I disagree with the comment that organic lawns are not as green. The two houses right across the street from me only fertilize with composted chicken manure (a product like Cockadoodle Doo), and their lawns are consistently green, greener than 90% of the people in the neighborhood who have regular chemical applications. The one guy is weed free, and the other is weed-filled, but both are really green. I can't quite tell why one guy is weed free and the other has a bunch of them despite using the same organic landscaper. I can't call myself 100% organic yet, as I cheated a bit this year, but I am already seeing some nice results from a few applications of organic fertilizers, compost, compost tea, and mulch mowing both leaves and grass. My one neighbor, who has a SWEET chemically treated lawn, is already going dormant, while my lawn is still going strong.

Embarrassed, huh? Well, there's a lot of that going around. (grin) If I could, I'd fire up my mower and mulch the few leaves that are still on my lawn here in Iowa Caucus-land. But... The only problem is, 10 days ago...it rained...then sleeted 4 inches ... then it all froze into a 3 inch glacial slab of ice. We have been in the 20F to 0F temp range ever since, so nothing has melted. Yesterday, 3 more inches of ice and snow fell on top of the glacier. While most of my remaining leaves are frozen in ice...lots of them are blowing around on top of the snow cover like juvenile skaters on a rink. Carpe diem, ignore the neighbors!

There is a fast growing industry in collecting and composting organic waste, especially food scrap. So bagged compost is not just going to be manure anymore, it's yard trimmings, tree limbs and food scrap. Some contamination is inevitable. Lots of the food scrap haulers use compostable can liners, but not all, so you may find bits of plastic now and then. Plastic itself is merely a nuisance in the garden, not a toxic problem. If you're concerned about what else goes in, keep bugging the producer and ask them what their inputs are.

I've never attached my bag. I was sold on the idea after reading a pamphlet on grasscycling (and that was even before I was big on cycling). I was renting at the time but decided it was a no brainer to cut it and keep it. Question for those who get clippings from others. How long since the last "weed and feed" before it is safe to use clippings as a mulch around other plants, specifically, around edibles? I keep wanting to tell my neighbors to hand over their clippings, especially when they complain about how much space it takes in their garbage can ... but wonder about the affect of what has been added to it. I know on two sides they use the Scotts lawn service...