For those of you without livestock to feed, what do you do with all the lawn clippings? My rental has a small patch of about 200m2 that I mow after the bin has been collected (every 2nd week) but it fills the whole bin and then some.
I'm concerned leaving the clippings in the yard will attract bugs and pests. Should I ask the agent if they can organise a second bin?
I don't seen many houses with 2 garden waste bins that's why I'm asking what everyone else does.
Thanks
Ask the council for the extra bin - not the agent.
Be careful feeding lawn clippings to livestock. Guy at work down on his luck rented a house at the back of a farm and one of his jobs was to mow the lawn. He didn't listen about not giving the horses the clippings and gave them the clippings - 2 died. Farmer very cross and he had to flee one night as it got pretty bad.
https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/lawn-care-2/grass-clippings…
This. Grass clippings give horses Colic. It will kill them. Never ever do this. Not even once.
Source: own 2 horses
Even if the grass has dried out?
Well that is hay then. Depending on the variety hay is good for them especially Lucerne.
@MS Paint: I wonder what the council does with it? They must get megatonnes in the green bins every week. And that's just from my damn lawn.
@Zachary: Any grass or legume that has been cut and dried is a type of hay.
You are not wrong. You can get wheat hay but also many others like oaten, lucerne, rye, barley, vetch etc etc etc or combinations of the varieties. We typically grow oat and vetch mix but sometimes rye.
Grass mown with a lawn mower may have oil on it
It may also have weeds that are toxic to horses but they might not notice as they're chopped down so fine and eat them anyway
If the grass isn't dried properly it may have gotten mould while drying. Or fermented.
Lots of ways for it to make them sick.
mower exhaust goes straight into the grass cutting area.
No it doesn't - look at where the exhaust is on your mower. The grass clippings are blown by the spinning of the baldes/plate.
Yes. I believe it's because they can eat so much of it so quickly.
MS Paint diagram?
Source: own 2 horses
MS Paint diagram with you on the side plz
Yep. Technically they are ponies.
A 14.2hh arab cross Welsh C palomino
And a 14hh Welsh D bay
Do you do branding on the horses?
And if yes, is it like an OzBargain tattoo?
@Kangal: Bay is branded. Palomino isn't. Branding horses is not a tattoo. It's made using a hot iron or freezing tools.
Breeders do the branding. Not the subsequent owners.
@pegaxs: I think horses would be alarmed by ear tags.
https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_ima…
We could get Scotty from Marketing onto it, he is going to have a lot of time free real soon.
@holdenmg: Agree. Horses would spook from them or get them caught in a fence or a bucket handle etc.
They are flight animals and the results are either an expensive vet bill or a dead horse.
I can’t believe no one has thought of a horse collar, like a dog collar, derrrrr
Otherwise the ear tags would work. Just put one on each ear, stick the horse in front of a mirror and tell the horse they’re earrings! Problem solvered and a new industry of horse fashion accessories created. The other horses are going to be so jelly, they’ll be lining up to get tagged.
I've got two sheep, they don't even like grass clippings (snobs!)
Most of the rental properties around our area come complete with a gardener to take care of the lawns etc, maybe something to push for when next your leases is due for renewal.
That aside, we (also in Vic) can have 2 x 240 lt bins that are emptied every week.
Extra bin here is $120 for the bin and extra $200 a year on rates.
Mulching lawnmower is the answer. MUCH healthier for the lawn (you're not constantly stripping it of nutrients) and no bin involved.
not when you have a dog and kids playing on it
Get a compost bin (ask the landlord) and put it in there. Once the clippings dry (water evaporates), it will shrink. It will also decompose - just rake it back on the lawn, etc.
Alternatively just mow without the catcher and leave it there. It will disappear in a few days - not sure of what bugs and pests you're referring to.
Leaving clippings on the lawn is highly desirable from many points of view. Removing clippings is simply continuously exporting nutrients. Mow frequently so clippings are not too thick, and rake or blow any clumps of clippings to disperse them so they are not noticeable.
This is the correct answer.
2nd this - we don't have much lawn but I still don't mow with a catcher. It encourages a healthier lawn, the worms and other natural being will pull the clippings back down into the soil for nutrients.
