grass clipping mulch

[hillbill]

anybody here useing grass clipping mulch?im trying it this year but not sure of the long term ramifications. my yard is a mix of clover,fescue and bermuda. hope the bermuda dont take root! lol seems to work good around my squash and such and is supposed to add nitrogen.should till down good this fall too.

[Graybeard]

If you let that bermuda seed before cutting you're gonna be wishing you had not used it as mulch. In my yard if it weren't for weeds I'd have no grass at all so for sure I don't use grass clippings anywhere I want to garden as all I'll be doing is adding more weeds to pull. But I do used it heavily in bare areas that need something green growing and I do still have plenty of those down in the field around my pond.

I'd NEVER use the clippings from my yard as mulch in a garden.

[jvs]

Because of the seeds in grass clippings, I think that using them right out of the mower is not a very good idea.

On the other hand, if you start a compost pile, and put your clippings in there and sprinkle a little 10-10-10 or 5-10-5 and add a little moisture to it every time you add clippings, and mix it up, next year you will have a dandy compost... and the seeds will have 'fermented' with the rest of the remnants.  It may not kill all of the seeds, but there won't be near as many as with fresh clippings.

Compost is made better in some sort of container.  I have seen them with and without hand cranks.  Even a couple of wooden boards, hammered in the ground in a square and dark plastic stapled to the outside makes a good compost bin.  You need something to trap the heat and make your 'stew'.  The only thing is...  it takes alot of clippings to make even a small compost pile.

You would probably do best by not using fresh clippings in your garden.  Only Composted clippings will give you positive results without fear of 'seeding' your Garden.

[hillbill]

well i used the grass clipping mulch in a small part of my garden for a test trial. now mind yu i used grass that was not seeding, had been mowed recently. i put it around my squash plants and they did awesum with no weeds where i put the mulch.if it brings on more weeds next yeasr it will be hard to tell lol. so many now i cant control them in the rest of the garden.

[nodlenor]

I've used grass clippings for several years around my tomatoes. I think it works great. I also use straw and shreadded paper.