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Post by daylilydude on May 2, 2018 3:50:06 GMT -5
When mowing the lawn do you collect the clippings for any reason? Compost, mulch, something else or do you leave them lay on the lawn to feed it?
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Post by brownrexx on May 2, 2018 7:26:06 GMT -5
Our property is about 3 acres and the lawn is too large for a mulching mower so we use a commercial zero turn mower but we do have baggers that we can use. We do not use any lawn care products so I use the clipping as mulch around the fruit trees and some of our shrubs. I use the hardwood mulch in more visible areas like flower beds but it's great to have all of this free mulch to keep the weeds down around the fruit trees.
I also use the clippings as mulch in my asparagus bed and add some to the compost pile.
At other times we just leave the clippings lay on the lawn to feed it. Clippings provide lots of Nitrogen to the lawn.
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Post by paulf on May 2, 2018 7:27:22 GMT -5
They are not collected and just stay on the lawn.
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Post by ahntjudy on May 2, 2018 7:45:25 GMT -5
Wish I had a lawn sometimes...I have wood chips... What little grass I have gets mowed with a push mower and I collect what I can to use as mulch, mixed with ground up leaves in the veggie garden...
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on May 2, 2018 8:05:26 GMT -5
Mulching mower so they feed the yard.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 2, 2018 9:25:23 GMT -5
Usually DH uses the mulching blade. From time to time I ask him to bag the clippings for me to use for something - mulch for a garden bed, compost fodder, etc.
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Post by september on May 2, 2018 9:42:27 GMT -5
We usually let the clippings lay/scatter after mowing. There are some areas where the grass grows much thicker, so if I need clippings for mulch, I can rake up the mowed rows. We have a lot of lawn to mow, it used to be a hayfield, now I just call it a meadow, we never water or seed it, and there are a lot of dandelions and horsetail growing in it.
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Post by farmerjack41 on May 2, 2018 9:54:55 GMT -5
Pickup clippings. Most go between the rows in the garden to keep weeds down. When needed some are added to compost pile.
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Post by pepperhead212 on May 2, 2018 10:54:51 GMT -5
Most stay there, but sometimes I bag them, and use them as mulch in the garden, or N supply for the compost, if I dump in a bunch of sawdust from my workshop.
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caesg
Pro Member
Posts: 152
Zone:: 5b
Favorite Vegetable:: Butternut Squash
Joined: April 2018
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Post by caesg on May 2, 2018 12:33:46 GMT -5
I don't have a lawn! 😭 Well, there's a particular if grass in front of the four-plex. Our stupendous handyman and Stupendous Handyman's teenage son maintain the patch of grass.
Sometimes, the Stupendous Team get pretty busy with the various properties and our grass starts to look pretty tattered. I wouldn't mind cleaning it up in those instances.
MrLoverMan has a push mower that he uses to maintain the property where he lives (for now! He moves in to my place on July 20th when we get married! 🎉) I adore the push mower, except that MrLoverMan keeps it set quite low, and I prefer to cut grass at around about 2", and (to answer the question 😊) I prefer to leave the clippings where they fall to feed the lawn. 😄
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Post by brownrexx on May 2, 2018 13:33:47 GMT -5
He moves in to my place on July 20th when we get married! 🎉) Congratulations!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 2, 2018 14:58:53 GMT -5
Congrats! That's so exciting.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on May 2, 2018 16:19:48 GMT -5
Tiny yard. I have 3 composters behind the shed. One for leaf mold, one for kitchen scraps and one for grass clippings.
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Post by pepperhead212 on May 2, 2018 16:35:19 GMT -5
Congrats caesg! You'll have more to look forward to on 7-20, besides all the garden goods!
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Post by brownrexx on May 2, 2018 18:58:21 GMT -5
I find that grass clipping really heat up a compost pile. I am surprised that you keep them separate. I would at least mix a few in with the other stuff.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on May 2, 2018 19:33:53 GMT -5
I never thought of it that way Brownrexx. I'll mix some in the foodscrap pile this summer. Thanks for the suggestion.
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stone
Pro Member
Posts: 170
Zone:: 8
Favorite Vegetable:: Bambi
Joined: December 2011
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Post by stone on May 4, 2018 8:30:30 GMT -5
When mowing the lawn do you collect the clippings for any reason? Compost, mulch, something else or do you leave them lay on the lawn to feed it? When mowing the lawn? I have too much garden to waste time and energy on something that doesn't produce food or blooms, or attract birds or butterflies..... I go out with a strimmer in the dead of winter to keep the meadow areas from turning back into a thicket.... The "clippings" stay where they grew.