Alternatively just mow without the catcher and leave it there. It will disappear in a few days
All that does in Melbourne is kill your lawn.
most sports ovals and parks are always mown with out catchers and seem to still be doing ok I haven't used a catcher on my lawn or any of the 50+ lawns I mow per week for years. Note it is best to use a mulching mower or plug and do it regularly
If you mow every 2 weeks in the growing season yes. If you're only mowing off less than around 1/3 of the leaf blade, then no issues and is great for the lawn.
In Qld you can pay $1 a week to the council for a green bin. Not sure if there’s similar in Vic.
Depends on your council area, Townsville don't do green waste bins.
No grass to cut there.
Use as mulch. If you have a good relationship with your neighbours ask if you can put into their garden bin.
attract bugs and pests
Unless your lawn is a fruit and vegetables.
For those of you without livestock to feed, what do you do with all the lawn clippings?
You shouldn't really do this, as the lawn mowers 'exhaust' into the cutting area, so the lawn clippings are full of the exhaust gases etc.
My rental has a small patch of about 200m2 that I mow after the bin has been collected (every 2nd week) but it fills the whole bin and then some.
Fill your green bin up, and then put the rest into your normal rubbish?
Start a pile of lawn clippings in one corner of the yard with the clippings that won't fit in the bin. Lets call it a compost heap of the agent asks.
You shouldn't really do this, as the lawn mowers 'exhaust' into the cutting area, so the lawn clippings are full of the exhaust gases etc.
But mainly because of fermentation. That's why grass clippings are warm if you handle them.
Rubbish exhaust fumes do not get caught in your catcher or the lawn clippings.
The motor is all seperate from the cutting area, turn the mower over you will see.
Also a lot of mowers are now electric.
Exactly. What mower is there that has exhaust venting to the cutting area. They would have to be extremely rare if they exist. Same applies to claims of contamination with oil and petrol.
So fermentation.. is bad? Is that just for horses or all cattle animals?
Because I've read at some farms they gather the grasses into a pit specifically to ferment it so they can feed it to animals (Fermentation slows bacterial and mold growth, making it last longer)
Bad for horses. Fine for ruminants. We feed our cattle silage which is basically wet hay that is fermenting.
@MS Paint: careful, it can also be bad for cattle too. grass clippings should either be very fresh or gone through he fermentation process before feeding to them or dried before giving to cattle as well.
@gromit: I think the posts lost context along the way Fermented pasture is ok for cattle but not horses.
If you're giving grass clippings to cattle you are making very hard work for yourself 😀
Start a pile of lawn clippings in one corner of the yard with the clippings that won't fit in the bin. Lets call it a compost heap of the agent asks.
Wouldn't this be a potential fire hazard on hot days?
Do you have a storm water drain near your driveway?
Lol.
No not on my frontage no
stand in the bin and squash it down
This explains the burst cracks seen on some garden bins :)
yep just like the one in the side of my bin
Like others said, easiest is to spread them back to the lawn, or use a mower with mulching function that can do this on the go so you don't have to collect anything. If you have time for yourself, leave the clipping outside in a day or two and they will shrink to much more manageable size but that'll be do a job twice.
This. If you're collecting clippings you're doing it wrong.
Take the catcher off, set the mower high, mow, and call it done.
Excellent writeup here: https://richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp
Definitely this. I switched to mulch mowing a couple of years ago and my buffalo lawn is so much healthier. Much quicker too. I was warned that I would be propagating weed seeds doing this but now I have almost no weeds. As mentioned in the link above, a healthy lawn will smother weeds without the need for herbicides. Only extra thing I do is buffalo booster 3x a year.
I was doing this accidentally because my 'find on side of road' push mower had no catcher so my cut grass just stayed on the lawn and I just thought whatever. Haven't had weeds in ages, good to know I was doing the right thing
a large compost bin or two would be an option
if you got one that was smaller you would need to be careful about using thin layers of clippings between other layers slash mixing clippings with other layers - dry browns like leaves and newspaper and wet greens like kitchen scraps
because thick layers of clippings mat together and slow the whole thing down, and you would run out of room before it broke down
Get a mulch mower, makes it all much quicker & easier
My rental has a small patch of about 200m2 that I mow after the bin has been collected (every 2nd week) but it fills the whole bin and then some.
