This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Using grass cuttings as mulch
KT53
Posts: 9,016
I have a pile of grass cuttings which haven't yet had time to break down to form compost. Could I simply spread them over the veg patch and allow nature and the worms to take their course in breaking them down and incorporating into the soil?
The veg patch isn't currently in use, and won't be before next Spring.
0
Posts
I don't cut my grass very often, so when I do, there's too much to go in the compost bin. I spread it on the veg patch or along the foot of the hedge. Works for me.
It depends what you want the mulch mainly to do. As protection against frost its not much good, though you could bulk it out with other vegetable material. if you just want it to rot down as fertilizer, it's fine. Good luck. Ian.
Thanks for the replies. Onto the veg patch it will go.
I use grass cuttings as mulche on flower beds and around newly planted trees. It is very effective at keeping weeds from growing around the trees and keeps moisture in during dry spells. In the flower beds the worms work it in and improve the soil. The big downside of using grass cuttings as a mulch is it encourages slugs horribly.
Mulch was probably the wrong term to use really. I'm really looking at how to utilise it when I don't currently have a proper compost heap, and chucking in the garden waste bin seems such a waste. I've spread the most recent cut on the veg plot and will see what happens. As said previously, the veg plot won't be used before next Spring.
KT---If using weed n feed, then you shouldn't use it on your veg beds. (I'm guessing. I would think the broad leaf herbicide may build up in the clippings and then the soil but I don't really know.)
Last edited: 27 October 2017 12:45:38