Ask the Experts: The gardener | The Sunday Times


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Ask the Experts: The gardener

Published: 8 June 2003
Should I use my grass clippings as an ornamental border mulch?

F Goodall, Chester

Grass clippings can be used as a border mulch (as long as the lawn has not been recently treated with weedkillers), but are better tipped on the compost heap because of problems that arise when they are distributed en masse. In summer, the grass can quickly dry out and, besides looking awful, will blow around the garden.

When it rains, the clippings clump together to hinder the passage of air (and sometimes moisture) to the plant roots. Finally, grass clippings are guaranteed to contain some weed and grass seeds which, if spread on the soil surface, will eventually germinate and run amok in the border. To compost grass, always mix the clippings with coarse, drier material otherwise they tend to form a wet, smelly layer and refuse to break down.

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