Composting weed seeds and invasive plants

Marc Thoma

You can compost these kind of stuff but you need to have a high temperature compost.

The temperatures need to stay some time above 60°C in order to kill diseased plant material as well as seeds.

To achive this you need to combine the right amounts of green and brown ingredients and have it in the right amount of water. you need to monitor the temperature by use of a thermometer and turn the compost regularly and adjust moisture and green to brown ration.

 

So it is posible but more work than normal compost. Cant you burn the weeds in a barbecue smoker? nobody should notice this if you just use small amounts continuosly.

Marc Thoma

I'm thinking of maybe drying the weeds and invasive plants in the sun and then using them as starter fuel for our wood stove in winter. Is anyone aware of any toxic substances that might be released when burning certain plants even when dry?

Cherlynn

I burn them late winter and then add to the compost.  Of course I'm so far out in the boonies no one cares what I do.

Renee Ilse

I was watching a Justin Rhodes vlog and his wife was making compost tea with the weeds they pulled from their garden areas.  She would put them in a big barrel, add water, then let them sit.  After a certain amount of time she would start using the water to put on plants to nourish them (did NOT use the plant parts, but I don't know that she strained it either).  Might be an idea.  I'm sure there's more to it, but I haven't tried it yet.

Marc Thoma

Usually comfrey is used to make a "tea". Not sure what else. You just need to dilute it a bit with fresh water as it is fairly concentrated.

I have yet to try it but have made compost "tea". Just don't leave it too long as it gets anaerobic and starts to really stink!

DebiB

David the Good also has videos on taking an assortment of organic materials (including weeds) and putting them in a bucket, adding water, letting them rot and then using the liquid as a fertilizer on his garden.  I can confirm, having tried a variation of this, that it stinks but it works.

fortheshepherd

I use the let them rot in water method that many have recommended for the really hard to control plants that I don't want to put into my compost like: bamboo, bindweed, bermuda grass, dock seed heads.  The seed heads of other easier to control weeds go into the brush bin for a year then whats left after that goes into the regular compost bin.   I only have the occasional tomato seed or other weed seed make it through this.

bmaverick

burning weeds and plants in an indoor fire is not wise.  These plants have other chemicals and allergens that will fume outward.  Best to burn these outdoors.

As for your compost. Jens is correct, 60C or 140F will be idea.  There is a youtube video of a backyard gardener who has an invasive weed.  He broils his soil in an oven out in the garage.  He broils around 288C or 550F.   Now if you have a firepit, place a grill rack above the fire and do the high temp soil cooking.

karen

so easy. i use large plastic garbage pails with a secure lid against bugs mostly. I have been doing this for about four months and I use as both a foliage spray or a pour-on soil fertilizer. I cannnot believe the difference it has made in my garden! As a spray you do need to strain it. I have a 2 quart pitcher that I dip into the barrel/pail then pour into a fine mesh strainer over a 5 gal paint bucket, then just fill up the bucket with water. I have read that the ratio should be 10 water to 1 tea but this stuff isnt that concentrated and I think the rule applies more to worm compost runoff or runoff from a compost bin. I would appreciate clarification. I pour the solution into a watering can with a spray-type spout and use that on green foliage and even some bushes and the roses. I pour the solution into the tomato bags rather than on the foliage. Go to David the Good for his advice on what to throw into the barrel. I use a lot of twigs and weeds and trimmings from my yard, eggshells and cold, strained coffee and tea. I throw coffee grounds or tea leaves/bags into my compost keeper - another garbage pail but a little one - along with kitchen scraps and tea bags. So I have different ways of using scraps. When building a bed i throw all saved compost materials and yard bits into that bed, cover it and wait. In the meantime I use the tea for fertilizing and will top up with garden scraps now and then.

Marc Thoma

Looks like I'll have to get my old trash can and start brewing up some weeds and such. Hope the smell isn't too bad!

And thanks for the warning about burning indoors. I think the "tea" method is better.