Disposing of grass cuttings

A

alpha

Guest
Can anyone offer any advice on how to dispose of large volumes of grass Cuttings?

The site is large, just under 1 acre so the amount of cuttings is prodigious.

I can't dump it over the wall into neighbouring field anymore as farmer who was happy enough to let me do this is now going to use field for cattle and grass cutting makes them sick.

Advice on composting would be welcome becasue I'm under the impression you need to mix other waste in with grass cuttings to prevent it turning into a slimy pile of sludge. I don't have that volume of extra waste so I think composting is not a viable option.

Garden waste can't be burnt - this is illegal - and there is a helicopter that surveys the area and imposes a €400 fine on anybody caught.

Is there anybody here in a similar situation and what do you do?
 
alpha - I'd love to know where the helicopter is, I have never heard of it before.

You do need to mix other stuff with grass cuttings (especially with the volume you have), but in reality if you have an acre you presumably have *some* other vegetation there which you can use to mix.

Just establish a compost heap (loads of places on the web showing how to construct one, but in reality you can get away with just making a big heap) somewhere in your garden. Actually it might be worth establishing a few and spreading the load (of grass) across them. Add in kitchen waste (peelings, raw fruit remains, kitchen paper, etc . . . but not cooked food or raw meat) and let nature take its course.

You could also consider getting a wormery, perhaps in addition to the compost heap. While the compost heap relies on a somewhat passive process (heat building up helping to accelerate breakdown) the wormery relies on the active process of the worms eating and digesting the grass so this *may* help with the volume issue. Remember of course that the wormery would also require a mix of content as the worms wouldn't thrive on grass alone.

z
 
Helicopter

Zag,

The helicopter flys over where I am from, Tipperary- Limerick border,keeping an eye on who is burning waste. They are on patrol 7 days a week.
 
helicopter

Zag, I'm in Galway county. See the helicopter pretty regularly. Saw him land in a car park in Moycullen once and go into the pub for lunch :)

The site is a new site and currently is just grass (actually it's more weed than grass - but that's a whole other issue)

I'll look into the wormery idea a bit more. Thanks.
 
Re: helicopter

just put it all in an open trailer and drive around for a while, it'll spread out over a few miles and nobody will notice.
 
If it's just grass (no building yet) why not tell the farmer next door to let a couple of calves/sheep/donkey in to graze it?
 
Christine/alpha - that's interesting, as I say I had never heard of it before. Is it something run by the Department of Environment, or do you know who runs it ?

I can see how it could be usefull alright.

z
 
mulching?

Cushtie, The house is built, there's just nothing done with ths grounds yet apart from grass.

Zag, sorry, do't know who operates the helicopter.

Another option I was told about would be mulching the grass. I have a ride on mower and I think it can be retro fitted with a mulching kit.

Any opinion on the pros/cons of this?
 
Spying helicopter

Alpha - I live in Galway and that is the first I have heard of a spy helicopter!!!

Are you sure?

I know of a couple of guys in Barna who own their own helicopters and go up regularly.
 
helicopter

I live i south tipp and have also heard of the helicopter. Helicopters fly over the area occasionally but how do you know if its the environment people? People around our way often burn garden and household rubbish
 
Re: helicopter

alpha - the idea of leaving the cuttings on the lawn is perfectly valid and there is no reason why you can't just leave them there.

z
 
Yes Zag

Thats exactly what we do with the lawns at Castle Blacksheep ( provided the cuttings are not very long )

It would be murder to have to collect the stuff
 
Re: Black sludge

Hi Alpla,

My sister has a similar problem - loads of grass cuttings to compost and not enough other stuff to mix with it.

So she just lets the cutting pile up in a secluded corner of the garden. Of course it turns to black sludge. The secret is to just ignore it and eventually it will be usable compost. Instead of using this year's cutting as next year's compost, she says you have to be able to wait perhaps another year so that you're on a two-year cycle.

Don't worry about mases of cuttings encroaching on the garden. It quickly loses bulk as it turns to black sludge. I haven't tied this myself but my sister insists that it works.
 
Silly nonsense...

Why not just cut the grass more often and don't bother collecting waste? Duh!
 
Re: Silly nonsense...

As far as I canrecall, leaving cuttings on the lawn encourages weed growth.

ninsaga
 
Re: Silly nonsense...

Glad we have resolved the grass cuttings issue.
What about these mysterious helicopters?
I have a 'friend' who burns his garden rubbish and I need to let him know about these covert operations!!!
Do they work on Bank Holidays?
What about night time?
 
Cuttings v mulching

Ninsaga, I was always under the same impression too. But I've been told that mulching does not have this affect.
Mulching can build up a 'thatch' i.e. a layer of vegatation on the surface of the soil that needs to be broken up with vigourous raking ever year or two. That I could live with.
 
Re: Cuttings v mulching

Here in Waterford County they have just introduced a brown bin collection for grass cuttings kitchen waste etc, they have a central composting station.

However I doubt if the bin would hold an acres worth of cuttings
 
helicopter

Also from Co. Galway and can confirm that there is definitely a burning-rubbish-spy-helicopter patrolling the area. Seems to be more interested in black smoke (i.e. indicating burning tyres or such) and know of a few people who were fined because of it.
 
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