will a compost pile get "hot" enough to kill unwanted seeds?

[RichnSteph]

I was walking around the place earlier this week deciding where the garden, chicken coop/run and the compost bins are going to go and noticed there are a LOT of sticker plants and quite a few Bull Nettles. I was planning on uprooting them and tossing them in the compost pile and then got concerned that I'd just be germinating next years crop of undesirables.

Will a compost pile cook/kill seeds?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would not put them in if they have bloomed, let alone gone all the way to seed. In theory if you turn a pile often enough and get the mix of carbon to nitrogen right and get the moisture right, the seeds will cook. The reality is that you are not going to achieve that unless you use one of those barrel composters and work at turning, getting the right mix of carbon to nitrogen, and keeping moisture levels right. In a pile on the ground you are not going to get everything in the middle to cook.

If they have not bloomed, yeah, toss them in.

The things you should avoid putting into compost is obnoxious weeds because of the seeds and diseased plants from your garden. If you have a heavy insect infestation check out how those insects overwinter. Some overwinter in the plant debris so don't add those infected plants to your compost. You are not supposed to add cat or dog poop either, supposedly since they are carnivores they can add some potential disease organisms. I'm not worried about a little of this poop but I avoid large quantities.

Some people say not not add meat or grease. These can draw flies or critters that dig through your compost. I do add some of this but when I do I bury it deep and I have a cover to put over mine to keep critters from digging it up. It does need to be buried deep.

 

[RichnSteph]

Thanks Ridgerunner! I knew about the grease, meat and dog poop things. As far as the undesirable plants I'll just throw them in the burn barrel and destroy them that way.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Then throw the ashes in your compost.

 

[RichnSteph]

Then throw the ashes in your compost.

That won't ruin it? Well that clears up what I was going to do with the ashes also. Dang I love this forum, you folks make my life easy.

 

[Teery]

Some ash is ok however too much ash can change the PH. Your compost pile needs to achieve a temp of 108 to 140 degree's to kill weed seeds. See the table on page 2 for temps and times: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/...y-Gardening-Composting-to-Kill-Weed-Seeds.pdf

Lower temps (i.e. 108 degree's) require the pile to be at that temp for longer period of time then say 140 degree's. I hope that make sense...

 

[ChaoSS]

How quickly do you need your compost? You can always keep the compost turned, and as the weed seeds germinate just turn them into the pile before they have a chance to grow too much.

 

[RichnSteph]

Thanks folks.

ChaoSS I won't need the compost until spring of next year. We didn't get into our house in time to plant a garden and to be honest I've got at least 6 months of land clearing, fence building, tree trimming/cutting down/mulching/burning etc. before I can even think about getting garden beds built and then putting the compost in them. *laugh* I think I have time to let the compost sit and cook.

 

[vehve]

You could also look into building an insulated compost. I can't speak of how well it cooks weeds as mine has only been in use for 5 weeks, but I've been throwing them into mine and the amount of heat it's producing should be enough. Really builds up a proper steam. With your climate, the weather won't cool it down too much either, so I think that might be a good way for you.

This is what my compost looks like after five weeks (I keep adding to it daily).




I turn the top layer around a bit every time I add something, and keep it moist. If I dig a bit deeper (maybe half way down) everything is dark brown and it's impossible to distinguish what went in.