Newbie, bindweed in compost

[First time gardener]

Hi,

First time posting and first time allotment holder. Me and dad got an allotment couple of weeks ago and it was a complete mess, being overran with weeds. The guy who showed us around said that nothing can be taken of the allotment and that weed should all be composted.

One of the most persistent weeds had long white roots and until today we had no idea what is was only to discover its bindweed and that shouldn't just be thrown onto a compost heap. We had the whole family down in shifts to dig so a lot has been dug up and lots put on the compost heap.

Hope someone can help as I have no idea what can be done at this stage.

Thanks

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

The guy who showed us around said that nothing can be taken of the allotment and that weed should all be composted.

What a strange thing to tell a new allotment holder. So do you have to cook all your meals on site?

Anyway in regards to bindweed remove what you can as you have been. You can drown it in water and several weeks later use it a feed. Shove it in black bags leave for a year then add to the compost or leave it on a hard surface in full sun to shrivel and eventually do what you want with it.

[muddled]

First of all, Hello and welcome to the vine!
Congratulations too on your new allotment!

Now, the bindweed.
Bindweed is a bit of a bu99er for regrowing from the little tiny bits of root left behind.
Having said that, you've the right thing by pulling the worst of it out of your beds. Even though you'll never get it all...you have 'knocked it back' and the little bits that poke their heads up are easy enough to pull with your regular weeding regime.

For your compost, here's what I would do;
Get one of those big old plastic barrels...you know the type I mean? or failing that, look for a second hand water butt on freecycle.
Fill it three quarters full of water then get all the big bits of bindweed you can and bung them in there to 'drown'. If you have a lid, great. If not, improvise. A paving slab? Even an old compost bag tied around with string will do.
Deprived of light and submerged in water, the bindweed will release all the nutrients it took from the soil and make a (stinky) excellent plant feed!

Now, get yourself a gardeners sieve and whenever you use your compost, put it through the sieve first...dumping the bindweed into your (stinky) barrel.

There. Disaster averted.
Now get back to enjoying your plot.

(ps; did I mention? That barrel is really gonna stink...don't forget the lid okay?)

[First time gardener]

What a strange thing to tell a new allotment holder. So do you have to cook all your meals on site?

Lol to be fair we asked the guy if we had to take the weeds to the tip (I know how silly that sounds now, but literally never done any gardening before or composting).

Should be fun trying to separate all that bindweed from the compost really should have done some research.

Can I just dump all the weeds water rather than trying to go back and separate?

Cheers

[First time gardener]

Also think it will to hard to dig over the top half of the plot this year so will limit it to four patches (see photo). Any ideas on what could be plant, is it to late to sow any seeds? So far there is tomato, corn, cucumber, pumpkin, onions and beetroot. I wish I had discovered this forum b4 hand as I knew nothing about spacing or companion planting, so this year will just hope for the best

[muddled]

Get yourself down to your nearest bicycle shop or white goods store and offer to recycle some of their cardboard.
If you use this to cover the areas of the plot you can't manage at least the weeds won't be shoulder high by autumn and by then the ground underneath will be easier to dig.
Things to sow now include salad greens, more beetroot, dwarf beans and you could still plant courgettes, early potatoes (that won't actually be early by the time you harvest them but will be delicious all the same) swede and carrots, turnips and so on.

Some things, florence fennel for example, do much better if sown after the longest day.

Also, keep an eye on places like B&Q...they often have leftover (albeit slightly bedraggled) trays of veggie plants at knockdown prices this time of year.

There's a whole lot of stuff to grow yet and this spring has been so cold and drab that you won't actually be too far behind the rest of us!

[SusieG]

Welcome to you, First time gardener!

Some sound advice already given - keep dipping in here - there's no such thing as a 'silly' question - ask away!!! There's always someone who can give you a (sensible..????) answer!

Enjoy your plot! Happy growing

[Guest]

Cardboard, mulch, membrane anything to keep weeds down. That was my biggest mistake when I got a lottie in the first year. I spent more time on the weeds than anything else.

In your piccie (sort of front centre) you have 6 quite large plants. Are they squash if so you might want to give them a bit more room for when they get bigger.

Also go be snouty at other plots and talk to people. Gardeners are surprisingly generous with advice, help, plants, seeds, produce I am not saying go solely on the scrounge but peeps do like to help and swap

[First time gardener]

Thanks for all the advice, especially what to plant and cardboard trick that should really help make it manageable for next year.

[First time gardener]

In your piccie (sort of front centre) you have 6 quite large plants. Are they squash if so you might want to give them a bit more room for when they get bigger.

Iv'e planted some pumpkin that I set beforehand at home and they are growing like nobodies business, I did them about a foot apart not expecting them to grow so fast.
Is it to late to move them and plant them else where in the field? I read that disturbing the roots once they are established could damage or kill the plant (something about root shock)???