Composting garden waste materials can create organic fertiliser to use in your garden. However, we’ve all had to deal with invasive weeds and other plants that seem to have no good uses. The good news is that you can use your garden’s weeds to create future plant life, including flowers, grass, trees, and more.
You can compost garden weeds by maintaining a pile or bin that’s at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Keep the pile slightly moist and aerate it once a week to promote oxygen and bacterial growth to raise the temperature. Once the pile is at the right temperature, the weed’s seeds can’t spread.
In this post, we’ll talk about whether or not you can use the weeds in your garden in the compost bin, how to do it, and how long it takes for the whole process to finish. We’ll also break down a few tips to prevent foul odours and excess moisture. Enjoy!
Is it Okay to Put Weeds in Compost?
It’s okay to put weeds in the compost bin since they decompose like any other plant. Keeping the compost pile at a healthy temperature will increase the composting process by boosting the bacteria that eat the plants and other materials. Stir the pile with an aerator to add oxygen to the mix and prevent gross smells from arriving.
Here’s what you should know about putting weeds in compost:
- Most weeds can spread their seeds long after they’ve been removed from the soil. According to Learning and Yearning, one of the biggest challenges of composting weeds is that they can spread their seeds. If you do it improperly, the seeds will grow into the soil when you use the compost as fertilizer.
- Weeds break down like most other plants. Although we call them weeds, they’re just a different kind of plant. Weeds are often grouped together and used to describe a host of invasive species that absorb the nutrients intended for other plants. However, they’re made the same way and decompose similarly.
- Your compost pile needs a proper mixture of nitrogen and carbon. The pile should consist of 30 parts of carbon to 1 part of nitrogen. You can add them by weight to know how much you have of each. With the proper mixture, the pile will grow bacteria that eat everything in the bin and turn it into fertilizer.
- Make sure the weeds are covered with a bit of soil to promote natural decomposition. Soil is an excellent additive for all compost piles. It promotes aeration, hydration, and warmth. These three factors drastically improve your compost pile’s ability to convert organic matter into compost.
All weeds are more than suitable for a compost pile. As long as you follow the tips mentioned above, you’ll be good to go. For those of you who want a quick guide, proceed to the next section for everything you need to know about adding garden weeds to a compost bin.
In addition, composting is an even better solution than using your council’s garden waste recycling service, so if you’re tired of paying for the regular collections a garden compost bin might be the answer.
How Do You Compost Garden Weeds?
To compost garden weeds, follow this step-by-step process:
- Remove the weeds from the soil with their roots intact. Leaving the roots or seeds in the soil will bring them back, making the invasive plants harder to get rid of. Put on a pair of gardening gloves and grab the weed by its roots, about an inch below the soil if possible. Slowly pull the plant to prevent the roots from breaking.
- Place the weeds in the compost bin and cycle it to add oxygen and moisture. The Lotech Compost Crank Aerator lets you dive into the pile and mix it thoroughly. This process adds oxygen to the mix, encouraging bacteria to grow while preventing strange smells, moisture puddling, and prolonged decomposition.
- Ensure your compost bin has the correct nitrogen and carbon. As mentioned earlier in the article, you should have 30 times the amount of carbon than nitrogen. You can get nitrogen from coffee grounds, grass clippings, and newspapers. Carbon comes from dried leaves, sawdust, and other brown organic matter.
- Keep the compost pile heated up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius) to kill the seeds. Yuzumag recommends keeping your compost pile between 90 to 140 degrees (32 to 60 C), but we’d say warmer is better when you’re trying to eliminate the weed seeds. Fortunately, following the two previous steps is all you need to maintain the temperature.
- Monitor the compost pile for strange odours or excess moisture. If it starts smelling weird or more noticeably than usual, there’s likely too much water or an improper ratio of carbon and nitrogen. Make the necessary adjustments and use an aerator regularly. Raising the temperature will also eliminate the bad smell.
Composting garden weeds doesn’t have to be any more challenging than composting other plants and clippings from around the yard. It’s all about finding a balance between the numerous variables of the decomposition process.
How Long Do Weeds Take to Turn into Compost?
Weeds take up to eight months to decompose in a compost bin, provided the pile has enough oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and moisture. Too much settling from a failure to mix the pile will result in a gooey, unusable substance. When the weeds have turned into compost, you can use the fertilizer on the plants around your yard.
Epic Gardening claims most weeds shouldn’t take much longer than six months to turn into usable compost, but it’s best to add a couple of months to the timer. Variables such as rain, excess sunshine, dryness, and the pile’s size will directly affect how long it takes for the weeds to break down. In my experience, time-scales with composting can very widely even when the conditions seem optimal, so don’t worry if things happen faster or slower than expected.
You can remove and compost your garden’s weeds every spring (or whenever they arrive) and have them ready to use as fertilizer in about half a year! Not bad for otherwise invasive plants. After all, as my mother taught me, weeds are just plants in the wrong place, so making good use of them makes a lot of sense for hands on gardeners.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to add garden weeds to your compost pile, you don’t have to worry about spreading their seeds when you use the compost as fertilizer. Maintaining the correct level of moisture and the ideal temperature range will break down the plants in due time, leaving you with an all-natural plant growth mixture!
