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Allotment Advice For serious vegetable growers

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Old 27-10-2007, 12:40 PM
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hi everyone
just wondering if anyone can help I've been given so many different bits of advice. I've been told not to compost any of my weeds (cooch grass,bind weed & mares tails) by some, and then also told to compost it by others.
very confused don't want to get rid of it if it can be composted because I've got so much from clearing out i was told to rot the weeds down separate first in black bags does that sound about right?
look forward to hearing from anyone that has more idea than me, which at the moment won't take much.

happy growing paul

Last edited by paulwbecca; 27-10-2007 at 12:46 PM.
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Old 27-10-2007, 12:50 PM
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You shouldn't compost perennial weeds as they will regrow in your compost heap, doubling your problem.
You also shouldn't chop up (rotavate) them as every little piece will regrow.
I've tried many methods, my favourite is to put them all in a bin of water to drown them. Takes a couple of weeks, and it will stink like manure at the end, but the weeds will be dead, and you can tip the mess safely onto the compost heap - brilliant activator, full of nutrients. No landfill, no smoke pollution from bonfires.
(you can kill them in black bags, but to be honest it takes forever and takes up a lot more room)
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Old 27-10-2007, 12:54 PM
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i wouldn't have thought of doing that, thank you very much as i really don't want to have anymore bonfires.
got to get some big buckets now lol
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Old 27-10-2007, 11:47 PM
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Hi Two_Sheds, I know you've mentioned weed drowning before but is there any type of weed that you would avoid treating this way?
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Old 28-10-2007, 09:44 AM
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Terrier, well I wouldn't bother with anything that could simply go on the compost heap. I just drown the persistent offenders like perennial nettle, couch grass, bindweed, thistle, dock.
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Old 28-10-2007, 12:55 PM
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Put the Cooch roots etc in black bin bags . Hide them away for a year or
so and you should get some great compost.
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Old 28-10-2007, 04:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Two_Sheds View Post
(you can kill them in black bags, but to be honest it takes forever and takes up a lot more room)
For me black bags makes them grow more. I got a load of comnpost and dumped it on the plot in plastic bags. When I went to move them in the Spring the weeds have grown into the bags....but only where the bags were was there weeds. I think the heat for the compost set them off.
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