[Humf]

I recently took on a plot with a horsetail problem which is getting worse by the day. To help stop it getting on top of me I have decided to hoe the lot off then cover the ground with weed control fabric. I've made a start and so far, I have five black bags full with enough left to fill at least another three.

The question is, what do I do with it? Because it's just the tops, can I put it on a compost heap? Should I leave it in bags to rot down, then compost it? Should I dump it outside the parks department's offices with a note not to let plots get in that state? Burn it? None of the above?

Also, now that a lot of the horsetail is gone I can get at the brambles, most of which are growing through and over the fence. By the time I'm finished I'll have a bath full of the stuff. What's best for getting rid? Big fire?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Steve

[savbo]

I'm sure the most common advice for the horsetail (which we have by the shedload too) will be to bin it, but I'd rather get it into the green waste stream at the civic tip site (or though your garden waste bin if you have one - ours arrived this week...) - I reckon the composting temperatures on the industral scale these things work at should be enough to kill it...

burn the bramble...

M

[zazen999]

Horsetail
Drown it then when dead, add to the compost heap
Dry it out, then when dead burn it
burn it
or
give it back to the council in their brown bin [or whatever you have] scheme.

We dry it out and then it goes into the incinerator; and the ashes used on the onion bed.

[Bernard]

Council collections are certainly welcome. I give them all the roots and wood and keep the soft stuff for myself.

However, it seems that on Gardeners' World they think everybody can get free Council compost. I think our council must use it all on the town garden areas.

[farmersue]

No advice to offer i'm afraid, but i just wanted to sympathise.    My plot suffers with the dreaded mares/horsetail too and it's horrible stuff. It seems to be worse than ever this year, despite me digging the plot over and removing as much root as i could over winter. I spend literally hours trying to pull the stuff up, only for it to be just as bad 2 days later. Very depressing.

[Chuffy]

Don't rely on weed control fabric. We took up some ancient fabric from the gravel covered raised beds in our garden and the stuff was running rampant underneath.

Being complete novices we thought it might be asparagus....

[peapod]

My choice? Burn it, burn it

Horrible stuff, and when its burnt you know its dead. Please dont put it in your council recycling bin, we dont know precisely what all councils do to process their compost, and its not worth the possible passing on risk. I refuse to buy council compost for that very reason

[Bernard]

Please dont put it in your council recycling bin, we dont know precisely what all councils do to process their compost, and its not worth the possible passing on risk. I refuse to buy council compost for that very reason

Can't agree with that. It would ban a lot of the stuff I put in, including many different seed heads. They have offered the service, so let's make use of it.
They don't offer it back to me, anyway!

[HLS]

It's probably worth checking what your council says about what you can put in their compost bins.  Ours says no perennial weeds, so I don't put them in.  So far I've been throwing mine in with the ordinary rubbish but I don't really like doing it - drowning or drying would be better once I've worked out a space for it.

[allstars_princess]

I am with Peapod on this.  Burn it.  

Our council recently scrapped their scheme as too many complaints were being made about the returned free compost.  They had been shredding the waste then letting it rot down but it cannot have been hot enough because as soon as it was used really evil (they even had pitchforks!) weeds began sprouting all over our site.  They have replaced the scheme with another but it has been a hard lesson learned for our allotment site.  

It frustrates me that gardeners who should know better pass these weeds and seeds on with the "Well it is not in my backyard" mentality.  As far as I am concerned if you would not like it on your plot then don't give it to another.  

[peapod]

Please dont put it in your council recycling bin, we dont know precisely what all councils do to process their compost, and its not worth the possible passing on risk. I refuse to buy council compost for that very reason

Can't agree with that. It would ban a lot of the stuff I put in, including many different seed heads. They have offered the service, so let's make use of it.
They don't offer it back to me, anyway!

Yes, theyve offered the service, but the compost may not be processed properly,meaning you are possibly passing on potentially nasty and destructive weeds to another unaware person.You said yourself it would ban what you put in...so dont put in in?

[DD.]

That's a very neighbourly attitude, Bernard, sharing your problems with others.

We have a skip on site, which goes to landfill as it's full of all sorts of rubbish. There was talk of having two skips, one for land fill and one for composting. I would not dream of putting my club root ridden cabbage roots in the composting one should this ever come to fruition and I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

Yes it's OK if the composting process is up to the mark, but it's something I and any potential recipient have no control over.

[Humf]

Thanks very much for all of your replies. Some very interesting comments there and some differences of opinion. I feel though that I have to take on board peapod's comments about not knowing how the council processes their compost. I'd hate to think I was potentially passing this problem on to other unsuspecting souls. I don't have a brown bin anyway so would have had to take it to my dads. So 'Burn It' seems the popular choice, looks like I'll be having me a bonfire soon. Pity I was too late to grow taties this year, could have had some baked.

[Bernard]

That's a very neighbourly attitude, Bernard, sharing your problems with others.

Let's just be clear about this-
I send to the council what the council has said is ok. That is, in our case, everything except earth and wood over 1" thick. Since they have offered this very welcome service, I do them the honour of assuming that they know what they are doing. If they don't, it is their responsibility. And since they do not offer the compost back, one must assume that it is used on the town's gardens; so if there were any problem they would certainly know about it and would correct the instructions to householders.

The last time I had a bonfire, having first looked round for any neighbour's washing, someone put out their washing after I had started then complained to me. Bonfires in gardens adjacent to houses are no longer acceptable in many areas.

[savbo]

I think some of the larger councils have their composting done by contractors who typically use a big windrow system, with most of the resulting compost going to agricultural users rather than back into the municipal stream.... In Manchester, the only restriction is no Japanese Knotweed - clearly implying that all other weeds are OK. So I guess it's down to seeing what your local situation is, and acting prudently in line with local circumstances...

M