I've started putting all the weeds from my plot into a heap. The plan was to bag and dump weeds that have seeds (lots of thistles) and invasive looking roots, and to compost friendlier looking weeds. As I have no idea what weeds are what and because of the amount that are being pulled out I gave up with that idea and have piled everything into one pile now. I wonder what would be better, to burn the whole pile or to leave it to compost. I'm worried that if I use the compost next year I'll be inundated with even more weeds.
I'm planning on burning mine as I don't have a hot compost heap. The ash will be good for the lottie, my mother always used ash on her garden.
When we took over our lottie about 20 months ago, we inherited lots of little mounds of earth which were scattered all over our plot. When we dug into them we discovered they were thick with huge twisted roots of couch grass. It seems that the last Plotholder didn't have a proper compost heap and just piled his weeds up in heaps. So I would be careful about how you store your weeds. It was a horrendous job trying to get rid of all these hillocks, and when we cleared them all we had to burn the huge roots.
I would build some sort of structure from some wooden pallets which are fairly easy to come by and have a proper compost site. Then you can layer your compost with the right amount of organic material so it breaks down properly. The pernicious stuff like couch grass, thistles, bindweed, bramble and mairstails I would keep in a big plastic bag until it rots and then burn, otherwise you could be storing up some problems for the future. Hope you get it sorted. Good luck with it! :) busy-lizzie
BL I started by separating the good weeds and the bad weeds but they are all growing so closely together that it was taking longer to separate them than to dig them out. Also I'm not sure about all the weeds, some of them I'm not sure what they are. So I ended up putting everything onto one big pile. I think I'll do the same as Sarah and burn the lot at least that way I won't get any nasty surprises when I use it as a mulch. I will be building a compost bin from palletts for later use. Thanks for the advice.
Jess, There was quite a good site featured on these Boards a while ago about weeds, with pictures and details which I think could be quite useful for you. If you type into the Search facility you might come across it. Probably would be wise to burn everything at the moment until you get organised. :) busy_lizzie
Couch grass 'roots' (the white underground parts of couch are actually underground stems/rhizomes) in particular cannot stand to be buried deeply-25cm/1 spit is a good minimum. Making one big heap and ensuring they are deeply buried will kill them, although it does take a while, probably longer than in the time you will want to use the compost. (I realise this is near impossible in the U.K. overwinter but couch rhizomes can be easily dessicated too- when the sun shines!)
A big heap is also easier to get warm enough, compared to a small one, to kill weed seeds. When you want to start using the compost not using the part that is obviously not broken down will greatly reduce the chances of applying live seeds back into the soil.
Although I appreciate that this is not very helpful to those who find space at a premium, we have a `weed tip` used entirely for couch grass, thistles, docks, over-vigorous border perennials etc. (although it wouldn`t do for mares tail and convolvulus). This tip is about 4 ft high, and we keep piling on at one end, while we dig out from the other after first removing the top foot or so of stuff. Every few years we reverse the process. It supplies us with a perpetual source of good quality compost/soil and only rarely do we find roots in the lower part that are still alive.
Do not put bind weed (convolvulus) on your heap as it grows grows grows! When I took over plot number 2 I didn't have a ready made compost heap - a little job for Ava this winter - and as the weeds were huge and thick, I just made a huge pile at the far end under the elder tree, the plan being, when I had the time, to break the pile open and riddle though it removing all the roots and stones, and hopefully chucking all the top soil back on the plot. Within weeks, and not many, the bindweed had regrown on the heap and rampaged up into the elder tree! I toyed with the idea of weedkiller, but so far haven't and I pulled all the topgrowth down and pulled out as many roots as I could. I will go through the pile and try to remove the roots, but as far as I am concerned, bindweed is more aggressive than marestail or couch grass!
I've built 3 wooden compost bins which I use in the normal way. An inherited plastic one I try to save for those baddies. After enough time the bulk of it has 'melted' down but there is some growth in there. Having said that, most of it is usuable.
Have read about various tricks with perennial weeds - leave 'em to dry in the sun for a while (difficult at this time of year!) then add to heap, drown for a period of time then add to heap, or stick in black bags until stinking mess then add to compost heap.
This year, the docks and things I put in a tub trug and "drowned" for a few weeks - result a stinky mess with a few bits of green that were sticking out of the water. They have been added to the compost heap.
EJ - at least there are good uses for marestail and couch grass! But Bob says that bindweed is beautiful and beneficial. (Was at Ryton last week and saw their sweet potatoes - I hadn't realised they were a type of bindweed)