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Cutting grass when it's over a foot high.


Ford Anglia
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We've just got back from our place in the Southern Haute Vienne. The last visit was in April, when we cut the grass to a SHORT level. Arriving back last week and the place looked like a wilderness.[blink] There was main grass over 12" high, some grasses in clumps over 18" high and weeds in places over 30" high.

I KNOW it's the main growing season, but my lawns in the UK don't grow like that[:@]

Anyweay, what with the foul weather, (it rained HARD at least once every day), we only managed to cut it to maximum height and NOT collect the clippings.

What I need to know is, will the clippings left all over have any lasting bad effect?

Thanks.

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Leaving long grass on the cut grass may (repeat may) smother the growing grass underneath - depends on how good your mower was at chopping the long grass.  Personally I would not worry too much about it as a one-off.

 

Leaving the grass clipping on the lawn every time does run a risk of building up a thatch of dead grass, which if not removed can encourage moss.  One cutting won't be a problem though

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We've got friends in the UK who visited their place near Carcassonne last week for the first time since April.  Like you, they had cut the grass very short on the day they went back to the UK and, like you, their garden had turned into a jungle by the time they came back.  Their main concern, however, was the large adder which slithered out of the long grass, across the terrace, through the patio doors and under the couch [blink] - luckily, I spotted it and it was swiftly dealt with [+o(]

We've promised to go and cut the grass for them (in between all these flippin' downpours) before their next visit at the end of the month - I think I'll be wearing my wellies [:D]

 

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""Their main concern, however, was the large adder which slithered out of the long grass, across the terrace, through the patio doors and under the couch""

There are no adders in that part of France, and even if there were they wouldn't be large, so looks like a case of mistaken identity and if you dealt with it by destruction it's a great, great shame and certainly nothing to be proud of in my view, so I do sincerely hope that you in fact removed it to a place of safety.

Chris

 

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Ford Anglia - I'm the main grass cutter here and even though we're here all the time it has been a titanic battle this year to keep on top of it. I'm not winning in spite of having a tractor plus broyeur, a siton mower and a petrol mower to use. For example Sat. and Sun. were nice and warm and today it rained nonstop. I've spent hours raking up foot high cuttings and making little haystacks. I would strongly advise you to pay someone to come and cut your grass regularly when you're not there. They don't charge much and you would be giving someone a job. In theory the grass should have a rest from growing between July and Sept, then again in the winter. Pat.
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[quote user="Ford Anglia"]

We've just got back from our place in the Southern Haute Vienne. The last visit was in April, when we cut the grass to a SHORT level. Arriving back last week and the place looked like a wilderness.[blink] There was main grass over 12" high, some grasses in clumps over 18" high and weeds in places over 30" high.

I KNOW it's the main growing season, but my lawns in the UK don't grow like that[:@]

Anyweay, what with the foul weather, (it rained HARD at least once every day), we only managed to cut it to maximum height and NOT collect the clippings.

What I need to know is, will the clippings left all over have any lasting bad effect?

Thanks.

[/quote]

FA you know the answer very well - the clippings will not have any lasting bad effect but they will look a mess [:D]

guilty conscience - go mow it again

and spare a thought for those of us who do it for a living [:(]

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LOL - I advertised for work (was registered then for garden maintenance) in the June 1st copy of French News a couple of years ago.

A woman phoned and screamed at me to "cut her meadow as it won't stop growing"!! I told her that I only cut lawns up to 3000 sq metres (as I wasn't about to wreck my ride on cutting meadows). I suggested asking a local farmer with a tractor and topper to cut it but she said that there wasn't any access for a tractor to the meadow as they'd had their swimming pool installed in front of the gate as it was the flattest part of the garden.

I apologised and said that I really couldn't help, and she accused me of "not being a real gardener". Eh?

Gosh - I could tell some tales!
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[quote user="chris pp"]

""Their main concern, however, was the large adder which slithered out of the long grass, across the terrace, through the patio doors and under the couch""

There are no adders in that part of France, and even if there were they wouldn't be large, so looks like a case of mistaken identity and if you dealt with it by destruction it's a great, great shame and certainly nothing to be proud of in my view, so I do sincerely hope that you in fact removed it to a place of safety.

Chris[/quote]

 

Sorry Chris, we understood that there are Asp Vipers in the region - friends not far away have them in their garden and they warned us to watch out if we see a snake under 3 feet in length (this one was around 2 - 2.5 feet long) as it was most likely venomous. 

We've seen plenty of bigger, greener snakes (grass snakes, we thought) around but this is the first time we've seen a smaller, brownish one.  Maybe we panicked on seeing it in the house (yes, I'm sorry to say it was swiftly dispatched) - I didn't mean to give the impression that it was something to be proud of (I'm the one around here who fishes beetles, etc out of the pool all summer) and would never advocate killing something without good reason (or so we thought).  I was only trying to warn Ford Anglia to watch out for snakes in long grass!

I'd better go read up more thoroughly on reptiles in the Languedoc . . . [8-)]

 

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There certainly are Asp Vipers there, but not Adders, even so there is nothing to be afraid of if you use a bit of common sense. I have them in my garden without any problems and they really are not that dangerous even if you should get bitten, not pleasant but almost never life threatening, sort of on a par with a wasp or horsefly for most people.

Chris

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Chris pp, I've been reading  this Forum for some time now and always respect your posts, if  anyone knows his wildlife its you.  So please could you expand a little on the  asp / viper venom thing.  I was told you need to get to hospital ASAP if you get bitten and you must get a dog to the vets in under 2 hrs after a bite.  Are you saying  thats rubbish?  Being  a Beekeeper I've been stung what must be 100s if not 1000s of times and yes it can be unpleasant (the swelling is the worst bit and if its on the face or neck its not nice) and it takes 72 hrs to clear, but I thought that the snake  asp venom was on another level ?

For anyone living in and around stinging / biting  insects I recommend getting  a suction pump from the Chemist.  You apply to the bite / sting  and it sucks the venom out, leaving a round red mark on your skin!  It hurts a little but much less so than that caused by the subsequent swelling if left unchecked.

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Chateau Miau: THANKS A LOT! NOT!!!!!! That's all I need, now I have to worry about snakes in the grass as well as cutting it. Oh well, I suppose the wife could do it? (Sighs.)

Chris pp: I'm also unsure of your posts re being bitten. All the French I've spoken to about snakebite, say the same thing: get to a hospital asap.

And anyway, if I was to be bitten, I reckon the venom would be the LEAST of MY worries. I think a heart attack just might see me off on the spot. The last time I saw a snake fairly close up, I was still shaking an hour later.

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Wear wellies, 105E; that's what I will be doing next week.

Going over for first time since New Year on Sunday and not looking forward to the grass!

Was cut in April by my chum. The worst thing is the orchard as we grandly call it; that's a brushcutting and stimming job for me. And that's definitely long bags and wellies, mate!

And then there's the cattle ticks from next door.....................................

Last time Mrs GS had one (un-noticed) it was a hospital job and out with the scalpel!

 

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It's worth a thought. My wife wouldn't want anyone doing it that wasn't ULTRA careful though, as she's one of  "those" gardeners whi INSIST in putting shrubs, wildflowers etc etc in the grassed area, then moans if they get damaged by the mower.
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