compost not working

[astevn816]

Will the compost get hot enough to kill weed seeds if there are any.

 

[obsessed]

I think heat depends on what is in it compost and how you maintain it. LIke if you are adding a lot of chicken poop and grass clipping it will raise the temp of your compost. But to kill seeds I would think you need it raised for some time. You can keep it going hot by turning it more often and keeping it moist. If you don't do those thing then it will likely cool off and go slower.


I compost my throwing it in a pile. I used to turn but I no likey. But I do water it. Other than that it should take care of it self.

 

[vfem]

Well, I should be hoping the weed seeds compost and die, but I'm not even sure. So far I've got no weeds coming back in my compost, BUT I do get sprouts often of last years veggies. I currently have volunteer squash, cukes and tomatoes popping up from veggies and puttings that got composted last year. Then I turned the compost into the beds and they popped up. No visible weeds.

How that works, I can not tell you!

 

[boggybranch]

Will the compost get hot enough to kill weed seeds if there are any.

If it is constructed in such a way as to generate the proper heat levels that compost piles are capable of generating.....it will kill all seeds within the heat zone. That's one reason piles should be "turned" when they cool down...to get the heat level back up and turn more weed seeds into the heat zone.

 

[patandchickens]

In principle, yes it can get hot enough to kill weed seeds.

However IMHO the average gardener should not expect or rely on this. Even if you are able to get the inside of the pile to heat up to 160 F, and turn it several times, chances are very large that some considerable amounts of compost will never be exposed to those temperatures.

Thus, if you ask me, it is WAY best to avoid PUTTING any viable weed seeds into your compost pile in the first place. Pull your weeds before the flowers start to set seed; and any seedy weeds should be fed to the chickens, a few toxic plants excepted.

JMO,

Pat

 

[boggybranch]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I try to never include seeded material in my compost piles. Course, it's not possible to be sure, all the time. But the heat in my hot piles, seems, to do the job...as I don't see any "alien" weeds, growing, when I use it after it's done cooking.

 

[ducks4you]

Shavings seem to take F O R E V E R to break down. I was digging/moving from a manure (stall debris) pile that I had mounded up 5 years ago. It took until THIS year, when I tilled it, for the pine shavings to turn to dirt.
It's hard to wait for this stuff to turn into dirt.
I've been posting this periodically-- might help:
http://www.gardeningclub.com/community/forums.aspx?g=profile&u=98022
and this one:
http://www.almanac.com/garden/charts/manure.php

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

Isn't alfalfa a good source of nitrogen for the compost pile? Thats what I use as bedding...?