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Post by paquebot on May 5, 2018 20:35:54 GMT -5
I think that we once had a thread about if we feed our lawn. My reply was that I do since I want healthy and rich clippings for the compost tumbler. Was even doing it years ago before bagging mowers became popular. Raked an awful lot of clippings back then!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by guruofgardens on May 18, 2018 7:33:05 GMT -5
We have a mulching mower so the lawn gets the gold. Neighbor gives us his clipping, only occasionally. But I saw Lawn Doctor there yesterday so I won’t be using his clippings on the garden this year, sad to say.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 18, 2018 9:18:22 GMT -5
I know what you mean, guruofgardens. Lawn Doctor, TruGreen, and other such companies do a brisk business in my neighborhood. I don't dare collect my neighbors' clippings for fear of herbicide residue and lawn pesticides.
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Post by paquebot on May 18, 2018 20:15:00 GMT -5
F.Y.I. Most lawn herbacides must now be such that they will break down quickly. If not, almost every municipal compost would be potentially hazardous.
I needed clippings today. Tumbler is too rich in critters which need another heat cycle to cook down. Two pals were helping me. While I was supervising the garden tilling, another was mowing. Got done about the same time and was going to open the tumbler to add the clippings. That great friend decided that it would be quicker without the bag!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by brownrexx on May 19, 2018 8:42:50 GMT -5
If not, almost every municipal compost would be potentially hazardous. Actually this can be quite a a worry because commercial lawns like golf courses or other public places are allowed to use 2,4-D and this can make very hazardous clippings in compost. Our local composting facility receives clippings dumped by many of the commercial lawn mowing companies and I wonder if they are contaminated with 2,4-D. I never use any of this compost myself but if I did, I would test it first by planting a couple of bean seeds in a cup of it and seeing if they germinate normally or come up twisted which would indicate contamination.
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Post by paquebot on May 19, 2018 11:06:09 GMT -5
I believe that in order to apply 2-4-D one needs a permit or license. That would regulate where and how the stuff can be used and subsesquent disposal. 2-4-D would be the least of my woreries with municipal compost. Instead it would be some of the exotic stuff which either isn't regulated or not meant for use on lawns.
Marin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by brownrexx on May 19, 2018 11:40:31 GMT -5
I believe that in order to apply 2-4-D one needs a permit or license. Possibly one used to need a permit but now 2,4-D is available to anyone right at Tractor Supply and it is deadly to tomatoes and beans. I really don't trust what people are putting onto their lawns and I would never use any clippings other than my own. www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/gordons-amine-400-2-4-d-weed-killer-1-gal
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Post by paquebot on May 19, 2018 23:34:54 GMT -5
Wasn't aware of 2-4-D now being so widely available. For a time, only farmers were using it. Not happy to see that.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by horsea on May 19, 2018 23:56:33 GMT -5
and there are a lot of dandelions and horsetail growing in it. Hey, that sounds like our yard! Lots of horsetail means a combo of sandy soil + high water table. It's true.
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Post by horsea on May 20, 2018 0:01:14 GMT -5
Tiny yard. I have 3 composters behind the shed. One for leaf mold, one for kitchen scraps and one for grass clippings. What do you mean by "composter"? One of those round barrels that you spin round & round with the organic wastes inside? Moi, I throw all organic wastes I can get my hands on (including deer s**t that I gather up)and place it here & there in the garden. Sometimes in a pile. Kitchen slops thrown along the fence line help to keep weeds down. It just chokes them.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on May 20, 2018 7:30:40 GMT -5
horsea, Yes, plastic containers with lids. I don't have the kind that spin, I have to stir the contents myself. Now here's the thing. City Bylaw states that composters can't be within 3 feet of a fenceline due to odor. So open decomposition is not an option. I throw washed egg shells and banana peels out into the garden, but that's all. The other larger problem at hand are Norway Rats. They are at epic levels in many areas. My neighbourhood is no exception. I was emptying the composted grass clipping composter last week and found a nest of tiny newborns. I euthanized them immediately. For the time being, I won't be adding to the composters, but instead, will be putting all of our kitchen waste into the Municipal Collection bin which I normally only use for meat and sauces.
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Post by september on May 20, 2018 9:18:50 GMT -5
and there are a lot of dandelions and horsetail growing in it. Hey, that sounds like our yard! Lots of horsetail means a combo of sandy soil + high water table. It's true. Yes, we live next to a lake. We were told by some old time neighbors that the front area was actually a filled in wet land. I believe it, because part of our front yard is very heavy clay which really does not belong here, and I have found metal cables washing out from the beach edge at the far end of our property, which is next to a very wet cattail swamp. Those dang horsetails will grow anywhere they get a toehold, they have even invaded my clay garden area though it took them 20 years to do it! Most of the property is sandy.
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Post by brownrexx on May 20, 2018 10:23:21 GMT -5
Wasn't aware of 2-4-D now being so widely available. For a time, only farmers were using it. Not happy to see that. I am concerned about this too. People are not even aware that it was a component of Agent Orange in Vietnam and they think that it is some wonderful new chemical that is going to give them a beautiful lawn. It is a real concern to me because even small amounts of it can travel on breezes and damage tomato plants. Many of my neighbors use lawn services and I worry about their chemicals drifting onto my property.
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