rescue after moldy grass clippings...

My well-intentioned neighbors put a lot of clippings into my bin while I was out of town, but I found they were moist, matted, and had acquired a lot of what looks like white mold! So, I've removed a lot of them and the moldy interior, and mixed everything up well with more dried leaves. I wasn't planning to put a lot of clippings, because we have kind of a weedy lawn with a lot of violets in it.

I am wondering:
- will this probably be OK from now on or is my bin totally hosed?
- Will I end up with lots of weeds? (it is a small bin and I'll be getting worms since it is unlikely to get really hot)
- Also, is it reasonable to recommend donations be more limited to fruit/veg scraps (esp. if anyone tries any weedkilling, I imagine the chemicals will kill our plants later if they are on the grass clippings)

Thanks so much!

Your bin should be fine. They need to put the grass clippings beside the bin so you can handle the layering yourself, LOL. Normally you don't have to much to worry about with chemicals that have been applied to grass if you've got a hot pile going. By the time it's broken down that's not much of a problem. Don't worry about the worms if it does get hot, they just move out of the way and keep on eating. Would be a good time to do a little "use organic methods on your lawn, it will do much better" sales......grin Talk it where ever you can, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but you've planted a seed a doubt about chemicals and what they do to the ground. :)

We use a lot of grass clippings each year as mulch. We try to mow before the grass and weed seeds mature. Then it's mostly OK. Same for a compost bin.

The matted quality is what makes green grass such an effective mulch. On the compost you can only use it in a thin layer, as doccat says.

Our neighbors asked us if we wanted their clippings and we said "sure!" Luckily, they dump them on the garden path, so if there's any chemicals, they don't get on our plants.

I did that to my compost pile, before I really knew what I was doing. Same thing, really matted and the white mold. I just used a tilling fork(with the tines closer together) to fluff it out and added alot more leaves and manure. It really took off within a few days.

Fungus and moldy looking things are a normal part of composting. It's just a stage of rotting.

To keep grass from forming thick mats in the compost, don't layer. Mix with leaves or straw or some other carbon source to lighten the mix, and it won't form those thick mats. I always mix my compost ingredients, never layer for just that reason.

Karen