Garden planting

[fish-fighting-illini]

 I have a very small garden off the back of my garage. I usualy use grass clippings as mulch. This year I used a rotary spreader to put wee N feed on the lawn.

Would anyone hesitate to use the clippings for mulch?

PS I may have made a big mistake. I used that last pre weed n feed clippings to mulch. They were full of soft maple whirly birds. I think I am going to be growing tomatoes and Sherwood forrest! ( bad move maybe? we'll see)

[Catt]

Hint #1: Oak Leaves  

Hint #2: take a soil sample to you local university AG center for analysis which they normally do for free.  

[BASS fisherman]

My Dad is a big gardener.  

He uses any type of leaves to spread around in the garden.  My understanding is that the leaves help slow the growth of weeds, and maybe even helps furtilize the garden.  If not this year, then for next year.

He also makes and maintains a compost pile.  Anything we have that is a food product that we plan to throw away goes into the compost.  Egg shells, coffee grounds, bananna peels, old lettuce...etc....

Then as he plants he throws a bit of compost into the hole, or row he is planting.  

[FishTank]

I grow tomatoes every year in my garden and we use a mix of composted manure (cheap stuff at Lowes) and free coffee grounds from Starbucks.  I usually get about 5-10lbs a week from them.  I would guess I have put out 300lbs or more of coffee grounds around the house in the last five years.

mmmmm..... Coffeematoes....

[fish-fighting-illini]

Thanks everyone but what I was really trying to find out was...

....as the weed and feed has poisons to kill weeds in it should I be concerned about the residual getting into my food chain as a result of using the grass clippings for mulch.