Mowing around the garden

hitchhiker90 4/25/2011, 2:02 pm

The warmer weather is here, combine that with the amount of rain we have gotten this month and one look at my yard and you'd think you were entering a mini jungle. Despite me not wanting to because I'm lazy, I must mow the lawn today after work. Is there anything I should do to try to avoid getting grass clippings into the garden? I'd hate for them to go in there then start growing weeds. How do you all get around the garden when its time to mow the lawn? BTW, I'll be using a push mower. Supposed to be 85 out today too. Eeeeek.

elliephant 4/25/2011, 2:38 pm

As long as the grass hasn't gotten long enough to shoot up seedheads (is that what they are called?) you should be ok. Which is NOT the case in my jungle of a backyard, and it's in the 90s here, especially during the time of the day when my youngest sleeps, and my husband teaches night classes most nights...so it might be until after the semester ends before it gets mowed. (Sorry for the highjack!)

Miss M 4/25/2011, 3:27 pm

If you mow with the exit thingie away from the garden, you should be good. Cool

Just notice how far away it shoots the grass clippings, and don't turn the mower so it's aiming toward the garden until you are farther away than that.

Aub 4/25/2011, 10:50 pm

Bag it and put it in the compost!

Ha-v-v 4/25/2011, 11:02 pm

I have to say "Do not run into the long grass" !!!!
lololol One of the lines from "Jurassic Park, The Lost World."

The rains in the south bring long grass and long weeds. Smile

Ha-v-v

CarolynPhillips 4/26/2011, 9:48 am

Ha-v-v= I thought it was funny. lol!

Ha-v-v 4/26/2011, 9:52 am

CarolynPhillips wrote:Ha-v-v= I thought it was funny.

I can picture it that movie and that scene with the grass around here. There is stuff I will not walk into in the summer here:)

Smile

BackyardBirdGardner 4/26/2011, 10:03 am

Standard responses are:

- bag the grass
- discharge away from the garden
- get ready to pull some grass weeds

But, you can also run a border around your garden. If your pathways are 3 feet wide, as suggested by the book (but totally up to you), you could just mulch the pathways if possible. You could also keep things to a dedicated area of the yard, like a corner, where it's easier to avoid with the mower.

Sky's the limit.

dizzygardener 4/26/2011, 10:16 am

I need to do battle with the weeds myself. The guy who cuts our yard hasn't been around for about 3 weeks at this point. It is a jungle out there and the caterpillars are starting to invade.

If he doesn't come soon I'm going to have to get the weed whacker or hand weed cutter out and take care of things myself!

acara 4/26/2011, 10:45 am

I just hinge together 3 pieces of plywood (so that it's free standing) & and use that as a temporary barricade for the garden boxes when I'm mowing.

Easy, cheap, reuseable.

Could probably do the same with 3 pieces of rebar and an old bedsheet

hitchhiker90 4/26/2011, 12:59 pm

These were all great suggestions, thanks! I mowed the lawn yesterday, and pretty much aimed the discharge away from from the box. The lawn mower doesn't have the bag accessory so that wasn't an option and there is no way I'm going to rake up the grass clippings and put them in a bag or anywhere else. I really don't like to do landscaping but I must otherwise the neighbors get upset. I might look into laying something down around the box so the grass doesn't grow in that area.

MikeRoger 8/4/2011, 2:58 am

I would like to add my thanks for this thread.I have just begun to mow my lawn and the suggestions are helpful.

Goosegirl 8/4/2011, 7:37 am

Ha-v-v wrote:I have to say "Do not run into the long grass" !!!!

That is exactly what pops into my head every time Hubby says he has to mow! We have had so much rain here that if we don't keep up on the mowing we could lose small children in it!

GG

**Kelejan** 8/4/2011, 7:39 am

$glad you\'re here$ Mike Roger to the Forum. happy hi

Goosegirl 8/4/2011, 7:41 am

hitchhiker90 wrote:These were all great suggestions, thanks! I mowed the lawn yesterday, and pretty much aimed the discharge away from from the box. The lawn mower doesn't have the bag accessory so that wasn't an option and there is no way I'm going to rake up the grass clippings and put them in a bag or anywhere else. I really don't like to do landscaping but I must otherwise the neighbors get upset. I might look into laying something down around the box so the grass doesn't grow in that area.

Depending on the model, you may be able to order a bag for your mower, if you decide you want to save clippings for the compost bin or use them as mulch in the garden. That's what I had to do for mine, and it was less than $30.

GG

Goosegirl 8/4/2011, 7:45 am

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:Standard responses are:

- bag the grass
- discharge away from the garden
- get ready to pull some grass weeds

But, you can also run a border around your garden. If your pathways are 3 feet wide, as suggested by the book (but totally up to you), you could just mulch the pathways if possible. You could also keep things to a dedicated area of the yard, like a corner, where it's easier to avoid with the mower.

Sky's the limit.

MikeRoger: The mulched pathways have worked well for me between the boxes. However, I have flowers planted around the outside edges. If they are not blooming, Hubby mows right up to the boxes. If they are blooming, he remembers not to cut that close! Either way, it stays looking fairly neat.

GG

**llama momma** 8/4/2011, 6:00 pm

I have several pieces of old shingles, about 2-1/2 feet wide each. Take about 5 of them and rotate them around the garden beds as it kills everything under it. . They are heavy, water-proof, and get very hot and literally burn a dead area around the boxes. Easy for hubby and his riding mower to get close but not too close to the boxes. I could put mulch over the cleared areas but so far I haven't bothered.

milaneyjane 8/4/2011, 11:27 pm

My SFG's were placed where my tilled garden used to be. The past two summers I have been using the weed eater in between all the beds. I recently used round-up---- I know it is horrible but I don't think it should harm my plants or SFG's since my beds are 16 inches tall. I am going to be putting down woodchips. I have an area in the garden where I put a thin layer of woodchips down two years ago and it has worked fabulously. Cheap and looks nice.

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