If you leave it, it will smell bad for a while.
In a year, it'll have composted, I think!

Three neighbors give me their grass clippings. In addition to using them in the compost pile, I sometimes use them to mulch my garden (under the flowers, under the tomatoes, under the blueberries), so that'd be one way to divert some of it. Eventually it gets worked down into the soil by worms and such.

Is there any reason you don't want the grass clippings in with the leaves? I do realize the result won't be "leaf mold" but "compost" ... but ... well, do you have a special need that leads you to prefer leaf mold over just regular compost?

To keep the grass from being slimy and stinky, you want browns. Leaves, shredded paper, wood chips.

Ohhh! Shredded paper! I can do that. That's a good tip for me.

When you say leaves, can I use green leaves? Or are you referring to fallen leaves in autumn? Or does it not matter?

The only reason I didn't mix the lawn clippings in with my pile of leaves is that the leaves are almost ready to be used in the garden now. They seemed to have broken down into mold pretty quickly from last autumn and I think they'll soon be ready to use. I assumed the fresh lawn clippings (which will keep coming all summer) would need a while to break down.

There is a lumber yard not too far from me. They give away the sawdust/chips for free. Would that work?

Re: sawdust/chips from the lumber yard - yes, with reservations. If they have cut treated lumber, that is poison...bad new for you or soil organisms.

News papers are my most-used 'brown'. So easy to hand 'shred'. I have several people who give me their papers. And as with any other item we ask others to give/save for us ... usually all it takes is asking. People love to feel connected to conservation, even when they are too busy/distracted to do it themselves.

BTW ... if these fresh lawn cuttings are from your own yard ... sprinkle in thin layer on top of mulch/soil .. will dry out and crumble and magically turn into compost. A thick layer turns slimey.

Yes, you can use green leaves too.

One of the issues with grass is that, as you described, it gets slimy. It mooshes all up against the other grass as it does, and you end up with a gloppy mass with very little air in it. The lack of air is one of the sources of stinkiness ('cause different and stinkier bacteria flourish there). The other source of stinkiness is too much nitrogen (ammonia-ish smell).

The green leaves won't make the carbon-nitrogen balance perfect (though they will improve it). But they do something else good - they tend to be stiffer than grass, and hold their shape in a way that leaves air pockets in between things in the pile. That's good, 'cause it lets air in.

If I had lots and lots of grass clippings and no old leaves, I'd add green tree leaves if I had 'em (and they do seem to be coming down with all the storms recently!). But shredded paper may address both things - carbon balance and air circulation. Just don't make it all moosh /matt together.

One last tip with grass - the sooner you toss it / combine it with other stuff, the easier that will be to do. If I wait a while after a neighbor has dumped grass (or loot the brown "yard waste" bags in the neighborhood when they're nearly ripe), the grass is matted together. Sometimes it almost forms "sheets" or layers that I can peel apart. Fresh is easier!

- lcpw

The tips above are good. But even if you just left the stuff alone it would eventually break down. Worms eventually go after the stuff if nothing else. I would be inclined to use it as mulch layed on a little bit thin as long as there are no dangerous residues or excessive amounts of weed seeds present.

You might also buy a bale of wheat straw or pine straw from Lowes/Home Depot, etc., to mix with the grass. One bale will last a long time.

If I had a situation like that, and really had no leaves or paper or sawdust, etc... I think I'd dig a shallow hole and bury the grass for a year. Just a few inches of soil on top to keep the smell down. I never tried it though, just an idea.

I have such a hard time imagining that people have a shortage of browns for composting, perhaps because I live in the country, and there are woods all around me where I can score all the leaves i want. I recently scored a huge load of rotten wood mulch that was so decomposed it looked like soil itself. My plants are loving it! Do you have any wooded parks? I'm sure you could help yourself to some browns there. Old construction sites are great places to score straw, they usually purchase way more than they need. Shredded newspaper is very easy to come by, but in my pile, the shreds tend to migrate together and clump up, no matter how many times i seperate them. I am beginning to think that newspaper is magnetic. The people who save me coffee grounds have just switched to un-bleached napkins, so I will be collecting those too, and let me tell you, they love me taking their "garbage" out for them. If you have a free-cycle program in your area, you could post a listing for stuff you want to get your hands on. Of course, I am working, very hard, towards joining Lloyd's elite group of compost wackos, er...i mean enthusiasts.

Is it okay to just bag up browns from public land? Would you get in trouble?

I've been searching for browns. I have lots of shredded paper but I really need a variety of browns. All paper and no dried leaves makes for boring compost.

well I would recommend putting lawn clippings over the top of your garden. It helps retain moisture and the nutrients released during the breakdown process do wonders for your plants. Some people dont like the idea of allowing grass to decompose over their beds during the growing season because of mold and disease issues, however I have never had a problem. If you are one of these people you may find it effective to pile up clippings over your garden during the winter months and allow composting to take place. When the spring comes till the clippings into your bed and you will have some premium soil! I have been watching my dad do this for 25 years on his garden and I guarantee positive results!

I agree with calypsobloomer. I use grass clippings exclusively in my garden as mulch. If you spread them out as mulch they don't seem to get as smelly and it only lasts a little while. As mentioned, if they break down they 'almost forms "sheets" or layers'. If you use the clippings as mulch like I do, the sheets are wonderful and weeds cannot penetrate them.

There's no such thing as boring compost. After it's broken down, you can't tell which was the leaves, the grass, the lettuce or the paper. It all looks the same. Use the paper, sawdust is too high in carbon, might be poisoned, and takes forever to break down. Mix in some regular old garden soil with your greens and browns. That's all the innoculant you need to get the microbes into the mix to start everything breaking down. Add water and toss 'em all together. Depending on the amounts of greens and browns, I've had usable compost in as little at two weeks, or as long as 10 months. Sometimes you just get lucky. Cheryl

None of the public areas around here mind at all. At the state parks, I just pop in the office and ask if it would be okay, and if they have an area they would like cleaned up. They usually jump all over it.
Norma

Good point Norma. One man's pile of junk is another man's compost treasure.