Sludgy, rotting grass....

[OverWyreGrower]

We have a huge grass pile in our garden, and the bottom of it is sludgy and rotton and smells like manure... actually, it almost has the texture of manure as well.

I've already used 12 buckets of it on my compost heaps/bins, which are a bit dry, so I was hoping that this would perk them up a bit.

Could I use this to put on my beds over winter (then cover with card and black plastic)?

I would think that a couple of months under the plastic would see it rot into the soil (which is very heavy clay soil) and be quite useful.

[rustylady]

First question is why do you have a huge pile of grass? Why don't you add it to the compost bins as you cut? Best to do this and mix it in with other waste forming a balanced compost.
A whole pile of cut grass will tend to ferment (farmers used to stack fresh cut grass/immature hay and pile into huge bins to make silage which is used as cattle food in the winter (smells really sweet and rotten). However any vegetation will eventually rot down into useable compost which can be added to your plot as a soil improver.

[Snadger]

To tell if it's useable just check for worm activity. If it's full of worms, as mine is, it will do the world of good on the land!

[Two_Sheds]

We have a huge grass pile in our garden, and the bottom of it is sludgy and rotton and smells like manure.

I inherited two Daleks full of the rotten stuff when we moved into this house. I have finally managed to dig it all out, mix it with shredded paper, and stuff it all back in the Daleks to rot properly

Always mix some brown (dry stuff) with your green (wet plant stuff)

[OverWyreGrower]

First question is why do you have a huge pile of grass? Why don't you add it to the compost bins as you cut? Best to do this and mix it in with other waste forming a balanced compost.

Mainly cos we've got 1/3 of a acre to cut, and the 5 compost bins (and 1 recycling bin) can't handle the amount of grass that it generates.

We've been piling it up, cos I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I supose we've made some sort of silage now!

It does have worms in it, I checked!

[Two_Sheds]

OWG, just out of interest, are you always going to have to cut that much grass, or do you have other (less exhausting) ideas for your land? Wild flower meadow? Woodland? Orchard ?

[Sue]

My allotment neighbour has two huge pallet compost bins full of cut grass, it's mixed with shredded paper and I'm allowed to help myself and I've used it as a mulch, putting it on in a thick layer when the ground was very damp. It help stop weeds and cut down hugely on watering. It's gradually breaking down and as I empty the beds, I'm clearing off any that hasn't broken down and adding it back into the compost bin. Any of the grass that has begun breaking down is getting dug back into the ground.


Sue

[Snadger]

It's exactly the same as cow muck, it just hasn't been through a cows multiple stomaches! Smells the same too!