Forum home› Problem solving

Composting weedy material

Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
in Problem solving
I am not sure if this question is in the correct category, so hopefully we may receive some helpful advice.  We usually compost all the normal things, cardboard, kitchen waste (not cooked) leaves, lawn cuttings etc. but now we find we have a large amount of soil with "weeds" growing in it- i.e. grass, plantain, bindweed etc. to get rid of and would like to try composting it for at least a year.  Will this be successful?  It will be mixed with our normal waste mentioned above.

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,551
    I'd remove the bindweed and just layer what's left up as you go along. 

    Devon.
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    I think even the bindweed is safe as long it doesn't include seeds or roots, or those long white rooty things which I think should properly be called stolons. Or maybe rhizomes.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,551
    josusa47 said:
    I think even the bindweed is safe as long it doesn't include seeds or roots, or those long white rooty things which I think should properly be called stolons. Or maybe rhizomes.
    Isn't it convenient that they're just SO obvious.?  ;)
    Devon.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Yes we could try to remove the bindweed, but it is well ingrained in the turf.  The whole lot is in the bottom of the compost heap at the moment.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,192
    edited October 2019
    Bindweed is a pretty tenacious weed... Here, it travels quite happily for some distance under weed barrier membrane under shingle and then pops it's head up as soon as it can see daylight. I suspect it might only be killed off in a hot compost bin - but I don't know that for certain. 
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • HouseFinchHouseFinch Posts: 327
    edited October 2019
    If you spread the compost atop an already cultivated bed, and sift it really well for those 'stolons' / 'rhizomes' that josusa47 is referring to, it should still be useful.
    Moving soil around the garden this year, there was an area infected by bindweed that got moved to the veg patch. When they sprout above the surface I do my best to follow the root down. If you are careful you can get the whole thing out. On the bright side, it's much easier than digging them out of the grass.
    Once I get them out of the ground I add them to the chimnea.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,078
    I wouldn’t put Bindweed or ground elder on a compost heap 😱

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Ideally we wouldn't either @Dovefromabove .  We normally fill tonne bags with noxious weeds, but this bindweed (not much of it) is growing within the heavy clumps of grassy soil - the tonne bags would be far too heavy to move, so we thought composting it was the easier option, hoping any roots would die off after a year of so in the heap.  Thanks for all the helpful replies.
Sign In or Register to comment.