[stompy]

Ok, as the title states,

What i would like to know is, how do i burn all the waste (weeds with seeds and tomato plants with blight) from the plot clearence?

I have never had to get rid of so much before and the problem i have is that most of it is still in the green and is wet as it has been rained on.

I do have an incinerator like the one in the pic but like i have said i have only had to get rid of old dried out sprout stems and the like, never this volume of wet/green material.

Sorry for such a silly but genuine question.

[Gandan57]

If there really is no alternative to burning, then using the incinerator place a metal grid or piece of wire netting on the top, leaving a small gap to be able to feed dry material, paper, cardboard etc into it. Light the fire and place the wet stuff on the grid. You will need copious amounts of dry material to keep a roaring fire going and there will be lots of smoke. Good luck!

[Gandan57]

I should have added, place the grid or netting where the metal top of the incinerator usually sits, as you wont be able to use it in this instance.

[stompy]

Hmmmmm, i don't have that much dry material to keep it going!

I might let it break down, bag it and take it to the local tip.
I don't like doing this though as i like to put everything from the plot back into the plot, apart from the bits we eat.

It would also be a good adition for the fruit trees!

[compostqueen]

I compost my thick stalks and they rot down beautifully, takes time but there's no hurry. You can hack them about a bit first 

I'm going to have tonnes of weeds and all the spent plants to deal with soon when I have my mammoth clearing session. The spent veg plants all go in the compost but the tonnes of weeds I'm going to pile up in a corner of the plot and leave them be. I might cover them up if I get sick of looking at them. Hardly likely to though over winter as I won't visit as much 

Covered or not the stack will slump and reduce in size. You can turn it if you want and let it dry on dry, blustery days. You'll end up with a much smaller pile of dry stuff you can then burn. That's the aim.  Most of the old guys do this, and it's only since the advent of the green bin that folks have been carting off this waste.  I don't take anything away. The resultant ash is well worth using    Weeds have soil on the roots so shake off most of it before stacking the stuff

[stompy]

The reason i wanted to burn it was due to the seeds and blighted tomato vines!
So composting isn't really an option!

[Comfortably Numb]

Hi Stompy,

I would bag it up and take it to a recycling centre. It gets it away from your plot, and the heat generated in the council composting unit should destroy any nasties 

Depends how far away you are from a recycling centre though 

[compostqueen]

Why take it to the tip if there's useful bulk there for composting, or burning failing that. At least if you burn it you can return the ash to the ground.

I have problems burning stuff as I have a house next doo,r so keep it to the absolute minimum, which is why I stack the weeds and leave to slump. You end up with a lot less bulk for burning if they're left til their cells collapse 

I think removing stuff is just for the sake of keeping the plot tidy, not doing what's best for the soil.

[Comfortably Numb]

Why take it to the tip if there's useful bulk there for composting, or burning failing that. At least if you burn it you can return the ash to the ground.

I have problems burning stuff as I have a house next doo,r so keep it to the absolute minimum, which is why I stack the weeds and leave to slump. You end up with a lot less bulk for burning if they're left til their cells collapse 

I think removing stuff is just for the sake of keeping the plot tidy, not doing what's best for the soil.

If the tomato haulms are blighted, I personally wouldn't want to compost it on my site.

[AndyRVTR]

In my own experience, I would burn it all... but then again, I'm on a big enough site where it causes no concern or problem to anyone.
I always burn my weeds, and every other green that I need to get rid of by making a good pile of what I am burning with a small gap, make a hole in the middle then light a good, strong fire in the bottom of the hole. It's then simply a case of building the walls up and putting a roof on top. If you can imagine an igloo with a fire inside, thats what you need, the gap allowing air to get in to aid the burning process.
All you do then is keep adding to the fire, both on top and from the sides, some of these fires can burn for days, resulting in a good organic wood/plant ash that can be added to your plot. I remember reading somewhere that some farmers use it instead of lime as it's alkeline, as well as containing potash.
Obviously good practice should be adhered to if a fire is to be used and it should be in an area big enough with enough space around it where no chance of causing a hazard to others.
Hope this helps..

[Janeymiddlewife]

I try to compost my "clean" waste, but the weeds I put into the 2 council green waste bags and take home. Anything burnable I leave in the incinerator to dry out, then burn it periodically as and when. If I really have a lot, then I'll make a big pile and cover it with a tarp until I can get round to it. I wouldn't compost carrots & toms, but will send them to the council as their compost gets super hot (however, I wouldn't buy council compost willingly either, which probably makes me a hypocrite 

[stompy]

I would have no problem composting all of it if it wasn't for the weed seeds and the blighted tomatoes, hence me wanting to burn them.

Like i said before i like to put all the waste from the plot back on the plot in one way or another but i don't think composting would be the right thing to do in this situation, so burning or the local tip is be my only option!

[compostqueen]

You can burn the haulms as there won't be that many I wouldn't have thought

The weeds if you burn them will at least give you something back. They won't if they go to the tip 

[stompy]

I'll cover them up with a tarp and burn them later on around December time.


im going to send it all to the tip but don't tell CQ 

[compostqueen]

Your plot so you do as you like but you get out what you put in.  I'd rather keep everything as compost or ash and return it to the soil, than fork out for expensive composts, or worse still chemical fertilisers.  I suppose taking stuff to the tip or bunging in the green bin is easier but it doesn't make it right

Lecture over. I'm done