.

God: These Earthlings must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the
rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a
lot of work.

St. Francis: You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops
growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they
can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer
stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the
spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall
to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and
protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to
enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new
circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay
to have them hauled away.

God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter
and to keep the soil moist and loose?

St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something
which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of
the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

God: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine,
you're in charge of the arts. What movie have they scheduled for us
tonight?

St. Catherine: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.....

God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.


So, the question (originally) was can grass be composted. The quick answer
is yes.

On 15/1/05 6:16, in article , "Gary"
wrote:

On 1/12/05 2:15 PM, in article , "Mike"
wrote:
snip
God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.


So, the question (originally) was can grass be composted. The quick answer
is yes.


To add one short sentence, couldn't you have snipped this lengthy story
which was posted here only a short time ago?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)