What to do with weeds?

Hi all

Trying to figure out what the appropriate thing is to do with the myriad weeds I dig up. My current approach is to throw all the green leafy bits onto the compost heap while setting aside the roots and stems... but surely there must be something that I can do with these as well? I really don't want to make them the council's problem!

Is there some way to safely compost or recycle the nasty bits of weeds?

TIA

Rob

 

Do your council collect green waste and cardboard? Ours do - we have a large "brown lid" bin that gets collected every fortnight and (hopefully) is used for composting. I put all weeds, grass clippings and any other larger garden waste in there, as well as old straw from the chickens and non corrugated cardboard.

 

I put everything (pernicious weeds, or not) in my compost heap. I try to get it really hot, to kill the weeds, but I don't always succeed of course.

The compost goes into the greenhouse border each Autumn, and gets not water over winter, and fairly well into the spring, which may help to dry out left over roots. Those that come up are easier to weed than the things in the borders (there is no soil in my greenhouse, just half-and-half Compost and Manure). Then after the year int eh greenhouse it goes onto the veg patch [where the Spuds were].

I have no idea if this is a good solution to composting pernicious weeds, but in creating a new garden I put plenty of Bindweed into the compost heap last year, and I have almost zero coming up in the greenhouse this year.

One exception I make is for a small-ish area of Mares-tails that we have. I take a supermarket bag out once a week and pick them (with as much root as will come up) straight into the bag so that no bits are dropped or spread, and that goes straight into the rubbish bin. Although I believe soaking them in a pail of water for N-days (Weeks?) renders them into a harmless slurry - which can presumably then be put on the compost heap? (which might be a solution for your other weeds, come-to-think-of-it!)

 

I am currently attempting an experiment-all the pernicious weeds or just the downright dastardly types are being put into a water butt I got off freecycle. The rainwater is filling it up quite nicely. I am hoping to create some sort of weak feed for the plants. I am getting quite annoyed at the way the GCs are currently hoiking up their prices to fit in with the current trend for gardening. -£7.99 for a tub of fish, blood and bone!! It's an outrage. It was £4.99 last year.

So what with my bucket of rehydrated chicken manure-it should smell quite funky out there by the end of the year. I don't stir that chicken manure that often I must admit.

 

I might just try something similar. I also heard that if you leave the roots of the nasties to dry out for a while, then you can safely compost them. Not sure what "a while" is, though.

 

I would imagine till they are bone dry and crumple when crushed.

 

And would there then be any point in composting them? :hehe:

 

Well-yes, in as much point as composting the papery garlic skins and the like.

I suppose I am far too tightfisted-no way is the council getting anything I can use-of course they can have all the diseased stuff lol.

 

ha! I feel about the same. Hate throwing away something that might benefit me in some small way later on. After all, those darn weeds grew fat on MY soil!

 

I put all the weeds in my wormery and in this warm weather they multiply and do lots of eating and lovely end product that I put on my best bits in the garden.

Mine is the bin with a tap and tap off excess liquid that I chuck on compost bin or dilute and feed the plants in the garden.