Home made compost

Apologies if we've already discussed this. Over the last couple of years I've used home made compost to supplement the bought compost. The plants like it but it annoys me when my plant pots get infested with weed seedlings from the compost and of course it is out of the question to use it in a seed mixture. Also, it can be very coarse and contain all sorts of chunky bits which take a lot of effort to riddle out.

Any tips for cutting down the unwanted weed production? Don't say to build a massive steaming heap because it ain't gonna happen!

 

Why not microwave it before putting it in the pot?

You can sterilise soil by microwaving it for 90 seconds per kilogram (2.2 pounds) on full power.

Why riddle out the chunky bits? Leave them in. You could deny the weeds light: put a black cloth or gravel around the plant.

 

1.. Don't put weeds that are seeding on the compost heap. Or if you do, compost for longer. I use a 2 year cycle.
2.. Put your own compost at the bottom of your pots and then cover with bought compost.

 

Great tips so far.

Could seeds at the bottom of a pot eventually stretch their way up to the light?

I could microwave small quantities for special plants but can't see me doing it in bulk for tray after tray.

Would grit keep out enough light? Cutting small black plastic collars might be very effective, would conserve water and be recyclable for future plants. Yesss! Could I patent them?

 

Maybe a more serious batch in the oven???
Jenny

 

I haven't got an oven, only a combination microwave.

 

What's a combination microwave?

 

It's a microwave that has an oven and a grill in it as well so you can use combinations of these to blast your foodstuff, i.e. heating a dish with microwaves whilst simultaneously grilling it to create a golden crispy top, which microwaves alone cannot do.

I swear by mine and my kitchen is too small to have a regular oven as well.

 

Another good idea, as long as I could be disciplined enough. However, I suspect lots of seeds get into the compost without me knowing about it.

 

Sounds like plenty of room for baking compost then!

 

I wonder if microwave will destroy any beneficial organisms?

Traditional sterilizing was using steam, so if you have a tower steamer you could use that. Dunno if that will kill the same beneficial organisms similarly?

Might also be able to rig something up with a wallpaper steamer, if you have one of those (dunno if the pressure generated might force the pipes apart, rather than force its way through the compost though? You could perhaps put a perforated pipe along a bench / floor, make a roof-shaped heap on top of the pipe(s), cover with tarpaulin, and then hook up the pipe to your steam source. That's what we did when I worked on a nursery, but the boiler there for heating the greenhouses had an option to generate steam ...)

Definitely never had any weeds in the greenhouses after their soil was sterilised!

 

I was thinking along those lines Kristen. I wonder if it would kill fungus gnat larvae?

 

I somehow feel that large scale steaming is not likely to happen, even with Kristen's Heath-Robinsonian suggestion. I probably get through at least 6 large bags of compost during the season, I would like to supplement this with about 2 bags worth of home-grown, can't see me making that many trips to the microwave.

I did do it once for some Dicksonia seeds that someone gave me - but they didn't germinate.

Perhaps I could buy one of those milk-frothers cheap on Ebay, then all I'd have to do is stick it in the bag!

Hey, I could put it in the kiln in a large metal tub for a few hours at about 150 degrees. That'd do the trick. Bingo!