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#1
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compost "tea bags"
Hey all,
Does anyone know if weed seeds can be killed when they are immersed in water for extended periods? If so, how long does it take? I've just started using my grey water to draw nutrients from my grass clippings (and clipping compost) to avoid adding the clippings directly to my vege patch. I'm trying to reduce the amount of weeds that spring up whenever I turn my back. Or should I just chuck the "spent" clippings into the greenwaste bin? Peter |
#2
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compost "tea bags"
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message ... "Peter" wrote in message Does anyone know if weed seeds can be killed when they are immersed in water for extended periods? If so, how long does it take? Yep. As long as it takes them to start looked semi rotted. If they don't start to rot (ie break down) then they can still germinate. If you add them to a mix of manure in a drum and the lot starts to fester, then it shouldn't take too long - perhpas a week in hot weather if the drum is in the sun, but really it is probably weather dependant and weed dependant and 'fester rate of drum contents' dependant. I've just started using my grey water to draw nutrients from my grass clippings (and clipping compost) to avoid adding the clippings directly to my vege patch. I'm trying to reduce the amount of weeds that spring up whenever I turn my back. Or should I just chuck the "spent" clippings into the greenwaste bin? Don't do that as it's a waste of free nutrients. Those weeds will all be taking something from your ground and if you notice what weeds come up each year, you will notice that some weeds will appear one year but not the next. Some weeds will also appear in certain situations and are a good indicator of soil fertility/poverty etc. Sometimes the weeds won't reappear because you've corrected a nutrient/mineral deficiency and the situation is no longer condusive to those weeds. Sometimes they won't come back because the weather isn't in their favour that year. I'd be very surprised if they don't come back because you have no weed seeds left (but then you may be in an area that has been intensively gardened and well maintained for decades but I'm not in that situation so have an intimate relationship with my weeds). I do a number of things with my weeds. Sometimes I add them to the compost (various sorts of systems running), sometimes I add them to the Black Jack (liquid manure system you are asking about) sometimes I just drop them on the ground where they were growing with the roots upwards in the sun. this latter kills them quickly but I generally only do this if they haven't got seed heads on them. The latter (pull and drop) technique is one that very old gardeners often say results in the weed not returning. Dunno if that is true or not not in my experience. The new weeds coming through briefly stop to say hello to their departed cousin and then keep moroting for the light. rob |
#3
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compost "tea bags"
"Peter" wrote in message
u... Hey all, Does anyone know if weed seeds can be killed when they are immersed in water for extended periods? If so, how long does it take? I've just started using my grey water to draw nutrients from my grass clippings (and clipping compost) to avoid adding the clippings directly to my vege patch. I'm trying to reduce the amount of weeds that spring up whenever I turn my back. Or should I just chuck the "spent" clippings into the greenwaste bin? Peter hm. i make fertiliser from weeds & haven't noticed it creates a weed problem... then again, my weed problem is currently considerable anyway - how would i notice if it was worse? :-) most if not all weed seeds should drown in the 2-4 weeks you are submerging the clippings. if they seem not to be drowning, just leave them longer so they do!! alternatively, if you put the stuff into a finely-woven bag & submerge the bag in the water, this would solve the issue of seeds going in the liquid. you could then re-compost the leftover sludge from the bag. really, mulching is the only thing that really "helps" with weeds. i just don't think there's any other solution. seeds blow in from other places anyway no matter what you do. kylie |
#4
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compost "tea bags"
"Peter" wrote in message
Does anyone know if weed seeds can be killed when they are immersed in water for extended periods? If so, how long does it take? Yep. As long as it takes them to start looked semi rotted. If they don't start to rot (ie break down) then they can still germinate. If you add them to a mix of manure in a drum and the lot starts to fester, then it shouldn't take too long - perhpas a week in hot weather if the drum is in the sun, but really it is probably weather dependant and weed dependant and 'fester rate of drum contents' dependant. I've just started using my grey water to draw nutrients from my grass clippings (and clipping compost) to avoid adding the clippings directly to my vege patch. I'm trying to reduce the amount of weeds that spring up whenever I turn my back. Or should I just chuck the "spent" clippings into the greenwaste bin? Don't do that as it's a waste of free nutrients. Those weeds will all be taking something from your ground and if you notice what weeds come up each year, you will notice that some weeds will appear one year but not the next. Some weeds will also appear in certain situations and are a good indicator of soil fertility/poverty etc. Sometimes the weeds won't reappear because you've corrected a nutrient/mineral deficiency and the situation is no longer condusive to those weeds. Sometimes they won't come back because the weather isn't in their favour that year. I'd be very surprised if they don't come back because you have no weed seeds left (but then you may be in an area that has been intensively gardened and well maintained for decades but I'm not in that situation so have an intimate relationship with my weeds). I do a number of things with my weeds. Sometimes I add them to the compost (various sorts of systems running), sometimes I add them to the Black Jack (liquid manure system you are asking about) sometimes I just drop them on the ground where they were growing with the roots upwards in the sun. this latter kills them quickly but I generally only do this if they haven't got seed heads on them. The latter (pull and drop) technique is one that very old gardeners often say results in the weed not returning. Dunno if that is true or not but I have been told that it works because the weed grew there because of the specific conditions that suited it and by letting it rot (rot being a wonderful thing) where it grew than you are doing the same thing as when one collects insect, runs them through a blender, strains the liquid and then sprays it on the plants to stop the collected blended insect attacking the plant. |
#5
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compost "tea bags"
Hi Kylie, thanks for your suggestions.
most if not all weed seeds should drown in the 2-4 weeks you are submerging the clippings. if they seem not to be drowning, just leave them longer so they do!! alternatively, if you put the stuff into a finely-woven bag & submerge the bag in the water, this would solve the issue of seeds going in the liquid. you could then re-compost the leftover sludge from the bag. really, mulching is the only thing that really "helps" with weeds. i just don't think there's any other solution. seeds blow in from other places anyway no matter what you do. kylie I do mulch too. The problems arise when planting carrots and other vegies from seed. The weeds spring up so fast that they often overwhelm the germinated vegie seeds. Or they are so numerous that when I uproot them, they disturb a large portion of the soil and the vegie roots therein. Things seem to have calmed down this year though. It's the third or forth year I've been working the same patch. It was previously lawn (unwanted green "things" of all shapes and sizes). (c: Peter |
#6
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compost "tea bags"
Hey Farml, thanks for your help,
I do a number of things with my weeds. Sometimes I add them to the compost (various sorts of systems running), sometimes I add them to the Black Jack (liquid manure system you are asking about) sometimes I just drop them on the ground where they were growing with the roots upwards in the sun. I've got a couple of compost bins on the go too. Unfortunately I don't have the time to turn them regularly so they don't get hot enough to kill the seeds. So I cold compost kitchen scraps separate to lawn clippings or weeds that I've pulled up. Veggie foliage goes into the kitchen compost too. Once I've soaked the weedy material, I think I'll put the remaining waste in the veggie compost to further break down any surviving seeds. I guess another possibility would be to dig a trench in the garden, but I'd rather not lock away the nutrients down deep where not all the vegies are going to benefit from it. Peter |
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