[julietmaria]

I have used glyphosate on a  couple of sections on my allotment.  I have just been down there today and where I used it is all dead     Can I did it up and compost the roots and dead material?   Or should I bag it up and get rid of it?

[m1ckz]

if its dead    its dead. so i guess u can compostit

[Amilo]

I do not know the answer to the question but I can see were you are coming from, IE is the chemical still active? If it was me I would play on the safe side and burn as much as possible.

[dugless]

 according to the blurb glyphorsate goes inactive on contact with the ground so it should be safe.
having said that there are one or two schools of thought  that differ as you will no doubt find out.

[goodtogrow]

I agree with dugless about the blurb - but then they would say that wouldn't they, if they're  trying to sell it!

But the balanced view would be that it does breakdown/become inactive, without accepting that it's immediate.  I don't think they could get away with making such a claim if it had a lasting residual effect.

So I'm in favour of composting, and would attach value to the power of composting to neutralize any residue in the roots.

Any residue in the soil I'd expect to either become neutral or be leached away over winter.  So I'd regard the soil as clean by Spring.

You could leave the waste where it lies over winter - especially while we're having such dirty weather - but Winter also brings frigid, sunny days, and it's hard to imagine a more pleasant occupation on such days!

Best wishes

[BabbyAnn]

seems like a lot of effort to dig up roots and dead plant matter to put into the compost bin ... wouldn't it be easier to just dig it straight into the soil (except the woodier bits which take longer to compost down) and let the worms and soil bacteria get to work and compost down in situ?

[mumofstig]

If it's dead stuff - I'd gradually dig/rotovate it over to turn all the roots into the soil to rot.

You'll see any spots of regrowth early next year, so you can retreat that bit with glyphosate, or dig the clump out when you see it.
Good luck!

snap ann 

[goodtogrow]

Agree that's there's a case for leaving it in all together.  I'm suspicious of the weedkiller's total effectiveness, so leaving it in would allow time to evaluate it.

There's also an assumption on my part that the op would want to dig over the plot, however effective the weedkiller is.  If that's not the case, all power to you!  As a no-dig fanatic I must agree!

A point with which no-one is likely to agree - I don't mind, I'm used to it - is that the op doesn't need the value in the waste right away.  An overgrown plot has regenerated itself and the waste is more valuable/needed in subsequent years, as the plot becomes rundown from cropping.

There, I just knew you'd all disagree!

Best wishes

Tom

[Aunt Sally]

A point with which no-one is likely to agree - I don't mind, I'm used to it - is that the op doesn't need the value in the waste right away.  An overgrown plot has regenerated itself and the waste is more valuable/needed in subsequent years, as the plot becomes rundown from cropping.

There, I just knew you'd all disagree!

Best wishes

Tom

I don't disagree with that !

[goodtogrow]

Now you're just being contradictory, Aunty Sally!

[Aunt Sally]

Not me babe 

An overgrown plot is equivalent to a plot left fallow.  Fallowing land is one of the best ways to regenerate it.  Has been for centuries.

[goodtogrow]

Thanks, Aunt, for the point you make.

Interestingly (to me, at least) when we kill off the top growth of vegetation with weedkiller, what happens to the nutrients, especially nitrogen, contained therein?  I'm guessing that the nitrogen escapes into the atmosphere, and I'm also guessing that JayG, for one, could come up with the definitive answer!

[Aunt Sally]

I'm not sure anyone has a definitive answer to that question.

[julietmaria]

 :)Thanks so much for all replies - very interesting.  I think I will dig it all in in situ - as goodtogrow says there is nothing nicer than a good old dig on the allotment, on a winters sunny day, if we ever get any.   I am hoping to grow potatoes there next spring so perhaps mixing with some manure now as I dig will help.  Plus as mentioned I can deal with any regrowth in the spring - although I do hope it is minimal!!!!   I will not use the weedkiller again as I had reservations this time around but having a large plot area to clear and having run out of cardboard and manure I decided to give it a go on a couple of patches to clear it for spring next year.

Thanks again 

[goodtogrow]

In which case, julietmaria, you may see regrowth this side of Christmas, so it might be worth holding off a week or two to let it show itself.

There's still stuff moving on my plot, and you're not very far from me, so it'd be one less job to do in Spring if you can get it out before.

Best wishes