Brand newbie composting question

I've never had a compost pile but have decided to start one now. Question for the "seasoned" composters. I have been clearing out a wooded area on my property which has lots and lots of leaf and cedar duff along with many obnoxious weeds like cleavers, nettles, berries, etc. I'm sure there are some seeds in the mix as well. I would like to use some of this duff and pulled weeds for the pile because I hate to just burn it. If there are seeds, will the compost pile become hot enough to stop them from germinating? Are the pulled weeds okay to use in the pile? Or should I just burn the stuff?

TIA ~

Sheri

Hi Sheri, I'm looking for the same answer & since you asked it, I hope you don't mind me riding in on your thread, but I'd like to ask a newby composting ?? here too. Thanks.

Is it ok to start heaping all the organic material I've been collecting in with some
"brown" (in my case old straw, leaves, etc) in an area I hope to eventually make/put a compost bin? I don't know what kind of composting or vermicomposting I want/should do yet. So many schools of thought, if I wait to evaluate everything, nothing will ever get started. TIA for me too.

Sheesh - you get around Sheri!!!
Yes you can use it - but you'll need to get that pile really hot.
The basic idea is a good Carbon/nitrogen mix, keep it moist & keep turning it.
if you want to accelerate it, you can add Alfalfa pellets (moistened & crumbled - some folks just mix them in & works either way) or mix cattle feed grade molasses to water ( 1/2 cup to 3 gal) and water the pile with it. I can explain more when i visit you next Saturday.
There are some very good ideas and loads of informartion on composting - do a search on topic of choice.

If I were I beginner, I would not use that stuff at first. It can take a while to learn the knack of hot composting. If you search you will find many threads where beginners can't manage to get the compost to heat. You might want to try a practice batch or two, and measure the temperature with a compost thermometer to make sure it is indeed hot enough to kill those seeds and weeds. Once you get the process down, then start composting that stuff.

There is no magic ingredient you need and no instant grain of knowledge to make compost. Just building a pile of stuff for cold composting works very well. Heat is only needed for fast processing and killing pathogens, invasive plants and seeds. But sometimes learning the "how to" can take practice.

Karen

Hey Katye ~ I posted this a while back on the PNW but didn't get a response. Figgered I just try a place where it's the focus. What about adding urea for nitrogen? Got a 50# bag to "cook" my straw bales. Maybe you can evaluate the pile this weekend.

Karen ~ Thanks for the info. See, I didn't even know there is a difference between hot and cold composting. Thought you just threw the stuff out there and off it goes! Right now is consists only of lawn clippings and kitchen castoffs. Guess I'll leave the other stuff out for a while.

Sheri: You don't need to add urea for nitrogen- what you have there, lawn clippings and kitchen waste, are both nitrogen. You need to add that straw that you have on hand (i.e. a carbon source). You don't need to buy stuff to make compost. Ideally, it is just a way to recycle organic matter.

You need to start from the beginning. Learn what's green or N source, what's C or carbon source. Learn about ratios, moisture, oxygenation, etc. I think the Florida online composting tutorial is a good beginning point for anyone, I'll post a link.
http://www.compostinfo.com/main/intro.htm

BTW, Port Angeles is a beautiful area. My son lived in Port Townsend for a while.

Karen

Karen ~ Thanks for the link. I will certainly check it out after my workwork week is through. And yes, I agree. I love it here (and work in Port Townsend three days per week.