Good weed v's bad weed

Hi Gardeners, over the years there have many questions about what to do with the weeds. We all get weeds no matter how much we tend our plots. The universal definition of a weed is an unwanted plant. On the plots this usually means something we did not plant to enjoy eating. Once removed by hoeing, forking or  pulling out, the weeds should be put in the compost. However, pernicuous weeds will continue to grow quite happily in the compost. As part of our funding we have invested in tumbling composters to allow individuals to learn about making their own compost with the hope of using it to enrich the soil and recycle nutrients.

Fill with weeds and spent vegetables

The composters are easy to use - screw off the lid, put in your weeds, replace lid, open clip and tumble.



Tumbling composter







Ensure clip is closed to open lid.

Open clip to tumble



Now, onto the technical bit - the pernicuous or bad weeds which should not be put in your composters are: creeping buttercup, dock, bindweed, couch grass, ragwort and best to keep thistle out due to the prickles! These should be placed under black plastic in the compost bays at the back of the site. Please note the bays in front of the shed are to be removed to make way for a sunny terrace. All we need is some sun..







Dock -  remove as much as the of the thick root as possible, be warned they grow deep!



Ragwort - this is deemed a noxious weed in agriculture





Creeping buttercup -try to remove most of the thick white roots using a hand fork. Any roots left in ground will happily grow again.





Creeping buttercup with spreading white roots



Couch grass





Couch grass - grows with underground roots called rhizomes, which produce new shoots, it spreads rapidly. Distinguishable from other grasses by the rhizomes, for example if you pull a bit and more comes up its likely to be couch grass.

The new compost bays - best used for bad weeds and big sods removed from edges of plots.

HAPPY COMPOSTING

Lorna mca