[Sunday Gardener]

lots of really helpful comments on bean trenches and of course compost.

We compost everything we can and are careful to separate out weeds but still find it difficult to eradicate weeds. I understand that its about temperature and unfortunately can't  put the compost heap anywhere else so that it gets more sun. Any helpful tips on this problem?


Edited to split new topic off and to clarify title - Yorkie

[JayG]

Best to control what you put in your compost heap than hope that it will get hot enough to kill off weed seeds.

Roots of perennial weeds like couch grass and dandelions are an obvious no-no, and of course it's not a brilliant idea to compost weeds with seed-heads on either.

In addition to this some seeds which you might actually be intentionally growing in your veg patch happen to be very good at surviving the average composting process; squashes and tomatoes are two examples of plants which unfortunately "recycle" very easily!
 
I don't worry about it unduly; I just keep the hoe nice and sharp! 

[Kristen]

having your compost heap in the sun, or not, should not make a difference (alhtough a black plastic Dalek bin will heat up in the sun).

The composting process itself will produce significant heat - but you have to get it right. You need a ready supply of material, and the right mix - and possibly some activator too (when I was a kid my mentor used to swear by QR ("Quick Result") which you can still get from the Original People, but I've no idea whether it actually makes a significant difference or not - she might just have been a brilliant composter - she was very fanatical about all things gardening!