sunnychooks
Deeply Rooted
I've seen a few people mention that they throw weeds into their compost. What is the best way to do this without having the weeds root and grow? Or is that not a problem? Do you compost the roots or just the plant? Thanks!
Weeds for Compost
- Thread starter sunnychooks
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Tutter
Deeply Rooted
It has to get hot enough.
I avoid that by making weed tea. I keep a large barrel (olive) with water, and toss in my weeds. They break down in the sun and the "tea" goes back into the garden. No seeds live through it, but the bodies of the weeds, which are nutrient rich, give back to the garden.
I avoid that by making weed tea. I keep a large barrel (olive) with water, and toss in my weeds. They break down in the sun and the "tea" goes back into the garden. No seeds live through it, but the bodies of the weeds, which are nutrient rich, give back to the garden.
Reinbeau
Deeply Rooted
As long as the weeds haven't flowered you can compost them. I avoid putting dandelions in the compost, cuz they just keep coming back, but anything else pretty much goes into the pile.
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
As long as the weeds have not yet gone to seed, you can just dry 'em out well before composting and they will not root, not even the 'nasties' like twitchgrass or thistle. I spread them out on concrete pavers or on areas of the garden that I have carpeted to smother out the grass for new beds next year. Just make sure they get good and 'crispy'
If they've gone to seed, you have to compost 'em real hot, and I would not personally trust that to be sufficient for anything significantly obnoxious like bindweed or thistle or such (since the outside of the pile does not get that hot, unless you are exceptionally good at turning it every day or two).
If it's something that chickens will eat, the Journey Through The Hen will eliminate any weed seeds from the final product
Pat
If they've gone to seed, you have to compost 'em real hot, and I would not personally trust that to be sufficient for anything significantly obnoxious like bindweed or thistle or such (since the outside of the pile does not get that hot, unless you are exceptionally good at turning it every day or two).
If it's something that chickens will eat, the Journey Through The Hen will eliminate any weed seeds from the final product
Pat
Dirtdoctor
Leafing Out
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Throw them in the compost pile, Compost is different than the long term decomposition of weeds and other garden matter. Compost is the active heating biological degrading of organic matter. IF it doenst attain 120- 160 degrees, then it is NOT COMPOST. IT is only decomposed plant matter.
In our business, we have composted FULL COWS, chickens, sheep, other critters, leather scraps, cotton waste, noxious weeds. oh you name it we have composted it. Weedseeds will not be viable at 125Degrees, (some will endure up to 130Degrees but these are in Africa)
To get compost piles to that tempature you needs several things, other than the matter you want to decompose (compost as in the act of composting not the final resultant product - Compost)
ok leaves, brush clippings grass, weeds, etc.. even horse and animal manures....oh ya DOG too. fat also composts.....but you need 50% moisture, and nitrogen.....most important. is the nitrogen. and then you can add to that the everpresent MiCROBIAL workforce.
We use UREA 46 a high nitrogen source that the microbes love, it is cheap and a little goes along way. we add that to the mixture and begin the monitering process, turniing the pile is important because you need AIR to keep the microbes happy. Anarobic microbes STINK NASTY.
with in two to three days your pile should begin to heat up.......microbes eating the waste matter putting off heat and other microbes eating other sets of microbes on and on an on....
keep the pile moist 50% will prevent fires...the heat kills weedseeds, degrades FAT, SHEEP ARE Really fatty critters, and the material breaks down quickly. creating a wonderful mixture that we call finished compost.
In my almost 20ys as a soils consultant i ahve yet to see one of those compost turners be really effective. they cant maintain and hold the tempature. most become a stinky mess, which takes months of work to get them to degrade. LARGER PILES ARE EASIER to manage, they will retain moisture and heat easier, but difficult to turn, so we use pipe with holes in it stuffed under the piles, air flow will feed the microbes what they need to survive.
or just use a tractor to turn the piles. thats the easiest.
Best to you and your garden,
JACK
Dirtdoctorjak@aol.com
www.soilstogrow.com
In our business, we have composted FULL COWS, chickens, sheep, other critters, leather scraps, cotton waste, noxious weeds. oh you name it we have composted it. Weedseeds will not be viable at 125Degrees, (some will endure up to 130Degrees but these are in Africa)
To get compost piles to that tempature you needs several things, other than the matter you want to decompose (compost as in the act of composting not the final resultant product - Compost)
ok leaves, brush clippings grass, weeds, etc.. even horse and animal manures....oh ya DOG too. fat also composts.....but you need 50% moisture, and nitrogen.....most important. is the nitrogen. and then you can add to that the everpresent MiCROBIAL workforce.
We use UREA 46 a high nitrogen source that the microbes love, it is cheap and a little goes along way. we add that to the mixture and begin the monitering process, turniing the pile is important because you need AIR to keep the microbes happy. Anarobic microbes STINK NASTY.
with in two to three days your pile should begin to heat up.......microbes eating the waste matter putting off heat and other microbes eating other sets of microbes on and on an on....
keep the pile moist 50% will prevent fires...the heat kills weedseeds, degrades FAT, SHEEP ARE Really fatty critters, and the material breaks down quickly. creating a wonderful mixture that we call finished compost.
In my almost 20ys as a soils consultant i ahve yet to see one of those compost turners be really effective. they cant maintain and hold the tempature. most become a stinky mess, which takes months of work to get them to degrade. LARGER PILES ARE EASIER to manage, they will retain moisture and heat easier, but difficult to turn, so we use pipe with holes in it stuffed under the piles, air flow will feed the microbes what they need to survive.
or just use a tractor to turn the piles. thats the easiest.
Best to you and your garden,
JACK
Dirtdoctorjak@aol.com
www.soilstogrow.com
ShellieESterling
Garden Ornament
All weeds go to our compost pile. I've never had an issue with them taking root. Good luck
Tutter
Deeply Rooted
Or, you can make weed tea. :happy_flower
- Thread starter
- #8
sunnychooks
Deeply Rooted
Thanks for all the great info! Here's another question. How do you measure the temperature of the compost? Do you actually put a thermometer in or under the compost? Will the air temp have any influence on how quickly the matter composts (will the compost stay hot during the winter months)? 120 - 160 degrees seems awfully hot when the air temp is below freezing! Sorry for being such a newbie!!! 
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
Yes, and you may have to buy a compost thermometer since typical thermometers' ranges are either too low or too high. Unless you can scrounge one that happens to be reasonably accurate for those sorts of temps.sunnychooks said:
Well, obviously air temperature matters, but especially in a big enough pile (even in a smaller one, if you've got things assembled to really cook fast -- perfect C:N ratio, perfect moisture, everything's in a puree of tiny pieces, and lotsa the right microbes already present) you can still get that hot in pretty cold weather.
I've known horse-barn compost piles that were presumably about that hot -- too hot to hold your hand in for more than a second, anyhow -- in OH around Christmastime. They steam mightily when disturbed with a loader, let me tell you
Remember that the outside of the pile isn't getting that hot. I still think that for a homeowner with really nasty weed seeds (e.g. thistle or bindweed) it is not very safe to rely on composting, even if you DO make sure to cook your pile good 'n' hot, because with a smallish pile it is awful hard to make sure you've turned ALL the outsides to the insides and got it all toasted enough.
Pat
