Grass Heap

[Feral007]

Touch wood we've never had the mower clippings combust. I was a little worried when we started the no dig harden in case the hay bales combusted. Knowing insurance companies I figured they'd say.....well that isn't covered by your policy! But luckily nothing did.

Atm we are tending to leave the catcher off the mower and just let it mulch the lawn, except when I want some for the compost pile.

[bearded bloke]

The above covers grass cut wet & left to air dry,however if you use the agricultural methods applied to silage (grass cut,collected & stacked while wet or dry) spontaneous combustion is precluded by the lack of oxygen,firstly the "clamp" is rolled by heavy machinery as the loads are delivered to remove air pockets & ultimately the complete pile is covered by THICK black plastic to exclude light & oxygen,the moderate levels of heat generated exothermically are not enough to get combustion due to the aforementioned exclusion of oxygen .
The same effect can be achieved in smaller quantities by dousing with a hose pipe & then covering with soil then plastic sheet.

[Jeanied]

Oh my - I was horrified to read this - specially since I got the grass clippings put in the school compost bin! Well the gardening club are going to be fascinated - and I am sure they will happily pour some water into the dalek!

[bearded bloke]

Jeanie,for dalek's do the bread & butter thing 2" clippings 2" of other compostable material 2" grass clippings,etc .. if no compostable material available the wet it down & shovel some soil on top an inch thick will do to exclude oxygen.

[Florence Fennel]

Ok so now I'm really worried. It's not near the house, but it is up against the wooden fence. It looks about 3" thick and is spread over about 10' x 3' and it's damp. It's not in direct sunlight. I have some black weed suppressant fabric, shall I cover it with that?

[bearded bloke]

As a 3" thick layer there is very little to no risk Flo,it's when it is in a heap there can be a large build up of heat & bad things happening.

Sorry to worry you,guess I took the thread title too literally

[dominic10]

Jeanie,for dalek's do the bread & butter thing 2" clippings 2" of other compostable material 2" grass clippings,etc .. if no compostable material available the wet it down & shovel some soil on top an inch thick will do to exclude oxygen.

Phew ! Thanks for this. This is how I am doing a compost pile at home with different layers in pallets. I was originally going to post that one year we piled grass clippings next to a tall, broad leaf bamboo which had hardly moved in 20 years - it went bananas. The grass rotted down very quickly and we freecycled lots of the bamboo which spread into the ' grassy compost' pile. We are still harvesting lots of canes this year.

[Two_Sheds]

When ...grass catches fire, the wood or grass is not burning. Rather, it is gas that is given off ... Common gases are carbon monoxide and methane, and these burn easily

wet grass is difficult to heat to the temperatures where gases come out, so it is difficult to get fires going with wet materials Wood and Grass Burning Temperatures

[Florence Fennel]

As a 3" thick layer there is very little to no risk Flo,it's when it is in a heap there can be a large build up of heat & bad things happening.

Sorry to worry you,guess I took the thread title too literally

Don't apologise BB, I'm grateful to you all for the warning. I've taken another look this evening and it's more like 15' x 4' x approx 12" deep, but other than spreading it on to the grass or bagging it up I've nowhere else to put it and I'm in my rather cute PJs now, so it will have to stay there for tonight at least.

[veggiechicken]

Now you're worrying me. BB!! I have a heap that is piled upon each time the grass is cut. Its a couple of feet high now. Maybe its time to spread it - but that means sorting the flat tyre on the wheelbarrow.........

[taff]

I drove past a heap on fire the other day. The blokey has a field, he cut it, piled it on top of a load of brush wood he'd collected, and kablooey....instant poofage

this was a whole fields worth of clippings though, so don't worry about a wheelbarrow full just yet....

[bearded bloke]

he cut it, piled it on top of a load of brush wood he'd collected, and kablooey....instant poofage

Probably had a nice wind tunnel through the wood under the grass I reckon

All the time that rain is running through the clippings there is no danger as it keeps the grass cold

[Two_Sheds]

..instant poofage

I'm not saying anything, I'll let VC have the honour

[veggiechicken]

I wouldn't be so politically incorrect, 2S

[bearded bloke]

I wouldn't be so politically incorrect,

And that my friends is where the country has gone wrong,up until this thread I had not heard the word "poofage" but instantly understood its intended usage so why should the use of a random word be politically incorrect,just because it has ...poof... in it ??? so does that mean we will no longer be able to get new spoof movies ?
I am happy that current views have not (to date) been applied retrospectively,just think how dull life would be without a repeat of a Carry-On film/Monty Python/Are you being served/It aint half hot,even Alf Garnet every now & then.