Allotments 4 All

It is that time of year when some plot holders, mainly those with overgrown plots, need to get rid of green waste, principally perrennial weeds such as couch and bindweed.

Last weekend there were lots of bonfires on our site ... which did not please everybody.

I am interested to know if your site or local authority provides any facilities on site for taking the stuff away.

Thanks

We can put green waste in our domestic brown bins... personally I sack them up and keep them out of the light for a couple of years... many people prefere to drown the roots.. it's quicker but smelly!  :)

The answer is "NO".We were told during last year to put any rubbish that was on the plot (except stones and weeds) at the far corner of our site and that it would be collected. Last week we were told that there was'nt the funding to have it removed. We take ours to the tip on the way home. Thats closed now for refurbishment till June so it will have to go out with the green rubbish bags

They don't, but we have a scrap metal dealer visit once in a while to pick stuff up, and occasionally have a skip.

I'm on a self managed site but it's part of the agreement with the council that they come and clear rubbish. They didn't do so all of last year but have been recently to take the non-green waste away. We have a communal green rubbish pile which has also recently been moved and cleared,by us (compost onto plots and newer green waste into compost bins on vacant plots). Other than that it sdown to individuals in burning, drowning or bagging the weeds  ;D

Same as most people here in sunny Royston, we are on our own. Bonfires are frowned upon but do happen, especially in autumn (or on damp days when people won't have washing out)
Never seen anybody drown weeds although that would eb easy to hide. I persoannly desicate the tough ones, leave them on a slab just outside the shed where they soon dry out and die.
If I have lots of waste I take it away with me to teh local tip / my "brown" bin at home.

Good luck.
David

Ahhhhhh!

Recently had a memo from the council saying that they will not pick up green waste.

Never got rid of any in the first place so was puzzled to receive the letter.  Like others I bag the hard stuff and compost the rest.  I think others in the alotments do basically the same.

Bill

we had so much when we first ever cleared our new plot,9 foot tall of weeds and brambles,over the entire plot,which we burnt,took to the green skip at the council dump,or took home to put in our green bin.now we are established and keep on top of it,we never have a pile up of green waste,and manage to incinerate it all onsite,easy.

No! I've got a huge pile of brambles,couch,bindweed etc. that I've dug out. Too wet for a bonfire, I've already got lots of bags "rotting down" and I don't want to put it in the compost, so may end up having to bag it and take it to the tip myself.

No vehicle access to our site, and the council will not collect, so I have had to burn everything. When I got the plot last year it was very overgrown and p!ssed with rain for weeks, so I got through a lot of paraffin!

Why on earth would anyone want to dispose of green waste from an allotment? Pile it up and cover it if you can't deal with it any other way. It all rots down, even brambles. The only thing you need to sort out and burn is the woody stuff, and that gives you useful fertiliser in the ash. If you're worried about perennial weeds surviving, drown them first, then compost them. I've been throwing them straight into my compost bins for year with no problem.

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 07, 2009, 20:41:56
. I've been throwing them straight into my compost bins for year with no problem.

With due respect, Robert, I think that's dangerous advise for people new to allotmenting! It's fine if you have a well-built compost heap that gets hot enough to kill perennial weeds. Even the smallest bit of bindweed that gets into my compost seems to take it over! Drowning or covering first is definitely better, if you've got the space. I also suspect you have a lot less perennial weeds on your plot than I do on mine! ;D

I am still digging up lots of couch grass on my plot.
Where I know something isn't couch, I put it in my compost but some of the beds still get a mixture so I'm afraid I'm burning that... or at least I will be if the rain stops and I can get it dry enough!

I'm with Robert on this.  I've got an 'evil' heap that all the nasty stuff - brambles, couch, nettles etc - goes onto.  Covered with a tarp and left alone for 18 months it makes lovely compost.  I just sieve out the few woody bits and put them back in the heap.  I also grow squashes through slits in the tarp so the space isn't wasted.

Yep I'm with Robert and Ceres 99% of it is compostable, most of the weeds in the daleks and the nasties in the 2 year pallet compost bin, although Ceres I count the nettle as a friend not a foe.     ;D ;D ;D

We had agreat bed of nettles on the empty plot next to us that we used as liquid feed but of couse the new people just dig em up or poison them. Am think of growin some in a corner or in a tub just for the feed

Quote from: shirlton on March 11, 2009, 17:25:54
We had agreat bed of nettles on the empty plot next to us that we used as liquid feed but of couse the new people just dig em up or poison them. Am think of growin some in a corner or in a tub just for the feed

i grow some in a large old metal dust bin as i don't have the space to give it in the garden and it seems fine with this space. in the autumn i pile on a manure (last year small animal bedding) as a feed i treat it as a perennial crop (for liquid feed). i do the same for my comfrey.

thanks TM I will be looking around the site for  some nettles in the hedgerows

Actually my heaps never heat up. The most I've ever had to do was pick out the odd massive dock root and put it through again, but even then, they've been so moribund that they failed to re-establish well even when planted out by accident, and have been easy to deal with later. The most massive bindweed roots can survive a year; I once had to leave a pile for a second year. But after that, the surviving roots from the first digging were smaller, and always succumbed the first year.

What I'm saing is that there's no need to worry too much about perennial weed roots. If you're worried about theiir surviving, drown them or leave them out to die of thirst. Than compost them.

I don't mind nettles in the odd corner, but I don't like them taking over my beds!

I put my "nasty" weeds in rubble sacks and leave them to die, sorry compost, slowly