Don't buy recycled compost!

[Grasscutter]

For two years now...off and on..I have been speaking to the soil association and council composting companies with regards to the testing they carry out on recycled waste that is made into compost.

Although they test for heavy metals and substances that are hazardous to health they do not test for substances fatal to our own crops and plants that you would use this household recycled waste on.

Just put Clopyralid into google and read about the devastating effects this has had on the US recycling industry and the damage it has caused.
It is found in everyday weed and feed lawn products.
It does not biodegrade quickly....infact it can take years. It is absorded into the grass cuttings taken after the weed and feed has been applied to your lawn, turned into compost, and sold as recycled compost by local council sites.
You may have seen it at shows.
If you have used it as a mulch you will see knock back of growth in shrubs and plants...But the main concern is no one has tested fruit grown in this media.
True, one of the test to see if there is any contamination that would affect plant growth that is carried out by the composting companies, is to germinate seedlings of tomato plants.
However that is the extent of the testing...plants will grow in it.
What they have not done is grown the plants on to fruit and tested the end product to see if anything has transferred into the fruit and if it is detrimental to human health.
I have, over the past year tried to get answers from the composting ruling bodies.
The soil association seem to pass the buck and say proceedures are in place, but I am unable to get anyone to alay my fears.

If we go down the route taken by the USA, where the next step in certain counties after household composting, is cattle waste composting, from commercial farming, another problem comes into play.
The weed killers used to kill thistles etc in fields is absorbed by the grasses, eaten and absorbed by the cattle and are still present when passed as waste manure. It is not destroyed by the animales digestive system.
This is sent to the composting sites for processing.
Just put COPYRALIDS into google, read about it and let me know what you think.
Just look at the contents when you buy your lawn spring weed and feed
Till then I would advise no one to buy household recycled compost from their local site.

[sue1002]

You've raised some interesting points Grasscutter which should make people think about what they put into their bins.

I compost as much as I can at home, the only stuff I put into the council bin to be taken away are weeds that I don't fancy putting back onto my garden. I haven't used any lawn treatments for the past year and a half and the lawn is coping well on its own without the need for weed and feed.

What amazes me is the fact that some councils are selling the stuff, our council gives it away (after all we've already paid them in with the council tax to take it away in the first place). We only ever had one lot one autumn which did wonders for the runner beans the following year, and after reading that the stuff in our area is mixed with sewage sludge, we haven't had any more, the car stunk for weeks afterwards:(

[Neil Bromhall]

Thank you Grasscutter, this is very interesting.
One would think that buying compost from the council would be the positive side of recycling, but not as you point out if it's bringing in unwanted and undigested chemicals back in to my garden which then restricts the growth of my plants.
I will certainly be looking in to this.

[Miranda]

That's very interesting, Grasscutter. I shall certainly be looking up this chemical. We discussed municipal compost on another forum, a while back, and all agreed that there was no way to find out what's actually in it and that it's better not to use it. I tried to get more information from our local council about what testing what done to ensure that garden chemicals don't stay in the mix, but they couldn't ensure that their mixes are clean.

My garden is a serious wildlife garden - I haven't used any chemicals since we've been here and don't intend to start. The moss in the lawn will come out under my own steam or not at all. On being organic, I've noticed that year on year, we get more and more beneficial insects. This year we had an increase of parasitic wasps, who did for the aphids, which was very heartening. They will have laid eggs in the soil, so I like to think that we'll have more next year :)

[Grasscutter]

Miranda,
Just a note on lawn moss.
I don't rake it out like they tell you, waste of time and effort!
But at the end of evey season, arrd November, I cut the grass short, and pile about three inches of old compost, new compost sharp sand mix, anything that I have left or have composted all over the lawn.
Tread it down and then re seed it.....

Superlawn in spring, new grass roots seem to knock back the moss..and away we go for another season.
Don't believe all the RHS tells you to do with lawns!!!!!!!!!

[digger]

Thats okay if you want to do it but it sounds like as much work as raking the moss out. i recently had the chance to "attack" someone elses lawn whilst i was staying there and i got a big bag full of lovely sphagnum moss for lining my hanging baskets with. if you re compost your lawn and re seed it each year has this not raised the height of the lawn in comparison with the surrounding area?

