Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: vikingraider on April 26, 2024, 17:59

Title: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: vikingraider on April 26, 2024, 17:59
I've just watched a youtube vid where someone put potatoes on the ground then covered them with grass clippings. Has anyone tried this? Do the grass clippings get too hot/turn into a mat? On the vid the woman only showed her starting the process then harvesting a different crop
Title: Re: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: Goosegirl on April 27, 2024, 09:32
Last year I grew my pots in tubs and covered the top with grass clippings and they didn't turn into a mat, they just helped with water retention. Make sure you haven't used lawn weed and feed until the lawn had had 3-4 mowings.
Title: Re: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: mumofstig on April 27, 2024, 12:00
I've just watched a youtube vid where someone put potatoes on the ground then covered them with grass clippings. Has anyone tried this? Do the grass clippings get too hot/turn into a mat? On the vid the woman only showed her starting the process then harvesting a different crop
I don't see how this would work if they were just under a layer of grass clippings, tbh.

In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5gOrUMEuw8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5gOrUMEuw8)  she says she uses a 6in layer of grass plus 6-8ins of old chicken bedding... and then says she earthed them up( with more clippings/manure I suppose) so that's clearly enough for the potatoes to grow as normal..
It is however, an awful lot of material to collect... great if you do actually have access to large quantities of old chicken bedding and lawn clippings, though  :)
Title: Re: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: vikingraider on April 27, 2024, 13:19
Yes that's the woman, MoS. I watched different vids though, it appears she has a few. You never seem to watch her go the full year with her potatoes, it cuts to different years/veg plots. I might try one potato using my grass clippings(no weed or feed or anything). I have quite a large lawn so should have enough clippings, although there's lots of moss in it
Title: Re: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: mumofstig on April 27, 2024, 14:08
Do you have the chicken manured bedding, cos to my thinking, that is more important than the grass....

Obviously I've no personal experience, though. If you do try putting potatoes on the soil and just covering over with grass clipping, don't forget to let us know how you get on :) Good luck!
Title: Re: No dig potatoes using grass clippings
Post by: Snow on April 27, 2024, 22:35
I do "no dig" potatoes, but I do put them in a hole a few inches down.i earth them up with lawn clippings, straw and comfrey. Only first earlies which need little earthing up, I don't think I could do it that way with maincrops at all, they require far too much earthing up and I don't have any spare compost when I would need it for them.