Lawn clippings, horse manure...

[Lynda]

Wondering how to make best use of my lawn clippings. I have about an acre of grass to cut each week, and manage to use some in my single compost bin. I do have another bin on order from the council...

I have used some grass as a mulch on an unused area of the veg. garden which I only started this spring, but am concerned about what crops will enjoy soil which has had grass clippings applied.

Should I leave it to rot separately somewhere first, or can it be used fresh anywhere on the veg plot? I am using a rotation system of four beds, but do have an area of ground which I could set aside for other uses.

I also get regular supplies of small amounts of horse manure from my neighbour, what's the best way to use this also? Many thanks in anticipation!

[SarzWix]

You could try making a stack alternating the horse poo & the grass clippings? The one should help the other to rot down I think?

I'm sure some of the other 'grapes' will have some ideas though

[Snadger]

Mix the two together in a heap! Fresh horse muck(especially from the stables where there's a lot of urine mixed in!) is an ideal compost activator as it has a lot of ammonia in it!

[Lynda]

Thanks for your advice Snadger and SarzWix! Hadn't thought of just mixing the two. Sometimes the answer is just so much simpler than you thought...
Can you tell me then how long to leave it for and where on the veg plot I can use it? Would it only be suitable in certain areas?

SarzWix, I used to live just outside Skipton until 3 yrs ago. How's the old place doing? I miss it still.
Best regards to you both, Lynda.

[SarzWix]

Um, how long to leave it depends on how hot it gets - it'll be slower in the winter than it would in the summer. You'll know when it's ready, it'll be darkish brown & look more like the bags of manure you can get from the garden centre. It should be good for imroving the soil most places you're growing veg, except for carrots which don't like too much fertiliser/manure in the soil. Pumpkins/squashes & beans like plenty of it, potatoes some too.

Skipton is just the same as ever - avoid like the plague on market days & Bank Holidays!
There's a Farmer's Market now though which is good.

[carlseawolf]

you need to put some brown stuff in with the mix ( ie cardboard ) because it has the carbon element and grass and manure are both high in nitrogen . A perfect heap mix 1 part nitrogen to 2 parts carbon. check this site ;
www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

straw and woodchip are also carbon

[kentvegplot]

We too have a lot of grass. I used the fresh clippings as deep mulches on the veg beds this year, in theory to combat the hot, dry, summer

Also mulched our hedges, then put the rest in compost bins (3 daleks), mixed with shredded paper and card.

Hope that helps...

[vegnut]

If you are growing beans next year, dig a trench and slowly fill it with a mixture of both and leave open for a while, when it's full, put the soil back on top and let it rot down over winter. Next year plant your runners on top of the small mound. Their roots will love it.

[terrier]

If you have 1 acre of grass to cut each week then thats a lot of grass to compost. Mixing grass and equipoo together works well, thats the way I get rid of my mowings. How to store/compost it? Go to a builders yard and buy a Dumpy bag, they cost about £8. These are very strong and will last for years. They hold a cubic meter of whatever you want to fill it with and thats a lot of mowings. Cover it well (I use old corrugated cardboard boxes or used carpet. FIll it in the Summer and let it do its stuff through the Winter, come spring you should have some good compost.