Allotments 4 All

I've got a lot of Privet and ivy clippings and I'm reluctant to throw them away.can I compost them, also can I compost rhubarb leaves. :-\

Privet - don't know
Ivy - I don't and I compost everything else.*
Rhubarb - yes

*including dead small animals

Privet - yes. Ivy - don;t know.

The underlying principle is to compost everything in moderation, so all the ingredients get well mixed.

I compost Ivy, no problems.

G x

When ever I have tried to compost ivy I always end up digging out bits that have rooted again.  So I dont bother anymore.

Thanks for your replies - upon reflection I think I'll dump it.There's just so much  it would swamp my wee compost heap.

Thanks all

You can compost anything if you leave it long enough. If I find something still alive, it just goes back in for another year.

I'm sure i read somewhere, that you can put  bindweed, and tap rooted weeds into water, let them rot down, then put them on the heap,   you can then use the water as a liquid fertilizer.
anyone know if this is the case ??  as i would love to set up a tub of water for all the weeds.

??? ??? ??? ???

Yes, it works well.

Hi Robert,
thanks for the reply.
what sort of time scales are we looking at before they can go on the heap and when can you use the fertilizer ???

I have been doing this recently and using it on my potatoes as the tea contains bacteria that will hopefully fight blight spores.

Leave the weeds undewater for a few weeks, weighed down by something. They'll be well dead (even a few days underwater kills a lot of things, as I found when I had a series of floods in my first year on the plot). You can use the tea on your veg.