- Area designated that needed to be tilled
- Plot was tilled using gasoline rototiller
- Layed out garden rows and planted corn, tomatoes, beets, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini in garden
With the space prepared the next step
was to procure the grass clippings. I waited for the lawn to grow
extra long and shaggy and then cut it and allowed the clippings to
air dry on the lawn. Before laying the mulch I did do some weeding
of some of the more robust dandelions and thistle plants since at
this stage they were bigger than most of my seedlings After the
clippings had dried I raked them up and began to to place them in
between the rows of seedlings. I placed about 8 inches of grass
clippings evenly throughout the garden plot which covered all of the
existing weeds that remained.
What I found out this time.
Over the course of the growing season I
did continue to weed in the garden rows themselves. Since I could
not place a thick enough grass mulch layer between my closely growing
beans carrots and beets to prevent them from growing. My weeding
demands were reduced greatly by the application of the grass mulch
when compared to the neighboring plots. I did have issues with the
more robust thistle pushing through the mulch layer but this was
easily remedied by just a little bit of manual weeding with a garden
trowel.
What I feel I can conclude at the end the this quickly done and frankly not very scientific experiment
is that the grass mulch did aid in reducing my weed pressure in my garden. A couple things I will change when I do it again is keep up the thickness of the mulch. Over the course of the summer my grass compacted down to about 1 inch or less in thickness and this did not provide some of the benefits I was looking for.
What I will change for the next
time.
I would also like to start the process the fall before if possible and apply some straw along with the grass clipping in a very thick layer. This thick mulch would slow up planting in the spring but if done correctly it should smother most if not all weeds and greatly reduce the amount of weeding a person has to do. This mulch would also provide a steady source of organic nutrients, water retention and provide habitat for beneficial insects to thrive rather than the sterile relatively lifeless environments most people work with.
I believe that mulch can and should be a healthy part of any garden and if used correctly is go to method for solving a lot of garden woes from nutrient and weeds all the way to pest problems.
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| View from railroad bridge located in NW corner of Grand Forks County North Dakota |
