I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all made
of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could be
composted in it...
I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young weeds,
before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter should
theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as the
rest..
Waddayathink?


--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...

In article , "Cat" writes:
| I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all made
| of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could be
| composted in it...
| I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young weeds,
| before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter should
| theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as the
| rest..

Well, I compost all mine, including ripe seeds, in a traditional
cold heap. However, I do avoid putting serious weeds with durable
ripe seeds in there (nettles, goosefoot etc.) Who cares about
groundsel and sow thistles?

Young weeds are never a problem in a 'hot' composter. Some people
have trouble with bindweed and ground elder surviving, but I don't,
and I compost lots of them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article , "Cat"
writes:
| I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all
made
| of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could
be
| composted in it...
| I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young
weeds,
| before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter
should
| theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as
the
| rest..

Well, I compost all mine, including ripe seeds, in a traditional
cold heap. However, I do avoid putting serious weeds with durable
ripe seeds in there (nettles, goosefoot etc.) Who cares about
groundsel and sow thistles?

Young weeds are never a problem in a 'hot' composter. Some people
have trouble with bindweed and ground elder surviving, but I don't,
and I compost lots of them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



Best news I got all day :-)
Thanks!

--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...

In article , Cat
writes
I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all made
of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could be
composted in it...
I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young weeds,
before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter should
theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as the
rest..

Things that haven't set seed won't go on to produce seed after they're
dead, so there's no problem with them no matter how hot or cool your
heap is. (Btw, you're not aiming for a 'mush' ;-) Nice rich crumbly soil
is what you're after)

In theory, a hot heap should kill seeds.

But remember soil is full of seeds anyway, and weeds are a lot easier to
pull out of a nice loose compost mulch.

I don't put dandelion roots in mine. Or at least, not till they're well
and truly dead from lying on a concrete path in the sun for a few days.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article , "Cat"
writes:
| I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all
made
| of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could
be
| composted in it...
| I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young
weeds,
| before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter
should
| theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as
the
| rest..

Well, I compost all mine, including ripe seeds, in a traditional
cold heap. However, I do avoid putting serious weeds with durable
ripe seeds in there (nettles, goosefoot etc.) Who cares about
groundsel and sow thistles?

Young weeds are never a problem in a 'hot' composter. Some people
have trouble with bindweed and ground elder surviving, but I don't,
and I compost lots of them.



Oh, I'm so glad you said that!

I got my hands on an allotment late last year, and at that point I hadn't
learned to recognise the menace that bindweed is (or to identify it's
roots..). So it all went into the compost bins, along with everything else.

I've not noticed _any_ bindweed growing out of the composters, so crossed
fingers it's not going to be compounding the problem when I use the stuff.

However, I will be keeping a lookout for any telltale roots when I start to
remove the compost.

--
Richard Sampson

mail me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 14:33:58 +0100, Cat wrote:

I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all made
of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could be
composted in it...
I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young weeds,
before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter should
theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as the
rest..
Waddayathink?

That most of the guff about compost heat killing weed seeds is
just that: guff. Very few of us compost in the technical manner
that actually heats up the pile sufficiently.

It's the usual clash between closed-eye polly-annaism and dirty
reality, somewhat like the transportation specialists who think
getting everyone to walk or bicycle to work (an imaginary state
of affairs) is an acceptable substitute for proper transportation
infrastructure.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

"Cat" wrote in message
...
I recently bought a composter (fancy name for four sides and a lid, all
made
of hard wearing plastic) and saw on the instructions that weeds could be
composted in it...
I always thought this was a big nono, but then thought that young weeds,
before they set seed, might be ok, as the heat within the composter should
theoretically kill them, and reduce them into the same organic mush as the
rest..
Waddayathink?


--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...


If you get the right mix of grass, shredded prunings , veg peelings ,
weeds,shredded paper/cardboard and horse poo if you can get it ......in an
enclosed compost heap (which is what you will have ) as opposed to a silly
pile in a cold corner under a tree you will be stunned by the heat it
generates

Grass cuttings get it very hot indeed
Add some buckets of urine and then turn the whole lot into another bin in 3
months add a few worms ,cover and then you can leave it for rest of the year
and it will be great compost

However site the bin on bricks or old paving slabs and make sure you have a
solid lid or you will find rats in it too

You really need 2 bins minimum and best to site them in a warm spot
............

Kay wrote:
I don't put dandelion roots in mine. Or at least, not till they're well
and truly dead from lying on a concrete path in the sun for a few days.

I do this with all my weeds before going on the heap. I don't know the
effect as I've only ever put stuff on the heap for the past couple of years!

Should be nice at the bottom when I get around to looking. :-)