Lawn Clippings as Mulch

People in my neighborhood dump their lawn clippings in the woods. I have gone over there, and taken them and have used them between my bushes. Now I plan to use them in my garden for mulch around my tomato and pepper plants. Is there anything I need to be concerned about. If chemicals are sprayed on my neighbor's yard, would those chemicals affect the tomatos? One place on the internet says that the clippings should not be deeper than an inch.

Thanks

Tom

Reply to
Tom or Mary
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"Tom or Mary" wrote in news:428bd4f5$0$3457$ snipped-for-privacy@reader.city-net.com:

Pesticide uptake by tomatoes is almost nil. I would be more concerned with uknowingly distributing weed seeds into your veggie garden from the neighbor's yards. Also, it's been my experience that anything thicker than a thin sprinking of green grass clippings results in a fetid, stinking and cloying mat of decaying grass to form.

IMHO, green grass clippings are best used in the garden as a top dressing soil amendment, sprinkled lightly but frequently everywhere you wish to improve the soil. Weed barrier mulching (aka, the Ruth Stout Method) is best left to straw, pine needles, even shredded newspaper.

Reply to
David Bockman

I put about 5 layers of wet newspapers down before I put any shreddings down. Keeps any other weeds down successfully. I use shredded leaves that I collect in the fall but my mother uses grass with great success.

Reply to
Dana Schultz

The message from "Tom or Mary" contains these words:

I use tons of the stuff, our own and trailer loads delivered free by a local lawn-mowing contractor. Two trailer loads yesterday :-) When I first started doing this two years ago, he thought I was mad, and I had to run miles with a barrow collecting it as he cut, but now he brings his trailer into the garden and parks it wherever I want the grass that week. Most of the beds were initially made by covering an area in cardboard then mulch.

I apply grass clippings about 2" thick, but don't let it touch the stems of plants. Once a year the soil in decorative areas also gets a heavy cover of fresh seaweed and a smaller dressing of animal manure. The vegetable area gets seaweed and home-made compost, manure in some areas. The decomposition of so much green stuff by soil biota will temporarily take nitrogen from the soil, so make sure you compensate for that with something nitrogen-rich. Comfrey or nettle tea would do.

The soil is now full of worms feeding on the mulches. Many small birds constantly turn over the mulch searching for the worms, so it quickly breaks down into a loose dark friable covering, no smell, no caking, and easily permeable to rain.(High rainfall area). The mulch and constant bird activity keep down the weeds, and any which do germinate have their roots in the loose upper surface so are easy to tweak out.

I can't answer about the chemical question, because none are used on the lawns that supply the cuttings.

Janet. (Isle of Arran Scotland)

Reply to
Janet Baraclough

Janet Baraclough wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@zetnet.co.uk:

Wow Janet, your soil must be incredible! Pictures please?

(Yes, I just asked someone for photos of their soil)

Reply to
David Bockman

The test for herbicide residue in compost involves using peas. Peas are very susceptable to herbicide residue and it affects their growth severely. Control for the test is with non -contaminated soil.

Reply to
bamboo

If they used herbicide on their turf, it will definitely effect your tomatoes. They will have leaf curl or possible death if the concentration is not dilute. I would only use clippings from a persons lawn if I knew they used not pesticides.

Reply to
escape

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