Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Plot74 on April 29, 2012, 23:19
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Are they any plants or weed leaves not roots you should not add to your compost heap.
I have two compost heaps on the go one of which was from clearing my plot last July this included roots and all.i have turned this over a couple of times removed any roots that looked active it has been covered all of the time and is breaking down very well. How soon will it be before I could use this on the plot.?
How long do seeds stay active in such compost?
John
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I don't think you can put couch grass in without risking it spreading.
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Annual root's are fine but all other's go to the tip. My bin's which are quite large are left for 1 year and are turned over after 6 month's.
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Annual weed seeds are great survivors of anything other than a really hot compost heap (and not just "conventional" weeds, as anyone who has ever added tomatoes or squash seeds to their compost heap will know!)
That's why hoes were invented ::), although obviously the best plan is to add as few weeds which have gone to seed as possible.
Needless to say anything woody will take longer to rot down than soft green material, but my two least favourites are moss (2 years) and bamboo thinnings (seemingly never!) to rot down. :ohmy:
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Bag up weeds in black bags with a half brick in the bag- leave in the sun to wilt for a couple of weeks (if you ever see the sun at the moment) and then plop into your water butt tied up with a string. The weeds rot and you get some of the goodness back into the water. Eventually after a few months you can compost the slimy mess left in the bag or just bin it.
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Bag up weeds in black bags with a half brick in the bag- leave in the sun to wilt for a couple of weeks (if you ever see the sun at the moment) and then plop into your water butt tied up with a string. The weeds rot and you get some of the goodness back into the water. Eventually after a few months you can compost the slimy mess left in the bag or just bin it.
Thats a good idea. Do you stab the black bag a few times before submerging?
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I hate anything to go in the green bin and I keep everything except couch which gets sizzled
Having chickens in a boon with disposing of weeds as you just give them to the hens to deal with, and you get to use the lovely manure they give back
The water treatment for the stuff that is left is the way to go. To make lots of compost it follows that you needs loads of bulk, and if you're chucking everything in the green bin to be wheeled away then you're not going to be making much compost
I don't really get this idea that compost has to be completely inert and sterile, like stuff you buy from the shops. You can cook a bit for sowing seeds in but for general garden use it's fine as it is. I can live with a few tomatoes popping up in it
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I do not put any weeds into my compost bin. I know that it does not get hot enough to kill them off reliably.
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The only thing I put in my green bin is excess grass and hedge clippings (I have a lot of lawn to cut and a big hedge). All perennial weeds, even couch grass, get stewed for a couple of months to make liquid feed then go on the compost heap. I would hesitate to put something like dandelion seed heads in the compost but then it's probably a good idea to dig up dandelions before they get to that stage.
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Bag up weeds in black bags with a half brick in the bag- leave in the sun to wilt for a couple of weeks (if you ever see the sun at the moment) and then plop into your water butt tied up with a string. The weeds rot and you get some of the goodness back into the water. Eventually after a few months you can compost the slimy mess left in the bag or just bin it.
Thats a good idea. Do you stab the black bag a few times before submerging?
Yes you do need to
I compost everything green / brown one way or another. Pernicious weeds get left out on the paving slabs to dessicate completely first, and that includes couch grass roots too. When we had the plot originally there were too many for this so I burned them and used the ash instead.
Kitchen waste, annual weeds (which rarely go to seed tbh) grass clippings shredded paper, hedge trimmings, snipped up prunings, blanket weed from the pond, old wet cardboard, comfrey cut from the riverside... you name it , it goes in.
Oh, tell a lie -- I didn't compost the PSB and kale stalks this year as they went to others' chickens instead. Usually I bash them up with a club hammer and in go all the fibrous bits
Worst weed is actually tomato seedlings, followed by amaranth, as I tried to harvest some seeds last year year before last and missed loads :tongue2:
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I'm into using every bit of compostable stuff as that's what making compost is all about. If you're too sniffy about it being completely weed free you might just as well go out and buy it It seems daft to me when you have the necessary free ingredients in front of you. Oh well it takes all sorts :nowink:
You can get your dalek bins red hot by adding grass mowings. In minutes the whole thing will be like an oven and unbearable to keep your hand in (you make a hollow and stick your hand in to test that it's cooking :)) Admitted it has to be done on a warm day, but it gets the whole thing cooking which is what you're after :)
Perhaps folks are being too impatient and not waiting til the compost is ready
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Thanks for all your replies .noted and I am on my way to making good compost.
John