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| I know this question has been batted around before, but I can't remember the outcome:
In 'feeding' my compost pile, if fresh cut grass clippings are considered a 'green' (nitrogen) , are dried grass clippings considered a 'brown' (carbon)? If this is true, then is it really beneficial to a lawn to mulch-mow if the fresh, green clippings are only 'nitrogen' less than a day until they dry and become 'carbon ? So bottom line ~ 1. Are dried grass clippings considered 'browns' 2. If they are, then how does mulch-mowing return
I always return to the Gardenweb for answers from the best !
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Fresh grass clippings are 'greens'. Fresh grass clippings allowed to dry are still 'greens'. This is basically what hay is. If one leaves the hay exposed to the elements, some of the N will be lost, so over time, it may become closer to a 'brown'. Dead grass that is cut, or thatch that is raked up, is more like a 'brown' but the variance can be so great it would be difficult to definitively state what the C:N ratio is. Lloyd |
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- Posted by mackel_in_dfw (My Page) on Thu, May 24, 12 at 22:25
| I gotta say, Lloyd, that was suberb. I use fresh grass clipping as top dressing for sensitive new tree. They dry out in a continuous cycle so I create "equilibrium". I don't speak chinese and forget the s's at the end of words, usually, though I like what you can say in few sentence... Counter Psychobablist and Literal Simpleton, |
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| I agree with Lloyd & use all types of grass as mulch &/or compost. |
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| Some sources list fresh grass clippings with a C:N ratio of 20:! and dried grass clippings as having a C:N ratio of 15:1. Other sources will tell you that dried grass clippings are browns, having a high Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (sawdust is around 400:1). One source I found lists thatch as having a C:N ratio of 25:1 while other sources simply speculate that thatch must have a high C:N ratio. With that information grass clippings will always be a "green" not a "brown". |
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| I would not trust any source that said dried grass clippings have a C:N ratio of 15:1. |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Thu, May 31, 12 at 11:33
| Mulching the clippings is recommended for the moisture addition as well as the N. The clippings are primarily water which is something that a typical lawn needs anyway, so why put it elsewhere. |
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