Compost Question

[gil1]

Lots of neighbors have bags of weeds to donate to my compost. I need the greenery for my pile, but is there a fear that the weed seeds will germinate in my garden even after six months of composting?

 

[richmanbarbeque]

Good question. My thought is if the compost gets "hot" enough it will kill the seeds. Could be wrong, I had the same question after putting weeds in my compost barrel.

 

[spoon]

Don't know if the weeds that pop up are from the compost or just in the ground. My compost is a year old before I put it in the garden

 

[catman529]

some seeds will survive, so I've heard. Heard of people having tomatoes sprout out of compost, and a lot of weeds are resilient so if they have gone to seed, I would be suspicious.

 

[farmin68]

Unless I were trying to develop a 'sterile' (totally weed free) garden site, I wouldn't worry much about it.

Mulching with wheat straw, hay, or grass clippings is a great way to smother weeds and hold moisture in the soil.

 

[farmin68]

Gil, another weed control option you might consider is soil solarization. Covering the ground with clear plastic for a few weeks to kill the weeds and seeds with intense heat.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Yes they will survive. They can survive for more years than we will ever live. I would just avoid some serious noxious weeds. Temps will get around 150 F in alot of compost piles but that wont kill alot of weed seeds. They will just lay there dormant waiting for thier chance.

 

[woodchuckc]

I can testify that morning glory seeds are not killed by composting. I put two pickup truck loads of composted horse manure on my garden 7-8 years ago in the spring and tilled it in. After it warmed up, I had a carpet of morning glories come up that first year, and still am doing battle with them.