Mulching question

[peebee]

I don't use grass as mulch because I no longer have any grass in my front yard, and can't use the neighbors' cuz they all use synthetic fertilizers that also have weed preventatives in it. Isn't it important to make sure the grass clippings are free of such additives?

[JRinPA]

I didn't have anything else available so I used some arbor vitae trimmings. I didn't think about any kind of nutrient leaching...should fresh green arbor vitae trimmings be okay?

I'd hate to have to pull them! The plants mulched with arbor vitae here at the house seem fine, but I also used them at a friends house and we just planted them out over there two days ago.

[AlittleSalt]

Peebee, I completely agree.

Separately,

An over the top and somewhat off-topic reply:

I know this isn't a popular statement on my behalf, but I really wish growing grass wasn't so desired. Why waste water for growing grass? Grass is boring...yawn. Grow some flowers that are pretty or cactus or bushes or trees. Landscape with stone and all the other choices out there.

Grass is something needed in sports stadiums and places where ground erosion preventatives are needed. It's needed for hay.

Most people don't understand that so many of us are allergic to grass. When you wake up sneezing, coughing, your head's all stopped up and sinuses are running - You are allergic to something, and grasses are most likely it. Because everyone has to grow the plant that is actually a nuisance. It's a weed that you have to buy a mower, trimmer, edger, specialized fertilizer, lawn sprinklers, and then work your butt off taking care of - or paying someone else to mow and poison your ground.

"What a nice lawn you have" to me says, "You wasted your money on having a useless who cares plant growing on a spot of land

Grasses have their place. A city lawn is not the right place.

[squirrel789]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Peebee, I completely agree.

Separately,

An over the top and somewhat off-topic reply:

I know this isn't a popular statement on my behalf, but I really wish growing grass wasn't so desired. Why waste water for growing grass? Grass is boring...yawn. Grow some flowers that are pretty or cactus or bushes or trees. Landscape with stone and all the other choices out there.

Grass is something needed in sports stadiums and places where ground erosion preventatives are needed. It's needed for hay.

Most people don't understand that so many of us are allergic to grass. When you wake up sneezing, coughing, your head's all stopped up and sinuses are running - You are allergic to something, and grasses are most likely it. Because everyone has to grow the plant that is actually a nuisance. It's a weed that you have to buy a mower, trimmer, edger, specialized fertilizer, lawn sprinklers, and then work your butt off taking care of - or paying someone else to mow and poison your ground.

"What a nice lawn you have" to me says, "You wasted your money on having a useless who cares plant growing on a spot of land

Grasses have their place. A city lawn is not the right place.

I like that post... I'm not really a lawn guy either. That's why I have virtually no backyard space, but left it wild woods instead of clearing it like all the neighbors did. That's also why I have have been forced to start learning to grow in containers on my patio this year. It's the only place with the proper amount of sunlight.

Yeah, people get obsessive about perfecting their grass growing techniques. I don't really get exited by that, but I guess I obsess over growing other things instead... usually something that tastes better than the lawn

I like reading stuff like this here, thanks for posting it.

[pauldavid]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Peebee, I completely agree.

Separately,

An over the top and somewhat off-topic reply:

I know this isn't a popular statement on my behalf, but I really wish growing grass wasn't so desired. Why waste water for growing grass? Grass is boring...yawn. Grow some flowers that are pretty or cactus or bushes or trees. Landscape with stone and all the other choices out there.

Grass is something needed in sports stadiums and places where ground erosion preventatives are needed. It's needed for hay.

Most people don't understand that so many of us are allergic to grass. When you wake up sneezing, coughing, your head's all stopped up and sinuses are running - You are allergic to something, and grasses are most likely it. Because everyone has to grow the plant that is actually a nuisance. It's a weed that you have to buy a mower, trimmer, edger, specialized fertilizer, lawn sprinklers, and then work your butt off taking care of - or paying someone else to mow and poison your ground.

"What a nice lawn you have" to me says, "You wasted your money on having a useless who cares plant growing on a spot of land

Grasses have their place. A city lawn is not the right place.

I completely agree Salt! All these grasses that are planted are not native. They are invasive, require lots of water, and choke out native grasses. You should check out Native American Seed. They have an online catalog too that talks about water conservation, native grasses, and wildflowers.

[crmauch]

Well, I'm mixed on the lawn thing.

I have two acres. On the east coast (USA).

Flower beds take *more* maintenance in their way than lawns do.

I don't water OR fertilize OR put chemicals on my lawn (usually). BTW, Don't like Indian Mock Strawberry and I *loathe* ground ivy.

Yes grass is not native (and in your area there may be better alternatives), but neither are apples, pears, wheat and a number of other things we like to eat (and I might be mistaken, but tomatoes I don't believe are native to North America).

"Meadows' are a nice concept, but I haven't found it to work very well.

In different areas, different things work better. Too many trees or landscaping if you live too near the mid-Atlantic shore and you'll get eaten alive by biting flies. I think where it is too dry to naturally grow grass should find other alternatives that work for them.

Yes grass uses tons of gasoline, etc. I'd get a goats or sheep, if I could, but have deed restriction than ban farm animals (but a deed restriction on an older property was a better alternative than a homeowners association that are on all the new developments in this area.)

[AlittleSalt]

I got way off topic. I apologize to the OP.