Are you sure it's 200m^2? Given that the average block of land is around 600m^2, that's a really huge lawn not a "small patch" as you're describing. A small patch would be like 20m^2.
It's about 8m X 20m but that's just the backyard. There is also the pavement but that doesn't grow nearly as fast.
Mow it weekly in summer, but with mulch setting. If the man is too long and you are leaving clumps of clippings everywhere mownover again to spread it out or rake some of it up and put it in the bin.
I don't think most mowers have a mulch ability.
True, but you ‘sort of mulch’ just by taking the catcher off. Might mean you need to overlap the cuts a little extra to spread the grass.
Take the clippings catcher off the back of the mower. Lets the clippings fly free and back into the grass.
You're not mowing your grass often enough. If you cut it more frequently you will not need to collect the grass clippings as they will cut up fine enough to go back into the remaining lawn.
I never considered that because I'm used to putting it all in the bin. I cut it every 2nd week as they collect the bins every fortnight. I'll maybe try that.
Compress it down. Get up there and jump on it. Alternatively, create a mulching box where the grass is broken down organically. Then sprinkle this back over the lawn for that lush green look.
According to CHOICE, which I read before purchase, my mower has the equal best mulching ability of any of the dozens of mowers they tested. But when I try to mulch I can only get two results -
1 set so high that I can't tell if I've mowed or not, or just one notch down from that,
2 clumps of grass everywhere.
What am I doing wrong? Am I mowing too fast?
Mowing when wet?
What sort of grass?
Never wet.
Don't know what type of grass. Not kikuyu.
I'd say not often enough. If I leave mine too long the mulcher really struggles to keep up. If I stay on top of it everything works as intended.
A second bin for my area is like $50 or might even be free for garden waste, I can't remember. Seems the cheapest option
I collect some of my grass clippings and then spread on the garden, mainly under and around trees and shrubs. A good depth of mulch lowers evaporation and also soil temperature. Results are less watering required in the warmer months.
Maybe mow once a week and go easy on fertilizer?
I've only been at the property for 6 weeks, haven't done anything to the lawn besides mow and weeds.
Right. Missed that part - sorry. But mowing more frequently cold help. As we're going into autumn and winter growth will slow down and almost stop (lawn will go dormant). There is also a thing called plant growth regulator - it inhibits vertical growth. That could help in spring
I've mailed the agent to ask for a second bin, it's 95$ a year in Vic
If you happen to live or know a friend that lives in the City of Melbourne council area you can get free green waste disposal. (Citywide Dynon Road)
https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/residents/waste-recycling/P…
Back on to the lawn! You’ve got the absolute perfect ratio of nutrients for what the lawn needs to grow, why on earth would you ship it away???
Mulching mowers exist for a reason! If you want to see the best lawns, have a look at the auto mowers… they’re doing two things… cutting regularly and leaving the clippings behind.
To be honest, the lawn grows too fast and thick already, I'd cut it weekly if I had enough bins
As a bunch of ppl have said, mow more frequently. I had the same issue as you, bin would fill up when I was mowing once every 2-3 weeks. It's summer and things grow a lot quicker. I cut lower and often, and now I mulch the clippings and basically don't even touch the bin now.
I'll have to get a better mower, am looking into it
I have a 10kilo weight tied on a string and let it drop on the grass when the bin is nearly full. It's like a compactor. This usually compresses it halve the size.
Just use a spade and ram it down?
The weight I have is light a dumbbell so a flat bottom, if if you use a spade, you dont really get flat bottom
Keep the damn clippings on the lawn. Not to brag but I mow every 7-10 days and always mulch my lawn with the clippings. Have one of the greenest and cleanest lawns on the street. If you mow once every 2 months that's another story
You sound like my neighbour, every couple of days to a week he's mowing the lawn, but I think he has a catcher, mind you he waters it, fertilisers it, sounds like that TV commercial. Maybe that's what he's doing.
200m2 of lawn is big though. Yes you should ask agent for extra bin