Mare's tail , newby slight panic

There are always problems with manure but fortunately many, like the forget me nots, can simply be hoed out as you see them. In fact, one video garden blogger says she keeps forget me nots around all her garden borders as they seem to repel slugs quite well.

Couch - well, that's an ongoing problem for most gardeners regardless of how well we dig them out. Seeds can be airborne and will start up again. Vigilance is the the real key.

Horse/mares tail is a nightmare, and best controlled with glyphosphates on a regular basis. You can try digging the majority out but you'll never ever dig it all out. Just move your compost pile and stay on top of the spraying if the roots were at the bin base. If you can keep it in one area, it's better than nothing. As for any you might have spread - they'll still be small enough to dig out the clump and carefully tease out the roots and put into a bucket of water strictly for rotting noxious weeds. These can later be used as feed once the roots dissolve (they're loaded with nutrients)

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought of making feed from the roots, cool. Digging roots out with a fork today too. At least I now know my enemy.

Not sure what to think about using a weedkiller. I think I'm a naive townie , the thought of doing things as naturally as possible is appealing. Must do some reading up I think.

For most folk, making a sort of compost tea with weed roots is far easier. Weed roots draw up a lot of nutrients from deep below so it's really smart to 'recycle' them. Even marestail and its roots. Composted this way, long enough, nothing will grow again as it's all mush.

Here's some info on it, and I recommend Recipe B as the easiest.

http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-make-free-fertilizer-from-weeds.html

Thanks, I feel better about this already. I have a couple of bags of weeds that I have collected that I think I will try making a tea with. I have already sent off for some comfrey with that in mind. Just need to find a bucket with a lid.

I'm at a site in Sale. The more time I spend there the luckier I feel. The last chap seems to have really loved the place and had it a long while. He had lots of flowers and I've seen loads of ladybirds and there seems to be a huge frog resident in the compost area.