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then do i still need to dig the roots out?
Quotethen do i still need to dig the roots out?Yes!! particularly if you have Couch,Dandelion,Fat Hen,Sow Thistle to name but a few as their roots go quite deep.I'm afraid its the old story; There is no quick fix to getting rid of pernicious weeds other than hard work!
Any plant that grows somewhere you don't want it is a weed. But why burn them?I try to return as much nutrient to the soil as I took from it, and I see no reason to spread artificial chemical compounds about..........it costs money and just seems wrong to me. So, any weeds that you don'twant to put in your compost, make liquid fertilizer from them.Stuff the weeds in a bucket and fill it with water. Let it stand, covered, for at least 2 weeks, by which time it will be smelly. Then drain off the liquid, dilute it 1 to 10 with fresh water, and spray it on your plants. You can also water with it.The soggy remnants from the bucket go into a black plastic bag, store it for a year so it gets really hot in summer, then put it on the compost heap.I have a 250 litre water butt I use for this purpose. I don't have enough weeds to fill it, but I have tons of seaweed, which is great for making liquid fertilizer.
My question is whether the CO2 from the bonfire is worse as a greenhouse gas than the CH4 created by the compost heap, or vice versa.
Muddylou.....The size of bucket depends simply on how many weeds you want to dispose of. I don't have many weeds, but I am such a fan of liquid fertilizer that I deliberately collect seaweed to make it.The smell is only an issue if you take a sniff in the bucket, it doesn't seem to blow about like the smell of pigs for example.I make 250 litres every spring. It lasts right through the summer without going off. By July it gets a bit ripe, and sometimes forms a film on top, a bit like gravy skin, but the plants seems to love it. They perk up every time I apply a dose. :)Oh, and by the way "bonfires bad".........if I start a fire the woman next door comes round asking me ro re- do her washing that now smells of smoke. ;D