Composting

[Eoghan]

I am currently taking a lot of weeds to the dump but wonder what can be recycled in the compost. Nettle roots have to go to the dump and the ivy but what about the rest? If I remove the roots from weeds can the green shoots be composted? Grass cuttings tend to compact and I am keen to have layers to build it up.

[Plot70]

At this time of year I sun dry all weed roots until they are crisp and dry.
I just use them under the soft fruit and they release all the bedrock nutrients over winter for a good start in the following year.
This works even for invasive weeds.

[ameno]

All green shoots and stems from above ground can be composted, even bindweed and horsetail (it's only the roots which will regrow). You may want to omit anything currently in seed, however (or remove the seed heads first if it's easy to do so).
All annual weeds and many non-spreading perennial weeds can be composted whole, roots and all (although tearing up larger specimens helps them to die and rot quicker), including all grass except couch grass and creeping bent, wood avens, all willowherbs, ragwort, any many other perennial weeds.
Bindweed, dandelions, horsetail, nettles, dock, enchanter's nightshade, comfrey, and ground elder should have the roots removed.
Even the above perennial weed roots can be composted if you can kill them first. Either leave them to desiccate in the sun, as suggested above, or drown them in a barrel of water. Once dead (takes about 3 months underwater for couch grass, 6-8 weeks for the others, as long as they are fully immersed and lidded) they can be put on the compost bin as normal.

[Plot70]

Sun dried bind weed roots only take a day or so to sun dry in the sort of weather we are having right now.
Thicker roots take longer.
Drowning does work but the volume of roots makes it impractical at this time of year.

[ameno]

Sun dried bind weed roots only take a day or so to sun dry in the sort of weather we are having right now.
Thicker roots take longer.
Drowning does work but the volume of roots makes it impractical at this time of year.

You just reuse the water. I haven't topped up my weed drowning barrels by more than a bucketful or so in over a year.
The advantage of drowning is that it is more contained. In order to dry them, you need to spread them out. That's fine if you have only small quantities, not so good with the quantities I am dealing with.

[Plot70]

I agree that drowning is better in winter.
I have got the space between the squashes at this time of year.