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Mon, Apr 18, 11 at 14:35
| I have a lot of dandelions and wild onions in my yard, none in my garden. I don't put herbicides or anything on my yard. I bought a D.R. pull behind mulching vacuum last fall for my leaves and grass. I'm thinking about dumping the grass clippings (with weeds) in between rows for mulch. Should I compost it first? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| If nothinh as bloomed or set seed; OK. What I do with weeds is to put all the clipping in a BLACK plastic garbage bag and let it set in the sun for a couple weeks. When I hand weed; I toss them on a sheet of black plastic and let them bake before composting |
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| I agree with rain1950. I have wild Garlic, it get 12 inches tall & has small bulb lets in the fall. When I pull it out of my garden, I lay the bulb on a rock & smash it flat. Then put in a 5 gallon bucket to rot. |
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| One problem I've had using grass clippings is that it blocks rain if too thick. Had a coworker tell me duh, why do you think some places have thatch roofs? I've put it between rows for the last few years. I do have problems with new weeds at times on the fringe of the rows. This year I'm running grass clippings and weeds through a chipper/shredder and placing directly on the rows again. Going to give it a try. So far that seems to be letting the moisture through. |
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| If what you consider "weeds" have set seed (a "weed" in blossom is not necessarily a problem) you may well see them germinate and grow where that residue is used for mulch, and if those "weeds" are pulled from the ground and the roots are able to reroot, those "weeds" may grow again. But if there are no seeds from those blossoms, or the roots cannot reroot, you will not get any new "weed" growth. Blossoms attract pollinators that need to work on the blossoms and spread the pollen around and then the plants ovaries need to be fertilized and then the plant needs to grow the seeds to maturity before they are viable and can grow into new plants. |
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| "...a "weed" in blossom is not necessarily a problem ..." One of the OP's weeds is dandelion. This has the ability to set seed even after the flower has been cut off or crushed. Even buds will go on to produce seed. |
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| I think I'll leave the fresh stuff out of the garden until next year. I have huge piles from last fall next to the woods, mostly leaves but some dandelion, and nothing has sprouted in the piles yet. I will spread that between the rows. |
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