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| Hello all,
I have a vague compost pile inherited when we purchased a new house. By vague I mean it's where he tossed old soil, some leaves, sticks etc behind the shed. I've added some grass and mulched leaves etc but it isn't a compost pile in the true sense of the word. In any case, I have an area underneath some spruce trees that is covered with landscape farbic. On top of this was some sort of mulch (perhaps pine bark). Over the years this has broken down and is now almost two inches of top soil that is filled with creeping charlie, buck thorn, nightshade and other weeds. I am in the process of removing all of this and am wondering if there is anything I can do with the soil. Is it possible to just mix it up with some Preen and till the whole mess into the heap of soil I already have going? With all the dormant weed seeds any idea how long it would be before I could use this soil? Other than the weeds, it looks like pretty good soil. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by novascapes none (My Page) on Wed, Mar 14, 12 at 6:45
| I don't think I would use Preen. It may keep them from sprouting for a while but eventually it wears off. It would make a nice start for a new compost pile. If done correctly many, not all, of the weed seeds will be killed off from the heat. Personally I would not hesitate to use it. Mix some greens in with it and finish the compost process. Later when the compost is finished the larger sticks can be separated out. Weeds are a part of gardening. The better the soil the better the weeds. The good part is that the more compost the easier it is to pull the weeds. A good top coat of mulch will help prevent them. What ever weeds are growing under the tree now you can bet there is a huge seed bank of the same in the soil all around, including the flower beds. So by trying to kill the weed seeds in the compost you are really fighting a loosing battle. Years of constant maintenance will slow them down. Mulch will help prevent them from germinating. |
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| Weeds are part of gardening (and farming) yet as one amends soil one can clearly observe changes in dominant weed species. A majority of weeds thrive where Calcium is low. |
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| First, I would remove the existing vegetation and drown it in water for a few days, then add it to the compost pile. By submerging it, you will definitely kill those plants, and they won't regrow from ant remaining living tissue. Then I would spread the soil you hope to use in a one inch layer, water it, and try to germinate as many of the remaining weed seeds as possible, and add those to list of fatalities by drowning or flaming them. After a few weeks you will have a much cleaner soil to add to your garden. |
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| "Weeds" can be a good source of organic matter for the soil. An article in Fine Gardening magazine indicated that landscape fabric is not good for the soil since it can slow aeration. I would simply remove the landscape fabric and cover the area with newspaper or cardboard, over the existing "weeds" and cover the paper with a good mulch and go from there. Depriving any plant growth there now from access to sunlight will cause them to die and then they will feed the soil. |
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- Posted by tropical_thought San Francisco (My Page) on Wed, Mar 14, 12 at 11:53
| I am so lucky to have a wide collect compost. I put all the weeds with seeds in there, but of course some weed seeds do make their way in from time to time. Hot composting will kill some of them, I don't know how much. The best thing to do is not use preen. It only keeps the seeds from sprouting, they will sprout as soon as it wears off. You want to kill the seeds by making the sprout and then turning the soil before they seed again, repeat the process until most are all sprouted. Then plant and use a light layer of mulch to cut down on the weeds. Eventually if weeds never go to seed you will have less weeds. If you read the label preen can not be used if the soil has a lot of OM and it is harmful to worms. I would only use it an area of dead soil in which no plants are desired. If Preen would just kill the seeds it would be a wonderful, but it does not. |
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- Posted by misterpatrick none (My Page) on Wed, Mar 14, 12 at 12:31
| Thanks for the tips. I'll add them to the pile and cover them with mulch and keep it turning all summer. |
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