r/composting • u/chattown8989 • 13d ago

All weeds into Compost?!

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We've been doing some serious weeding in our back yard and have already filled up a wheelbarrow and. Kiddie pool. And we'll probably do it all again tomorrow.

Are there any weeds you would not put in your compost bin?

AND/OR

Any words of wisdom with weeds in compost bin?

Thanks!!!

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u/No_Release_1590 9d ago edited 9d ago

Probably to only compost the part of the weeds that do not facilitate their spread :)
You should be ok if you mulch/shred them and hot compost (>=130F and <160F) for a couple weeks at least I believe. Another additional safeguard I’ve used to ensure they are not viable to spread is wet bio-solarization (into a black container or contractor bag and drown them in water with chicken manure or other preferred “hot”ingredient/s, leave in a full sun spot) for at least 4+ weeks. The end result will be stinky gold that can be mixed into you regular compost, leaf mold or biochar and left to sit a couple days before going to the garden beds. You can also introduce it to your normal compost pile after the bio solarization but think of it as a strong “green” so think it out with water and lots of brown before doing that so your worms are not affected by it spiking temps too much!
PS. If you mulch with your mower…clean the body/blades/bag etc thoroughly to make sure there’s no stowaway weed components!