Carol Jensen wrote:
Carol, listening to Benny Goodman
Carol
The main factor in whether cut grass heats up or not is moisture, and
the lack of sufficient wet is no doubt why grass cut in summer normally
doesn't.
The place one really sees the bacteria take off is on naturally juicy
young grass clippings which are also damp when cut from rain or heavy
dew. They may only have to lie a couple of hours before they become
warm, and within a day or so can very occasionally be hot enough to
start smoking and have a strong, to me quite tobaccoy, smell. Unless
quickly mixed with browns to break them up they often become a
disgusting gushy mass and afterwards dry into a hard cake, which is
little use for anything. (This is what I have often found in the compost
bins of amateurs who have turned to me for help
We often put out early spring cuts straight in the compost pile with
appropriate browns to balance them, but one can sometimes avoid heating
by just spreading them very thinly over a bare surface until they have
had time to wilt, after which they appear to be temporarily safe from
bacterial attention. As the weather becomes drier the risk of heating
drops rapidly and one can often safely put even unwilted clippings on as
mulch without any fear of damaging the plants. As a precaution though, I
wouldn't ever pile them much more than an inch thick in any one
application.
Hope this puts the record straight for you and that you enjoyed Benny
Goodman!
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time
Thanks for your explanation. I think I myself have not seen that phenomenon. Maybe I don't know any amateurs?
Well, I did collect my neighbors' grass clippings in the US for my compost heap. That was in garbage bags of plastic and smelled most horrible!
Carol, listening to Tommy Dorsey, not quite so good as Goodman
Carol Jensen wrote:
> At 15:53 15-11-2001 +1300, you wrote:
> Thanks for your explanation. I think I myself have not seen that phenomenon. Maybe I don't know any amateurs?
Obviously not, but you probably have never run an advisory service for
home gardeners!!
> Well, I did collect my neighbors' grass clippings in the US for my compost heap. That was in garbage bags of plastic and smelled most horrible!
Inside those bage the wet would have accumulated and the grass packed
down tight so they were very likely in an anaerobic state when they got
to you (yuck, I should say). No doubt when you let in the air and added
browns things immediately improved.
> Carol, listening to Tommy Dorsey, not quite so good as Goodman
Don't think I am familiar with Tommy Dorsey, though I have heard and
liked some of Goodman.
Moira
Who has just been listening to some Mozart.
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time
