Where should I put the stuff that can't go into the pile?

I've already made the mistake of putting tons of weeds in my compost and now I am paying for it.

A good part of the reason I started the pile to begin with was to keep organic stuff out of the waste stream. I have two rabbits and I just couldn't bear seeing one more trashbag filled with their waste go off to our already at capacity landfill. So I started composting their waste and litter and it just grew from there. I figured even if I never used it, it was better off decomping in my yard than at the dump. Now 4 yrs later I have some amazing (albeit weed laden) bunny poo compost :)

So what do I do with all of the weeds, diseased plants, spiky things etc that can't go into the pile?
I have a small suburban yard and probably couldn't get away with burning it.

Should I send it as yard waste to the dump where they have a few huge and I am assuming very hot piles or would that just spread weeds and disease to the people who use it? or would the heat kill the bugaboos off?

any insight would be appreciated.

Can you find a place to bury it away from any food crops, say, in a low spot of your lawn? I'd think about a foot underground would be deep enough to prevent anything from sprouting.

My yard is so small that there's really no place for it.
well, not until the concrete pad is pulled up that is.

and my 'lawn' is actually a series of low spots. maybe I need to take another look. I do have some dips that need filling in.
thanks

philsgal, for weeds and rapidly spreading plants, you can make a fermented plant extract (FPE) by placing the weeds in a large bucket/barrel, adding EM or AEM (same culture that is used for Bokashi, so please read those threads) to cover, and then leaving it to ferment for two to six weeks. The liquid that you pour out of the barrel can then be diluted and used to fertilize your garden. The remains can now be safely added to your compost pile. They won't sprout once they are pickled.
This technique works well with bermuda grass and johnson grass, mints etc.

For diseased plants, what type of disease are you dealing with? If it's just powdery mildew or similar, the probiotic culture of the EM/AEM will deal with that.

Garden_mermaid, for some reason I can't find the thread that discussed fermenting weeds with EM/AEM. Can you tell me what the standard dilution would be of EM to water, when I add the solution to cover the weeds in my barrel?
Thanks!

CCG, I highly recommend downloading the free APNAN EM Manual from this site:
http://www.apnan.org/EM_Application.htm

The manual booklet is free to download and has a wealth of information in it.

Page 9-10 of the manual have the directions for making the Fermented Plant Extract (FPE) for use as fertilizer or pest control (depending on the plants used).

The basic recipe is:
12 litres of weeds (2-3 KG)
14 litres of water (non-chlorinated)
420 ml of unsulfured molasses
420 ml of EM stock culture

1) chop the plant material into 2-5 cm pieces
2) Place plant material into plastic drum or bucket
3) Mix the EM, molasses and water and add to the plant material in the bucket.
4) Be sure the container is full and there is not much space between top of contents and the lid. Seal with an airtight lid. Cover with black plastic or tarp. Store in a warm place away from direct sunlight.
5) Fermentation should start in 5-10 days depending on ambient temperatures.
Stir the contents occasionally to remove gas, then reseal the container. When the pH has dropped below 3.5, it is ready.
6) Pour through screen or cloth to filter out the solids. Pour the liquid into into bottles and store in a cool dry place. Use within 90 days.
7) Add the solids to the compost pile.

Please report back with your experiences.
:)

Thank you, garden_mermaid! That's very clear. I read the manual. Sounds like a great way to compost weeds. I've got some EM that I can use--it's several months old; the professor says it should smell sweet and have a PH below 4, so I can check it.
Do you have any problem using all the solution you produce? The 500: 1 dilution must produce a LOT of fertilizer to spray.
I have this problem with the leachate that my Bokashi-bucket produces--I end up with 2 or more cups every few weeks, which makes a heck of a lot of solution to spray around!

CCG, I confess to not diluting the Bokashi juice and FPE as much as the directions indicate. I sort of eyeball it in terms of dilution and then watch the plants.
I still can't use up all of the Bokashi juice in my small garden, so I pour the extra on the compost pile or dilute it 1:1 with water and sprinkle it around trees and shrubs etc.

I use the sniff test to determine if the "old" Bokashi juice can still be used in a standard way. If it has that sweet-sour pickle smell, I figure it's still good. If it smells "rotten", then I add a spoonful of fresh stock culture and seal it up for week and sniff again. Usually it revives. If not, it goes on the compost pile.

Thank you, garden_mermaid ! I've never had a really pragmatic explanation of what to do with the extra "juice"; often I end up pouring most of it down my drain to help my septic tank digest.
I hadn't thought simply diluting it less, and using it that way. Thanks! And I WILL compost a bunch of weeds with AM--I love it that the professor says "the more 'noxious' and invasive, the more nutrients"! Bring on the mint!!

Weeds are there to heal the soil.

I have spearmint growing around my tomatoes this year. So far only hairless two footed squirrels have bothered them. The furry ones are leaving them alone.

Fermenting the stuff sounds like a good way to go... gotta look into that more.


Actually, I really don't mind the weeds either. at least in the lawn. you have a good point about weeds healing the soil.

i actually love how dandelions and lawn violets look in early spring. and I get these pretty white flowers in the lawn too, but in my garden all unwanted plants should perish.

thanks for all the input, I will look into bokashi.

philsgal, you may want to get one of the books that tells you what weeds tell you about your soil. darius did an excellent article on weeds a little while ago. She listed some of the books in here article. Check the DG article section.

If you have weeds in your vegetable or flower garden, make note of what they are telling you. When you correct those issues in the soil, many, if not most/all, of your weeds will go away naturally.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1530/

very interesting article. But many of the weeds she cites are growing in my veg garden in the 10" of gravel between the raised bed, and in the very humusy raised bed soil.
Same thing for the orchard: Ranunculus repens was growing in the xeric bed border, the nice loamy soil & in the heavy clay at the bottom of my property.

What am I to make of this?

This message was edited Jul 26, 2009 8:43 PM

Does your local library have a copy of any of the weed books that darius cited in her article? I thought Creeping Buttercups only grew in wet soil. If so, perhaps you have a drainage problem.

No - I have the opposite problem - most of my soil drains too well - even the clay areas at the lower part of my property.
Ranunculus repens grows in a variety of situations up here. While it definitely favors moist soil, it also grows in dry shade. There are a host of weeds here that acclimate themselves to different situations west of the cascades. We do have more moisture normally, and lower temps. Dandelions seem to make themselves at home just about everywhere here, as do the docks, purslane, thistles, blackerries, etc... Strawberries grow in the gravel as well! Perhaps this is due to our climate not having "extremes"?

That article is great!
I'll have to go get those books.

thanks