Grass clippings with pesticides - good for compost??

Discussion in 'Soils, Fertilizers and Composting' started by blueseagirl, May 31, 2006.

  1. blueseagirl

    blueseagirl Member

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    I can get lots of grass clippings from my "Jims Mowing"-neighbour, unfortunately there is all kinds of stuff people put on their lawn, that I dont know of. Are these clippings good to go in the compost, will the pesticides decompose into "harmless" matter? Can I use those clippings as mulch for my organic veggie garden? Is there a "too much" of grass clippings when it comes to compost, provided that it gets aerated frequently?

    Yours truly
    Blueseagirl
     
  2. oscar

    oscar Active Member

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    Everything decomposes eventually, some things just take longer than others, but its best not to use in the compost, and definately not to be used on an organic veggie plot.
    Yes too much grass clippings will be difficult to compost......aeration fine, but controlling the moisture content is very difficult.
     
  3. Helen Leung

    Helen Leung Active Member 10 Years

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    You would definately need some "browns" with the grass clippings. When I don't have any dried leaves left, I would tear up newspaper or paper from my shredder.

    You can always used the clippings as mulch in your flower beds or for your evergreens. They seem to like that.
     
  4. blueseagirl

    blueseagirl Member

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    Thanks for your advice

    Thank you for your advice. I usually mix some chicken and horse manure from a small farm nearby in with my compost, plus fresh seaweed, and I try to turn it all over once a week. That should be a good mixture then for the clippings to decompose properly.
     
  5. pierrot

    pierrot Active Member 10 Years

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    "I can get lots of grass clippings from ... unfortunately there is all kinds of stuff people put on their lawn, that I dont know of.

    Just a word of a caution ... if you don't know what they have put on their garden i.e. herbicides and other weed killers then is it a good thing even though it is free?

    several herbicides such as tordon can last for years on stubble and even through bovine digestive tracts. I have seen this happen in the Prairies where someone has obtained manure with the chemicals (usually used to control broadleaf weeds in wheat fields) in them and suddenly their potatoes and tomatoes sunflowers etc are stunted deformed and really bizzare

    In a truely organic garden you should be able to say with confidence 'I am organic and I know where the chemicals I have used come from"

    Remember there is no such thing as "Good and Cheap"!
     
  6. jimmyq

    jimmyq Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    not sure how I missed this thread but I agree with Pierrot. composting chemical treated bits of anything is likely not a good idea. free or not. get those clippings to your local green waste disposal site, let them send it off to their gigantic compost heaps, at least then it will be diluted (so to speak) with tremendous amounts of other waste.

    although Pierrot says " there is no such things as "Good and Cheap", I wonder if he has seen the local ads in the paper for " tree topping, good and cheap" ?
    actually, in hindsight, perhaps he does have a point.
     

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