Going back to what Douglas14 originally posted, putting in a mulch too early might be a factor this year. The jet stream is changing to a more northern pattern. It could mean a lot of rain. Mulch holds in moisture and could possibly be a bad thing.

[TightenUp]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Peebee, I completely agree.

Separately,

An over the top and somewhat off-topic reply:

I know this isn't a popular statement on my behalf, but I really wish growing grass wasn't so desired. Why waste water for growing grass? Grass is boring...yawn. Grow some flowers that are pretty or cactus or bushes or trees. Landscape with stone and all the other choices out there.

Grass is something needed in sports stadiums and places where ground erosion preventatives are needed. It's needed for hay.

Most people don't understand that so many of us are allergic to grass. When you wake up sneezing, coughing, your head's all stopped up and sinuses are running - You are allergic to something, and grasses are most likely it. Because everyone has to grow the plant that is actually a nuisance. It's a weed that you have to buy a mower, trimmer, edger, specialized fertilizer, lawn sprinklers, and then work your butt off taking care of - or paying someone else to mow and poison your ground.

"What a nice lawn you have" to me says, "You wasted your money on having a useless who cares plant growing on a spot of land

Grasses have their place. A city lawn is not the right place.

How about a backyard BBQ session with kids running around? You want the kids playing on rocks and cacti? This time of year in NJ you can't beat a Sunday BBQ with the Fam.

I do understand allergies and they suck!

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by TightenUp

How about a backyard BBQ session with kids running around? You want the kids playing on rocks and cacti? This time of year in NJ you can't beat a Sunday BBQ with the Fam.

I do understand allergies and they suck!

A few years ago, I had to do an allergy test. I'm allergic to most types of grass and wheat.

[Sodak]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Doug, I'd stay way away from grass clippings, I tried it once when I first moved back East from Denver in my side garden and what I ended up with was a fermenting, stinking, black mess.

Then I bought a couple of bales of hay and that was bad b'c of the seeds. So I said what the heck and mulched nothing, and over the years having grown about 4,000 different varieties, all was fine.

Carolyn, who also notes that years ago Doug was my source for two excellent varieties, Todd County Amish and Amish Potato Leaf which were snapped up by Lisa at Amishland and given wrong histories but nothing new for her at her website.

like reading fiction...

[Labradors2]

I just copied your idea guys! I found some cedar chips in the shed and put them around all my container-grown tomatoes. Is there any problem if the chips touch the stem? I went around and pulled it away from the stems a bit but now I'm concerned......

Linda

[Fred Hempel]

I do something similar to FarmerShawn.

Like Farmer Shawn said, if you keep mulching, the weed seeds do not germinate. But trying to mow before things go to seed is the best bet.

However, we only are using grass/weed clippings from mowing on second priority crops. We are using rice straw on our most precious crops, particularly tomatoes.

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

A couple of tricks to using grass clippings are, first, mow before it goes to seed, and second, let it dry before applying. Just mow on a sunny day in the morning, and rake it up in the evening. That avoids the soggy mess mentioned previously. I use grass clippings a lot (I mow about two acres!) and I figure, even if there are weed seeds present, as long as I keep mulching, and mulch deep enough, they won't be a problem! That's part of why I mulch, is to keep weeds from sprouting.

[GaryStPaul]

Doug, I use marsh hay, which I can get in bales at a local feed store for a good price. It's virtually free of seeds (it's like straw), stays dry and fluffy for the season. I even bag some of it at the end and use it the following year. Apply after soil is good and warm and then with a lavish hand.

Gary

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by JRinPA

I didn't have anything else available so I used some arbor vitae trimmings. I didn't think about any kind of nutrient leaching...should fresh green arbor vitae trimmings be okay?

I'd hate to have to pull them! The plants mulched with arbor vitae here at the house seem fine, but I also used them at a friends house and we just planted them out over there two days ago.

You are going to be fine. Nutrient loss due to organic composition is only going to be happening slowly at the very top, between the soil surface and the arbor vitae trimmings. The plants roots are much lower and will not suffer from it. Great re-purposing of trimmings! I bet it looks nice too.

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Peebee, I completely agree.

Separately,

An over the top and somewhat off-topic reply:

I know this isn't a popular statement on my behalf, but I really wish growing grass wasn't so desired. Why waste water for growing grass? Grass is boring...yawn. Grow some flowers that are pretty or cactus or bushes or trees. Landscape with stone and all the other choices out there.

Grass is something needed in sports stadiums and places where ground erosion preventatives are needed. It's needed for hay.

Most people don't understand that so many of us are allergic to grass. When you wake up sneezing, coughing, your head's all stopped up and sinuses are running - You are allergic to something, and grasses are most likely it. Because everyone has to grow the plant that is actually a nuisance. It's a weed that you have to buy a mower, trimmer, edger, specialized fertilizer, lawn sprinklers, and then work your butt off taking care of - or paying someone else to mow and poison your ground.

"What a nice lawn you have" to me says, "You wasted your money on having a useless who cares plant growing on a spot of land

Grasses have their place. A city lawn is not the right place.

I think lawns made of of the right grass types (they kind you don't have to ever fertilize or water and rarely have to mow) are fine. All the other kinds a sign of how stupid we humans can be. Taking 1-2 hours of every weekend to primp, trim, douse with poison, douse with food, and water. If we put those hours into our kids or our crops, imagine what we might have.