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Someone else posted troubles with weeds in the garden but I've got 'em in my compost. It's very nicely aged compost but obviously a great spot for things to grow. The pile is open, in a three sided bin. Should I just turn it more frequently? Cover it? I'm more concerned about the unsightly looks than anything else [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I don't know anything about this, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think that if you have weeds in the compost then that is more than just an aesthetic problem because if you use that compost in a garden, for example, you are likely to be introducing those weeds into it, even if you use compost from a different part of the pile, since the weed seeds will travel.
Regarding a solution, it seems to me that if the compost is finished cooking (you say it is nicely aged, so it may be), then turning it over will kill the weeds only if they are buried deep enough. The trouble with that is that when you turn the compost again, or spread it, then you will return the weed seeds, which have survived, to an environment in which they can, and will, germinate. If, however, the compost is still cooking, then when you turn the weeds into the center, the heat of the compost will kill the weeds and the seeds.
Please note that I have no practical compost knowledge. The information here provided is purely academic as I am currently reading about composting in anticipation of starting my first pile when my wife and I move into our new place! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
RobS,
My wife maintains a separate compost pile (3 bins) for her flower beds, potting, etc. She's very careful about what goes in there so as not to introduce weeds.
I have a large compost pile that's just a pile... no bin structure that I put about anything in from grass clippings, tree branches, water primrose from the pond, corn shucks, pea shells, etc. Needless to say I have plenty of weeds there. I turn it pretty often with my loader and that seems to help, but even though I've read that the heat from composting will kill the seeds apparently my pile doesn't get hot enough. I haven't had any need for watering it this year with all the rain, but that is recommended. Everything appears to be decomposing properly even though it doesn't seem to be generating enough heat to kill the weeds. I hope we find an answer.
Thanks for the replies guys. I haven't tried this yet but it would probably be easy enough to simply pull the weeds from the "cooked" pile and dump them next door to the "in process" pile. I'm not using the compost for anything specific right now, it's more of an ecological feel-good for me [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Get yourself a compost thermometer. Looks like a meat thermometer, except the "probe" is abut 3 feet long on the big ones, 18" or so on the small ones.
In order to kill weed seeds, you need to get the pile temp up above 140 degrees and keep it there for 3-4 days. If the pile temp gets over 160, you start killing off beneficial organisms.
If you have a C:N ratio that is fairly close (25:1 is considered ideal) and proper moisture content (about like a wrung out sponge) and adequate mass (about a cubic yard) the pile should heat up to the required temperature no problem. If it starts getting too hot, turn it over to aerate it and cool it off.