Can you make homemade garden mulch from pulled weeds?

Question

I was thinking of burning dried weeds...there's ashes in my flower bed, and all kinds of weird stuff. Whatcha think?

Answer 1

If the weeds are immature then go ahead, compost them. However if the weeds have gone to seed it is inadvisable to incorporate them in anything but a very active and well managed compost pile that is monitored by temperature to ensure complete decomposition.
Use of ashes in the garden requires some care to avoid further problems. Ashes in small quantities may be acceptable but ashes are highly alkaline (high pH). Ashes that settle on foliage can cause burning. Prevent this by thoroughly rinsing plants after applying ashes. Because they are alkaline, avoid using ashes around azaleas, camellias, white potatoes, blueberries and other acid-loving plants.
To counter the ashes alkalinity use them with acidic coffee grounds in your own fertilizer.
2-4-2 = N-P-K
4 parts coffee grounds
1 part bone meal
1 part wood ashes
Apply sparingly and water in.

If you choose to compost the ashes note that the highly alkaline ashes will chemically react with things in the pile like animal manures or grass clippings that are high in nitrogen. This will release ammonia gas lowering the final amount of nitrogen for your garden. Therefore if you compost wood ashes, only use a few cups of ashes per cubic yard of compost piles.

Answer 2

It looks like I'm the only dissenter here but here's my story:

A few years ago, I made a 3 foot square box out of 1 x 6 planks: no bottom, just the 4 sides. Since I was just beginning my gardening in this location, I had all kinds of rubbish from my gardening preparations: weeds, sods, grass roots, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable peelings. I threw all of this refuse into the box I made. On top of it, I sprinkled some black topsoil.
Inside it, I planted 4 tomato plants.

They grew fast and lush. They produced the most tomatoes I have ever grown in my life. Any weeds that came up were quickly shadowed by the plants, and didn't thrive. One day I pulled up a few tiny weeds, and I heard a popping sound. I looked at the little weed-holes, and from each one there was a huge earthworm emerging. This was, without a doubt, the healthiest environment I have ever grown tomatoes in.
I rest my case!!!

Answer 3

i wouldnt, the reason being, weeds have spores in them (they are tiny sex cells inside plants, and when they are dispersed, thats when they spread). not good, you can contaminate other areas, use grass clippings and other natural materials to break down. Otherwise the seeds inside will spread in your garden and you will have more weeds.

no dont burn them and scatter them either, the reason, you know when you get bushfires and then when the bush grows back its usually better and greener than before? the same reason when you backburn a feild. the fire actually helps the seeds grow and germinate, you will spread them, the best thing to do is either buy good compost or make some yourself through:

Garden clippings and grass offcuts, make sure the compost is warm and moist, dont let it dry out. out can use newspaper clippings and cardboard too. some vege clipplings are ok too, dont use citrus (acidic foods or ginger and garlics), no meats or dairy (this will make it smell). you can keep them on a tarp, making sure you turn the compost over several days, but dont have it too moist or it will rot and smell. you can have it in a nice little containter out the back oiin a corner. A tip is to not leave "big" heaps in at once for example, if you just mowed a large lawn, dont overfill with the same stuff, try to layer it with green mulch (plant material) and brown stufff like papers and cardboard (that way it decomposes better) in layers i mean. hope im not confusing you.

Answer 4

No, I wouldn't recommend it. You will end up with a LOT more weeds! Even with a compost pile, it has to be really hot in the middle to ensure the weed seeds don't germinate. I pull the weeds, put them into a plastic grocery bag, and dispose of them in the garbage.

Answer 5

the very perfect mulch for tomato flora is shredded newspaper. Plant the tomatoes, fertilize, place the shredded paper around the plant and moist it with the hose. No weeds and the paper enriches the floor because it decays. be careful the place you utilize the bark mulch. a number of it has too lots acid in it to be solid on your backyard soil. yet another tip: Plant marigold flora between the tomatoes. Their scent keeps a brilliant variety of bugs off of the flora. you nevertheless ought to get the huge, previous nasty worms although!!! Ugh!!

Answer 6

The one thing you shouldn't do with pulled weeds is to dig them back into your garden. All those little seeds will start sprouting next year. I send mine out with our communities organic waste . It is treated with a very high temperature which will kill off most of the seeds.

Answer 7

mulch is alot more then that but why do all the work, just buy it and start a compost pile with your weeds.

Answer 8

No, not really!!!