composting weeds: I'm pulling lots of weeds. Want to put them on the compost pile.?

Question

But I'm afraid the seeds will come alive sometime in the future when I use the compost.
I want to compost cause I hate throwing out, to the town, all the green weed vegitation that's been sucking my soil of its nutrients.

Any drawbacks to composting the weeds?
Any worries I should consider?

Answer 1

in mine compost, the weeds are killed ok. anything that remains alife - (mostly at the edges of the compost) can be easily found when i move the compost from the pile to the flowerbed. but if you are afraid you can always pour a bucket of boiling water over the weeds and let it die in the bucket before you compost it - a week will do. or if they are not seeds (too late to pluck weeds when they have seeds already!) but just roots, i just leave them to die before i compost them - i put them on my garage roof to dry out completely. it also speeds up the composting and reduces volume if i dont compost them afresh. but anyway try to pull weeds before they have seeds, because you dont want them to release the seeds.
it is worth the effort to identify the worst weeds and regularly check the garden and remove at least the flowering stalks even if you dont have time to weed them out totally, with roots and all.. i believe you have many species of weeds but only a fraction of them cause the most of the trouble.

and brian is right if you water the garden, dont forget to water the compost - it shouldnt be soggy but it shouldnt be dry. it should not smell foul, it should be swarming with all sorts of little critters

Answer 2

Do not compost weeds or you will be replanting weeds in the future. My husband and I had this battle for years and for years there were weeds regrowing everywhere. Most peoples compost bins do not get hot enough to kill off the weed seeds, mine doesn't. I compost everything in the kitchen except meats and I have tomatoes, cantaloupes etc. growing here and there from the compost so there is the proof. Avoid a lot of work for yourselves, we have a separate pile for weeds and only put weed free cuttings in the compost.

Answer 3

You may choose to compost the weeds. However, you must tend your compost pile/bin carefully. If you don't it won't generate enough heat to prevent the weeds from going to seed. The secret is really a balance: between green (vegetation and table scraps) and brown (dead leaves, etc.) material, and a compost pile that is not too dry and not too dripping wet. Good luck!

Answer 4

C'mon, folks! DO NOT compost weeds, unless you want more all over your garden!! Even the heat generated by composting is not sufficient enough to kill weed seeds. They're not called weeds for nothing! Bag them seperate, and put down a good mulch, like cedar, to prevent them.

Answer 5

no worries....just make sure it has composted (that is, turned into proper compost) before you use it. When a farmer hoes his garden, he is uprooting the weeds but not removing them from the garden/field. They just rest there and die and are turned into a form of fertilizer for the crop.
things to keep out of a compost pile are: animal fat, animal waste, grease...the list goes on.
Hope this helps.
jhh

Answer 6

Go agead an compost them. When you go to use the compost, make sure in the early spring you apply a pre-emergent herbicide like "Preen" and that will prevent new seeds from germinating.

Answer 7

Try my Garden Soup. Fill a container with all your weeds, bulbs and cuttings etc... yes even seeds. Fill the container to the brim with water, put a lid on this as you don't want a mosiqito invasion, leave in the sun to 'cook' for about two weeks. It smells 'great' (if you are a true gardener, almost like fresh horse manure). No drawbacks, no worries. I will use this straight, not diluted to my veges, etc.... Your nose will tell you how much to water it down. All the very best.

Answer 8

Only compost weeds without seeds, before they flower.. Some of them may also have hardy roots.

Answer 9

if you've gotten weeds before the seed has matured, I don't think you will have any problems. Just the process of composting should kill any seeds.