Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: hanssg on May 18, 2014, 21:05
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hi thinking of using my cut grass to mound up my potatoes does it atrack slugs and also when it dries out does it all blow away.
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Someone else on here does this, not tried it but when your garden in the size of a postage stamp you dont get much grass
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I use grass clipping for earthing up potatoes, it works well for me.
The ground needs to be damp when you first start to put them on, I make the first layer just an inch or so and make it a good width either side of the shoots as they come through the soil. Then add more and thicker layers each week. The clippings need to be put on as soon as the grass is cut, if you pile them up to use later they get too hot to use.
With first earlies you wont get many potatoes if any in the clippings but they keep the soil moist and stops the light getting to any pots near the surface.
It works brilliant with main crop. Keep piling the clippings on and potatoes will grow in them and be better than the ones in the ground and also be lovely and clean.
But, you do need a constant supply of grass clippings and in large amounts if you grow a lot of pots and you MUST be prepared to put them on straight away. Its not always easy getting between the rows with loads of grass clippings when the plants are in full growth.
They don't blow away once in place if you have a nice thick layer and I don't have a problem with slug in earlies. In main crop I have a slug problem what ever I do.
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hi thinking of using my cut grass to mound up my potatoes does it atrack slugs and also when it dries out does it all blow away.
I don't grow much,But I do grow a load of spuds in bins etc..
And this year I am also trying the grass method for the first time for earthing up.
As it does cost me a load in compost each year.
Next year I will be trying straw aswell :)
I say go for it.
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They don't blow away because they kind of mat together like felt.
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ok thx for that think i will try some on my main crop.
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I have earthed a bit as the mains were buried a spade and a half down, so now cover with the grass cuttings from mine and the neighbours.
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I earthed up my pot grown potatoes with grass last year, layered it with compost. No idea if it was the right thing to do but it seemed to work!
I have a plentiful supply of grass clippings!
Hannah :)