Discard or Compost Grass Clippings after using Roundup
Bob
8 years ago
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Bob
8 years agoRelated Discussions
How soon after Pre emergent can I compost clippings?
Comments (4)Pre-emergent affects the soil, not the existing plants. It creates a chemical barrier in the soil that kills emerging seedings. Go ahead and use the clippings....See MoreGrass clipping only compost
Comments (22)@GSRedneck: brief answer is two/three parts: i) No compost pile will stay 'hot' continuously. At some point things cool down. Lots of sources to read about this. ii) Compost piles where you're adding from time to time, especially one type of material like kitchen scraps, likely won't stay hot for long periods, and may never get 'hot'. That usually requires a fairly big pile that has the right mix and goes through one or several hot periods (due to turning and air and water additions). iii) You can cold compost - it will eventually break down. It won't 'kill' bad bacteria and weed seeds as well, and it will be slower. That doesn't mean that compost is bad or dangerous necessarily (there may not be that many bad bacteria in compost made mostly of plants, i.e. little or no meat or faeces or dairy, etc). Opinions differ in this but _my_ take on it is that it's more about helping the 'good' bacteria dominate, which mostly means plenty of air, rather than worrying. You might see if you can encourage compost worms to populate your pile. You may need to cover to keep more light out and keep it more damp. They like compost and will probably show up on their own, you'd just be helping them out. This probably sounds scary but short form is that hot composting is not the only way. Lots of people never get their compost piles hot. If what you want to do is reduce your kitchen-scrap (plant) garbage, cold is perfectly fine too. The other things you can do like adding browns 'help' optimise, you're just trying to get it to fit your needs. But do read up in other places....See MoreHow soon can I compost lawn clippings after Pre emergent?
Comments (20)I believe Corn Gluten is considered an organic pre-emergence. Emergence meaning when the plant from seed can be seen above ground. Specifically what Corn Gluten does is attack the plant's rectal when the seed coat softens, opens and the stored energy within the seed begins growth by bringing the rectal into its escape route into your soil. Corn Gluten carries with it a low level organic nitrogen percentage that nurtures the existing plants while serving as a pre-emergence product. The cost of this and several chemical ways to do pre-emergence has always been debated. My opinion is that all ways of using pre-emergence tactics is only a relatively short time period of less that excellent control anyway. The chemical companies have always paid the universities to come up with warped facts to satisfy the use of their poisons. For instance as stated above: half life is a relatively short period of time but soil life comes out to be about a year. Few stop to read, think and question. First these chemicals are non-degradable. Half life I guess means only half of it has been flushed by rain or watering from your use point and is on its way to your rivers, bays and oceans. Full life must mean your soil is again void of the chemical. That is a direct statement that everything you put on is now en-route to the oceans of the world. The enormous poison pits and zones in the oceans are known and growing. There is no other place for them to go except to enter the evaporation facts and become even stronger where they are. Severe weather may lift them and redeposit them to complete the journey once again back to the ocean pits. If you use and love sea salt now how do you feel it will be enjoyed in another million years? Back to our soils now stated to be full life with no measurable poison in the soil. What they do not test and will not tell you is how long your natural biological recovery will take. The realistic recovery may be five years or longer. Is there a point of no return? I do not think anyone knows. No part of the answer to that question is very nice. Would growing the grass at four inches and mulching the cuttings make better sense? Would spot treatment in the early recovery make more sense than wholesale broadcast of some poison? Do we really need golf course picture perfect homestead grasses? Could we as homeowners recycle those leaves and plant tops by mulching open soil? Could legumes become cover crops that rejuvenate? I'm sure most could do some of these things to eliminate the use of some if not all man made chemicals. This reasoning and these questions apply to all man made non-biodegradable poison chemicals. All! There are no other statements possible that are absolutely true. How does all this relate to pre-emergence chemical concerns? Dumb question. 90% or more of those chemicals are non biodegradable....See MoreGrass clippings as mulch or compost?
Comments (13)Mulch is a good think to help moderate the soil temps and moisture. Grass clippings can be great or bad depending on the situation. If it is full of grass and weed seeds, it might not be great in the veggie garden. If it is cut from one of those lawns with no weeds or seed heads, it will probably be much better as mulch though you want to get it spread quickly before it can mat together into nasty clumps (grass left sitting for much time in plastic bags can turn into ugly stuff.) As to bugs in mulch, well it does offer habitat to bugs. The first season of organic gardening after many seasons of chemicals in a garden, the bad bugs might be overwhelming. With some time, the populations of creatures should even out a bit so the good will balance the bad and the garden can grow healthier. I've not gardened in hard clay soil but I've heard many people who have made their clay more workable by keeping it mulched and moist. I can say my sandy soil is greatly improved by keeping it mulched and moist. In my hot humid climate, organic matter breaks down quickly so I have to add lots of mulch often to keep a good thick layer going. Here is a link that might be useful: www.TCLynx.com...See Moregrubby_AZ Tucson Z9
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