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Grass cuttings
the neighbours were mowing their lawn today and putting the clippings into a bin bag to take down to the tip, so I asked (as I've sometimes done in the past as well) to have the cuttings. They are happy to give them to me.
I've used most as a surface mulch around the raspberries - grass clippings are very good at suppressing weeds. They also add nitrogen to the soil and add organic matter. They vanish totally in six months to a year, probably due to worm activity.
The remainder I put on the compost heap where they will mix well with the twiggy stuff and weeds that are already there.
Amazes me that anyone can just throw away such wonderfully useful stuff.
If using clippings at home, try and put them round your plants as soon as possible. If you leave them for long in a bin bag, moisture and heat will combine them into nasty, smelly clumps. IF you get them onto the ground quickly this problem is avoided.
When spreading them, don't use more than one or two cm thickness, or you'll run the risk of it getting clumpy. Try and sprinkle them with your fingers to get plenty of air in the mix. That will reduce any risk of smell ( it dries out like hay, rather than rotting soggily).
If composting grass cuttings, make sure they aren't the only thing on your compost heap. Mix them up with kitchen waste, weeds, twigs and hedge cuttings, even egg boxes and cardboard. Different types of material ensure that you have a mixture of 'greens' and 'browns' and results in better compost (and it's produced faster). Don't pack it all down hard, let a bit of air circulate. You want it to decompose aerobically, not anaerobically.
I've used most as a surface mulch around the raspberries - grass clippings are very good at suppressing weeds. They also add nitrogen to the soil and add organic matter. They vanish totally in six months to a year, probably due to worm activity.
The remainder I put on the compost heap where they will mix well with the twiggy stuff and weeds that are already there.
Amazes me that anyone can just throw away such wonderfully useful stuff.
If using clippings at home, try and put them round your plants as soon as possible. If you leave them for long in a bin bag, moisture and heat will combine them into nasty, smelly clumps. IF you get them onto the ground quickly this problem is avoided.
When spreading them, don't use more than one or two cm thickness, or you'll run the risk of it getting clumpy. Try and sprinkle them with your fingers to get plenty of air in the mix. That will reduce any risk of smell ( it dries out like hay, rather than rotting soggily).
If composting grass cuttings, make sure they aren't the only thing on your compost heap. Mix them up with kitchen waste, weeds, twigs and hedge cuttings, even egg boxes and cardboard. Different types of material ensure that you have a mixture of 'greens' and 'browns' and results in better compost (and it's produced faster). Don't pack it all down hard, let a bit of air circulate. You want it to decompose aerobically, not anaerobically.