[sue1002]

I use an electric lawnraker to help remove moss and thatch, it only takes the same time as mowing the lawn.

[Miranda]

Hello Grasscutter, I can see the idea of compost and then seed, instead of raking, if a lawn isn't going to be used for a good while, but I couldn't stay off mine for long enough for this to work. I do a fair bit of garden work over the autumn and winter - moving/propagating plants - so I don't think it would be a practical solution in my garden.

There are a few reasons I like to rake - it removes thatch; the moss I rake out is saved for nesting/roosting material for the birds or for basket lining; raking helps to get rid of lawn pests, such as leather jackets and chafer grubs, which are scraped out by the rake's metal tines. Finally, I enjoy the exercise.

[Grasscutter]

This is just my way of dealing with unwanted moss.
I appreciate a lot of people rake and re use the moss....

[Miranda]

And I appreciate that you find it the best way, Grasscutter. It isn't something I'd have thought of. Have you got any other time saving things that you do?

This is my Special Method for cutting the lawn:

Trim edges first and throw trimmings onto lawn. At the same time, have a good look at all the plants, pull up any weeds and throw them onto the lawn as well. The same goes for any faded or damaged bits of perennial foliage.

Go round with lawn mower, which picks up everything, leaving the lawn looking like a newly vacuumed, if slightly mossy, carpet.

I find this method really quick - you get to do a number of jobs in one go and end up with tidy edges (v. important, in my humble opinion ;)) and borders.

[digger]

Tidy edges can make a lawn look really nice, our lawn at the back garden is quite reduced in size from when we first came here, I am slowly stealing more and more ground for planting. On the compost front, our local council bags and sells the re cycled copost for £2 a bag, but I don't know of anyone who buys it. For the reasons mentioned by grasscutter I have not bought the stuff.

[Miranda]

Our lawn is also much reduced from its original size, digger. I've realised that I can't take much more up without it looking silly and have toyed with the idea of digging it up altogether.

It's still tempting, but I'm not sure how to work it - digging the lot up, putting in a load more plants and putting in a bark path through it is one idea.

Because our lawn is quite small and is curved around the house, like a narrow green lake, the edges need to be kept neat or it looks really scruffy.

[digger]

Yes I know the feeling Miranda we have our front garden split in two by a central path. When we came here one half was a lawn and the other a flagged drive! we did away with the drive and the lawn and planted the whole area up. We did debate ad consider re instating the drive but we didn't which i am happy for. At the back the lawn has reduced each year in size, I did look on the cottage garden societies website and for them lawns are a sin! OH has agreed that i should have more planting space at home and the lawn is the natural solution .Time will tell whether or not the lawn will begin to look ridiculously small, but i thought of having step stones as path ways. I did read (not sure where) that step stones with a gap just enough to make you walk cautiously will slow down the journey through the garden and give you time to appreciate everything in there.

[Grasscutter]

Mianda...

regarding time saving tips...
The best one is, make the wife tea and toast in bed then...
just bring the lawn mower into the bedroom!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I'm not being sexist just making fun...which gardening is all about.

How's this one.

In a shaded area, plant with hostas the correct distance for spread apart.
Then plant round them and at to the correct depth dafs...tete-a-tete is a good one,and variaties that flower at slightly different periods during spring.
Plant in clusters so they can spread.
Now cover the area in muchroom compost.

In spring masses of flowers, then February 14th use slug control on hostas, and watch them cascade out, over the tops of the daff leaves...dead head the daffs, and tie back, they can be cut back 6 weeks from the last flower head.
Enjoy hostas thru the summer through to autumn.
If you then repeat this operation you will establish an area that does not or needs minimal weeding at any time. You have year round colour, and foliage...and you can more or less forget the area till the hostas need splitting and bulbs need dividing.

Over the seasons you can add snowdrops, muscari and helebores to extend the colour season december to spring.

Just a note on scarifying lawns.
The main reason I don't do it is the fear of moss spores being transferred to other areas of the garden..and in ornamental lawns.

Just another point on moss scarifying