Will it compost.?

Hi,
I have an area of marsh in my field about 60x30 metres, it was covered in that thick spiky marsh grass.
I have scraped off the top soil and grass ( peaty ) and made a heap of it.
The result will be a wildlife pond area.
Will this compost down.?
I have been told to cover it with black polythene to generate some heat in it.
What do you think.?
I am hoping to use the resulting soil to create some raised vegetable beds.


thanks
Howard

 

the grass will breakdown eventually provided that does not stay waterlogged and gets some air.

it might happen quicker if the organic material was in a seperate pile

 

[FONT=&quot]Hi there, you’re very lucky to have such an area to use, marsh grass is often added to compost to improve it’s quality, is it fresh water marsh land or salt water? If salt, it would be beneficial to thoroughly soak the pile in fresh water to remove excess salt. Covering with black polythene will generate some heat and stop any new growth, it’s an excellent way of speeding up the composting process and should be excellent for your vegetable beds. What sort of vegetables are you planning on planting? Do you have a time scale in mind before starting to plant?[/FONT]

 

[FONT=&quot]Hi there, youâ??re very lucky to have such an area to use, marsh grass is often added to compost to improve itâ??s quality, is it fresh water marsh land or salt water? If salt, it would be beneficial to thoroughly soak the pile in fresh water to remove excess salt. Covering with black polythene will generate some heat and stop any new growth, itâ??s an excellent way of speeding up the composting process and should be excellent for your vegetable beds. What sort of vegetables are you planning on planting? Do you have a time scale in mind before starting to plant?[/FONT]

 

Hi,
Thanks for confirming the black polythene helps.
Here is a before and after scraping picture, its fresh water marshland.
There is 2 feet of peat to scrape off now, I hope I can use this in my beds also, although it really stinks when disturbed.




I am stood on my compost heap in the second pic

thanks
Howard

 

Lucky you Howard...A wild life pond will be wonderful....a project to be proud of:gnthb:
...and your scraping will make excellent compost I'm sure.
Please post pictures as you develop the site

 

Thanks folks,
I'm working on the banks just now.
Too early to start really, took all day today to get the digger out of a mud hole.!

Howard