Compost grass question

[King Edward]

Hobjob, this is a garden 'meadow' rather than a real one, and the compost heap is located elsewhere in the garden. So nutrient leaching is not an issue here.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Hobjob

I am no expert - but I can remember being told that it is best to get the cuttings off the meadow, as you want it to remain nutrient poor, and the composting nutrients will leach out into the meadow. I know that adds to the work though I can think of two local fenns that leave it in piles because of the work involved and lack of limitless workers Perhaps the exerts would comment? Cheers

No claim to expertise from me - but I do think this is an issue that causes some confusion for gardeners who want to grow native meadowland plants.

The 'flower rich' (note this may be different to 'plant rich') meadows of lowland Britain which developed from the medieval period until the early 20thC, covered a variety of soils and were managed under a variety of regimes. Flower rich - meaning those which had a a strong visual signiture - tended to be those meadows which had one or more flushes of annuals, and it is the case that these annuals have difficulty in competing with other grassland plants (grasses !) where the soil has higher fertility. However this is not necessarily the case for perreniels - note the persistence of self heal, cat's ear, clover and yarrow in lawns.

For gardeners, emulating a 19thC idyll of a hay meadow may be a lost cause, and even if achieved actually not have huge ecological value relative to the local area. In contrast having parts of the garden given over to patches of infrequently cut grass (1 - 4 times a year), with some planted native perrenials, can be a low cost, low input regime which serves to increase both plant and animal species.

CM

[King Edward]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

For gardeners, emulating a 19thC idyll of a hay meadow may be a lost cause, and even if achieved actually not have huge ecological value relative to the local area. In contrast having parts of the garden given over to patches of infrequently cut grass (1 - 4 times a year), with some planted native perrenials, can be a low cost, low input regime which serves to increase both plant and animal species.

What you describe here is essentially what I am attempting to do, in various parts of the garden which would otherwise be rather dull lawn. Some of these areas are already quite low in nutrients (and/or rather dry), but the main area is fairly fertile hence all the recent long grass/flower stalk material. The intention is not to create a facsimile of an actual meadow, but to create a flower-rich area of long grass providing food and habitat for invertebrates and other animals (e.g. small mammals, amphibians).

I've left perhaps 1/3 uncut so far this year, partly because there are still carrot plants coming into flower and partly to avoid removing all the long grass at once. It was sown originally with a wild flower / grass mix several years ago, but has been grazed by geese (now gone) for the past 3 years or so until this spring.

The main flowers at the moment are Cowslip, Oxeye Daisy, Common Knapweed, Meadow Crane's-bill, Wild Carrot, Hogweed and Yarrow. I have read that to encourage the earlier species, such as Cowslip, it's best to mow quite early in the summer rather than leaving it for the later species. Does this mean that the Cowslips will decline under a late cutting regime, or that I should aim to cut some patches earlier for them?

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by King Edward

The main flowers at the moment are Cowslip, Oxeye Daisy, Common Knapweed, Meadow Crane's-bill, Wild Carrot, Hogweed and Yarrow. I have read that to encourage the earlier species, such as Cowslip, it's best to mow quite early in the summer rather than leaving it for the later species. Does this mean that the Cowslips will decline under a late cutting regime, or that I should aim to cut some patches earlier for them?

I don't have an answer I'm afraid - I'm rather hoping someone else will chime in. In the absence of any experienced based advice, I'd suggest, that if it is practicable, you experiment by cutting strips at different times/frequency. I suspect soil and climate play an important role in how different plants respond to different cutting regimes, so there may anyway be no standard answer across different soils and local climates. The oxeyes, cranes-bill and yarrow all produce rhizomes which means they are neither so reliant upon seed reproduction, nor are so vulnerable to the effects of loss of foliage that can impact upon those plants which have a taproot that requires replenishment following the high output of flower/seed production. So it is probably wise not to rely on meadow style reproduction and to maintain some areas that are dedicated to an optimum environment for the more vulnerable species - which I would guess includes cow slips.

The name cowslips rises an interesting objection to the 'infertile' doctrine -the 'slips' are supposed cow pats which the plant is supposed favour for growth - hardly a mark of depleted nutrient !.

CM

[King Edward]

Yes, I might try cutting some areas earlier next year. The Cowslips are somewhat patchy, so it should be straightforwar to cut back 'their' area after seeding. That might perhaps encourage the Carrot as well, since that's a very late flowerer.

[Freebird11]

Tips for composting of grass

Grass clippings can be a wonderful source of nitrogen, but we must add to your compost in the right way. However, there are several tips you should follow to ensure that grass clippings do not create problems with your compost pile carefully designed.

Dry everything out
If you are serious about composting grass, the first thing you have to do is make sure the clippings to dry before adding to the compost pile. Fresh grass clippings to the high moisture content which can make them stick in groups instead of being able to spread out freely. This can significantly reduce the amount of air flow in your compost pile.
With this reduced airflow, the grass composting reduces oxygen levels and cause the grass to develop a form of white mold, with a strong smell of ammonia. As long as you allow the grass to dry and spread in uniform layers, which should not have this problem. The alternative is to let the clippings on the lawn and let them decompose naturally, which will provide a nitrogen rich fertilizer that will keep your lawn green and healthy throughout the summer.
Make a layer cake
Composting of grass is best achieved by building the compost pile in most of the same way as you can bake a layer cake. Grass clippings are high in nitrogen and should be between two layers of brown. Browns include things like fall leaves, branches and twigs that have run through a chipper or shredded newspaper.
Start with a layer of brown on the bottom to allow better flow of air through your compost pile. Add a layer of green leaves and grass clippings on top of the brown and create multiple layers in this way. As you start your compost decompose will have to convert the layers with a fork garden, this is to keep the stack of soda and allow much faster decay.

[Adam Cheeseman]

You should cut according to the time of year when your meadow is in full bloom. If it is primarily a spring meadow then you should cut in June/July. If it is a summer flowering meadow then you should it in late August/September, and of course remove as much of the cutting s off the meadow as possible. Creating a meadow is not in the Alan Titchmarsh instant creation field of things. From the start it woiuld be best to rotavate to break up the lawn and then sow/plant your wildflowers. If you create from a lawn then scattering Yellow Rattle seed after you cut the lawn/meadow this will help competition from grasses by reducing them by sei-parasitism. It will take several years to achieve something like what you're after. Take a look at my website mayfordpond.org.uk and you will see what can be achieved from what was originally a formal mown village green.

Cheers,

Adam

[nightshade]

I have not had a scythe in my hand for years, the old chap that taught me always made a platform of sticks for the type of cut grass you are talking about "to let it breathe"
Just remember that lots of people like a bonfire and site it accordingly

[King Edward]

Thank you for the recent replies on this. Most of the 'meadow' area was cut a few weeks ago when I posted initially, so that's all been added to the heap with more stuff on top since. Plus the occasional soaking of the heap with buckets of water, due to its sheltered position under the tree.

Most of the cut grass was dry stalky stuff (plus stemmy weeds), so not really comparable to fresh lawnmower clippings (there are those as well in the heap, mainly from earlier in the year when the grass was growing - not much growth recently, due to the very dry summer).

Next year I think I'll try and vary the cutting dates a bit more - cut some earlier in the year, some later. There are also a couple of extra bits I've been clearing/levelling, which need to be sown now with grass/flower seed. As I think I said earlier, I'm not aiming for a uniform meadow but more for a flowery grassland providing good all round habitat, so I prefer to leave some bits longer/rougher for small mammals / amphibians / invertebrates.

Adam,
Your village pond/meadow looks excellent - very impressive to organise that on a village green.