[Benandbill]

What an amazing day we had yesterday here in sunny South Wales!    I wasn't expecting all that sun, it was lovely weather for gardening and I managed to get a lot done including a lot of weeding.

A fellow allotmenteer saw me digging and picking weeds out at the same time.  I was putting them in my bin ready to throw down the banking.  He said I was making hard work for myself, I should just turn the weeds in with the soil and they'll rot when burried.  I've never been comfortable doing this as I think the roots will still be there underground and they'll grow.  Maybe I'm wrong?  Also, he suggested I just compost the bigger weeds?  I was horrified at this as well 

Finally, I've been composting for over a year now in one bin and it never seems to be full.  I just put this down to the fact it's all rotting down nicely but I didn't make a base for my bin.  Does this mean it's going into the ground?? 

[sunshineband]

Just avoid the roots of perennial weeds ( I leave them on a slab to die first) and seed heads. All else can go into the compost 

[mumofstig]

Dig the bottom bit out of your composter and use it.

I think it's easier if you have 2. Keep adding to one bin for a year, then cover and leave it. next year fill the second and the contents of the first will be ready to use.
If you can only have one, the you'll have to turn it out to use the good stuff from the bottom, putting the unrotted stuff back in to carry on

[compostqueen]

Throwing weeds down a bank!  Those weeds have soil attached so you're throwing your plot down the bank!  Keep as much stuff as you can and either compost it or burn it (if poss) and use the resultant ash on your plot.  I like to dry weeds out on the path or on a stone etc to dry in the sun and then compost them.  I take a lot of time over weeding and shake off as much soil as is possible.  If it's raining I park the weeds in my barrow under my allotment table so they can continue drying out 

I see fellow allotmenteers taking their weeds away in green bins, giving all that composting material away, which makes me sad.   I am sad to start with, being a compost anorak  blush:

[sunshineband]

It's OK CQ --- I do the same with my barrows of weeds 

I think it is normal actually 

[Benandbill]

Thank you all for your insightful and useful responses.  I've thought of asking my neighbour who is the site's 'chicken master' if he'd like me to feed his chickens the weeds.  Don't know if they're poisonous though?  How great it would be if chickens got a taste for weeds and you could just let them loose all over your garden and they'd do all your weeding and drop their manure everywhere as well...

...we can but dream  :happy:

[compostqueen]

I used to take my plot weeds home for my hens. They love fat hen (appropriately enough  ) and groundsel but I'd take a great pile home for them and just chuck it in. What they left went in the compost

You can't give it to anyone else's hens though as I don't think they'd like it. Ask first