Complete Newbie starting a project, help appreciated!

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Havok, Aug 25, 2013.

  1. Havok

    Havok Apprentice Gardener

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    Hello again forum, sorry I haven't replied to your posts my phone didn't tell me you'd written.
    The rosemary I did save, it got some blow back from he weed killer I think so parts of it have died but the plant and the roots seem alive. I started digging up the bed and realised it goes pretty much all the way down (roughly 1.4 meters) do I need to turn over the whole thing? On a side note I have started a compost pile, next doors garden has just been mowed and they graciously gave me 3 bin bags full of grass clippings, I have added this to roughly 5 banana peel, some old bread tea bags and a few crushed egg shells, but I am worried that the grass is too much. I think grass clippings is rich in carbon ( correct me if im wrong) what can i add for nitrogen? I am going to upload a picture of my compost bin (im using a salvaged small metal dustbin but I have a water collector I can empty out and use what are your opinions?)
     

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  2. clueless1

    clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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    Others may disagree, but here goes.
    Not if you use Round Up or any other glyphosate based weedkiller. Glyphosate has no direct effect on foliage, it works by effectively reversing the flow of nutrients and destroying the roots. By the time you see visible results, the roots are already doomed.

    No. It will be sufficient to dig to one 'spit', which is the depth of the head of the spade, so about 10 inches.
    If you are going to sit this year out and plant early next year, I'd dig the grass clippings straight in. They'll be gone by planting time next year, adding a bit of structure to the soil and some, but not much, in the way of nutrients. If you compost a large volume of grass clippings in one go, you will end up with a stinky, soggy mess in your bin rather than good compost.

    FRESH grass clippings are more nitrogen than carbon, but the nitrogen quickly leaches out as it dries, so dry grass is more carbon than nitrogen. Fresh grass also contains a large percentage of water, contributing to the soggy mess I just mentioned. Best mix some 'browns' in amongst it if you intend to compost it.
     
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