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Weed seeds in compost
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Posted by
dottyinduncan z8b coastal BC (
My Page) on
Thu, May 3, 12 at 11:31
| We just emptied two of our composters, screened it and have spread it as a top dressing in a perennial bed. The good news is that it is light and fluffy and is helping soften the clay soil below so it is easier to work the soil. The bad news is the amount of weed seeds in it, particularly grass. I top dressed around a Japanese maple in a pot and in a few days it looked like a new lawn growing there! While the compost was under construction, I don't think it ever heated up. Grass clippings went into the compost but I didn't think there were that many grass seeds. I don't mind pulling rogue tomato and squash seedlings, but there is just too much grass. Any thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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| I have just one. Sorry dude. :-] Seriously, I've been there. It has to be seeds unless you dug up some grass by the roots and threw it in the compost. All it takes is one mowing where the grass was extra long and putting out seeds on a few of the stalks. They can hide among the other grass stems and before you know it there are hundreds of seeds in the clippings. You can run a hot pile, or get a mulching mower (or just let the clippings fly out the chute). Or use the coffee and beer method - in the morning, get a cup of coffee and go out and pull weeds. In the evening, get a beer and do the same thing. :-] |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Thu, May 3, 12 at 12:52
| Did you use any kind of straw from a farm in the 'post Dotty? I've seen some impressive wheat germination after using straw as a mulch so the seeds are there. Lloyd |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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| I'm all for the coffee and beer method, myself. |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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| The best compost is seedless ;) |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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| No Lloyd, I did it all myself :(. Straw is really hard to get here, and expensive. I don't drink beer so I'll have to amend the coffee and beer method, to coffee and ice cold white wine... |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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RE: Weed seeds in compost
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.USA (My Page) on
Thu, May 3, 12 at 22:20
| I would just mulch the J. maple & not worry about the weeds. |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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Grass clippings do not necesarily have seeds unless the grass has been allowed to produce them. Other than Annual Ryegrass, "Lolium multiflorum", I have not seen grasses produce seed heads until the grass gets quite high. So the source of those seeds might be from elsewhere and since many grasses in the "cool season" areas spread by stolens and rhizomes those may be the source of the grass in your planting beds, too.
Many grass plants will succumb when covered with mulches, if those mulches deprive the grass of access to sunlight. I have, temporarily, killed off Quack Grass using newspaper and shredded leaves, wood chips, grass clippings, etc. but it would always grow back from the rhizomes that stay viable in the soil. I have also seen other grass species send roots into this now really good soil, even over or under the 4 inch barriers many people put in to stop that grass. |
RE: Weed seeds in compost
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| I tried the newspaper and heavy mulch and the cardboard thing, that was highly recommended but it did not work for me. The only way was to dig as much out root as deeply as possible. This is for grass that grows from the other lots on to your own from under the fence. I think the problem is the grass on the other side of the fence stays alive. Therefore no amount of time will kill it off. |
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