Forum Topic

Grasscycling

Just in case the rain will let us cut our lawns regularly."GrasscyclingGrasscycling is a way of recycling your grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn when mowing. This practice is beneficial to your lawn, reduces waste going to landfill and saves time bagging and disposing of grass cuttings. You don’t need a special lawn mower to grass cycle although a mulching mower can make grass clippings smaller if you are unable to cut your lawn frequently enough.Guidelines for grasscycling•Cut no more than 1/3 the length of the grassCut when the grass is dry to the touch•Cut when the height is between 3 and 4 inches (7 to 10cm)•Ensure the mower blade is sharp"And of course there is:  http://www.ealing.getcomposting.com/  for reduced price compost bins and other things

Philippa Bond ● 4688d19 Comments

Although these are practical I hate plastic and wish there was an easy alternative! Anybody got anything different they are using?

Philippa Bond ● 4618d

http://www.thames.savewater.co.uk/Shop/HomePage/SMBUTKITCMN_Mini_Rainsaver_100_litre_Water_Butt_Kit.html

Philippa Bond ● 4619d

Just in case it is still available and anyone is interested.

Philippa Bond ● 4666d

Thanks Philippa.I'll keep my eyes open on those sites.

Phil Kay ● 4674d

Also consider a wormery.  I particularly like the layered ones as they are so easy to use but you can also build your own.  There is lots of info on the web including some good videos.  (Hounslow do subsidised wormeries and digesters.)Cumbria was issuing residents with digesters instead of food waste buckets so as to avoid a collection over their very large area.

Philippa Bond ● 4676d

http://myzerowaste.com/2013/06/5-ways-to-reduce-and-reuse-waste-in-the-garden/

Philippa Bond ● 4676d

Sounds very sensible Gerry.

Philippa Bond ● 4677d

Hi PhilI've just had a look Actonw3 (been away) but unfortunately they have both been taken.  Why not try freecycle or streetbank?

Philippa Bond ● 4677d

Hi PhilippaCan you point me to any free compost bins on one of the other community sites please?I've tried searching but drawn a blank so far.Thanks!

Phil Kay ● 4678d

For what its worth, this is what we do about lawncuttings and grasscycling.  Now that we have the warmer weather, our lawns need cutting at least once a week.  Week one, we cut the grass and leave the cuttings on the lawns.  Week two, we cut the grass and spread the cuttings over a large bed back flower bed and leave to rot. Week three, we repeat the cycle. In the winter we hardly ever cot the lawn grass, 'cos it doesn't need the trim. The routine seems to work.

Gerry Tan ● 4679d

I never said that I hadn't tried it.  I have - only I haven't actually ever paid any attention to the amount of time it takes to decompose.  It's a great nutrient for the grass.  I prefer not to dose everything with chemicals and consequently enjoy more wildlife.If you don't want to leave the cuttings on the grass you can also compost them.  I noticed the other day that there are some compost bins being offered free on the Acton website.

Philippa Bond ● 4680d

Thomas' clover sounds interesting. I notice that in Canada there seems to be some clover instead of grass lawn being grown as shown here:  http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/11/lawn-alternatives-the-great-grass-switchover/Here the Victorians used to grow thyme lawns and then there are camomile lawns and the sedum ones.

Philippa Bond ● 4681d

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/6914/grasscycle-compost-and-mulch-with-grass-clippings

Philippa Bond ● 4682d

Ah - the lazy tree hugger - that's me.

Tony Colliver ● 4682d

Trying it this week.Mind you, the grass was half way up my shin!On how long does it take to decompose - well, I guess the less often you cut it the less one is concerned about a build up of undecomposted trimmings as they will have had longer to disappear.We shall see.Next trim due - Oo - sometime around the end of July with a bit of luck!

Tony Colliver ● 4682d

Sounds like gardening for the lazy tree hugger.No proof, even personal experience, that this process actually works, a link to some random and sympathetic website is not really a fact.Did you ask at Ecobuild what the best way to roll a carpet on the side of a building is?  Still sounded like a good idea, I guess.

Bernadette Clover ● 4682d

Sorry I've never had the time or got round to making a note of how long it takes.  It just gets cut - what there is - when I get round to it.I was interested to see at Ecobuild this year so many different types of growing plants used in place of the usual grass on roofs and sides of buildings - as well as back gardens.  Some of which are just rolled out just as you would a carpet.

Philippa Bond ● 4683d

Roughly related, I am trying to convert my lawn into wild white clover. I cut the grass very close, raked up as well as I could (composting everything), then sprinkled over wild white clover seeds (mixed in compost, at 7g seed per square meter of lawn). The result should attract/feed bees (via the eventual clover flowers), fix nitrogen from the air into the soil and, when I do cut it after the flowering has finished, provide nitrogen rich material for the compost bin. At the moment, I've got the tiniest clover seedlings coming up, but hopefully -- by the end of our glorious summer -- something interesting will come of my efforts.

Thomas Bonasera ● 4687d

Tried that but the cuttings end up being walked all over the house, also the grass doesn't decompose quickly so it just gets more and more every time its cut.How long does it take for grass cuttings to decompose?

marie shelny ● 4688d