I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
brambles, docks etc.

One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
not quite as much.

What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
(local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?

--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
> brambles, docks etc.
>
> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
> not quite as much.
>
> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?
>

I use my weeds as landfill - I have an old dry ditch and it gradually
turning into compost! All the large stones go in it as well. And quite a
few other things.

--
Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have
guns, why should we let them have ideas?

Josef Stalin

On 09/06/2023 10:26, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
>> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds -
>> nettles,
>> brambles, docks etc.
>>
>> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and
>> reduced
>> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing
>> now,
>> not quite as much.
>>
>> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn
>> them
>> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and
>> should I make
>> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only
>> method?
>>
>
> I use my weeds as landfill - I have an old dry ditch and it gradually
> turning into compost! All the large stones go in it as well. And quite a
> few other things.

One day it's going to *rain* and *rain* and *rain* and you'll wish you
hadn't done that.

Ditches used to take effort, and people don't tend to like expending
unnecessary effort...

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
> brambles, docks etc.
>
> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
> not quite as much.
>
> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?

Did you spray the plots with glyphosate? If not, all the perennial weeds
will be back.

Do you have power at the plots? If so, I'd shred all the green and woody
stuff and then pile it into heaps for composting. If it's just green
stuff, you might get away with running a mower over it a couple of
times. Then it can be piled into heaps. Basically, the smaller the stuff
is, the quicker it will compost. It will take at least six months - more
likely a year.

You might be able to rotavate it in as green compost, but I'd be
concerned about things like brambles rooting from the cut stems unless
sprayed with weedkiller before hand.

--

Jeff

On 09/06/2023 11:18, RustyHinge wrote:
> On 09/06/2023 10:26, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

>> I use my weeds as landfill - I have an old dry ditch and it gradually
>> turning into compost! All the large stones go in it as well. And quite
>> a few other things.
>
> One day it's going to *rain* and *rain* and *rain* and you'll wish you
> hadn't done that.
>
No, I wont.

The ditch was replaced decades ago by mole ploughing and land drains in
the adjacent field.
Ice been here 30 years and its never had a drop of water.

> Ditches used to take effort, and people don't tend to like expending
> unnecessary effort...
>

Round here, they do make the necessary effort. The ditches are all
functional, except this one. And the one that use to run at the base of
the property which it joins. Their function has been completely superseded.

--
“it should be clear by now to everyone that activist environmentalism
(or environmental activism) is becoming a general ideology about humans,
about their freedom, about the relationship between the individual and
the state, and about the manipulation of people under the guise of a
'noble' idea. It is not an honest pursuit of 'sustainable development,'
a matter of elementary environmental protection, or a search for
rational mechanisms designed to achieve a healthy environment. Yet
things do occur that make you shake your head and remind yourself that
you live neither in Joseph Stalin’s Communist era, nor in the Orwellian
utopia of 1984.”

Vaclav Klaus

On 9 Jun 2023 at 11:35:45 BST, Jeff Layman wrote:

> On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
>> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
>> brambles, docks etc.
>>
>> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
>> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
>> not quite as much.
>>
>> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
>> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
>> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?
>
> Did you spray the plots with glyphosate? If not, all the perennial weeds
> will be back.
>

No, not sprayed. Quite a few are back from where they weren't properly cleared
last year, but the plot is now manageable. The weed pile has compressed to a
dark lump of woody material. I'd like to dispose of it to stop the seeds and
regrowable bits taking hold again.

> Do you have power at the plots? If so, I'd shred all the green and woody
> stuff and then pile it into heaps for composting. If it's just green
> stuff, you might get away with running a mower over it a couple of
> times. Then it can be piled into heaps. Basically, the smaller the stuff
> is, the quicker it will compost. It will take at least six months - more
> likely a year.
>
> You might be able to rotavate it in as green compost, but I'd be
> concerned about things like brambles rooting from the cut stems unless
> sprayed with weedkiller before hand.

I've been avoiding weedkiller.

--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 2023-06-11, RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
> On 9 Jun 2023 at 11:35:45 BST, Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>> On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
>>> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
>>> brambles, docks etc.
>>>
>>> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
>>> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
>>> not quite as much.
>>>
>>> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
>>> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
>>> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?
>>
>> Did you spray the plots with glyphosate? If not, all the perennial weeds
>> will be back.
>>
>
> No, not sprayed. Quite a few are back from where they weren't properly cleared
> last year, but the plot is now manageable. The weed pile has compressed to a
> dark lump of woody material. I'd like to dispose of it to stop the seeds and
> regrowable bits taking hold again.

Do you not have compost bins? With that size plots and I assume other
bits of the garden, you should be generating enough orgnaic waste to
make a hot compost heaps - which kills off the seeds and the "regrowable"
bits.

>> Do you have power at the plots? If so, I'd shred all the green and woody
>> stuff and then pile it into heaps for composting. If it's just green
>> stuff, you might get away with running a mower over it a couple of
>> times. Then it can be piled into heaps. Basically, the smaller the stuff
>> is, the quicker it will compost. It will take at least six months - more
>> likely a year.

A decent sized protected heap (I make boards from dismantled pallets,
and cover the top with a tarp.) will rot down way quicker. In summer my
compost heaps take 3-4 months before it's usable as compost. I turn
twice and add grass clippings on the first turn to help it rot quicker.
You have to keep the heap not too wet and not too dry.
>> You might be able to rotavate it in as green compost, but I'd be
>> concerned about things like brambles rooting from the cut stems unless
>> sprayed with weedkiller before hand.
>
> I've been avoiding weedkiller.
>

On 12/06/2023 17:40, Jim Jackson wrote:
> On 2023-06-11, RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
>> On 9 Jun 2023 at 11:35:45 BST, Jeff Layman wrote:
>>
>>> On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
>>>> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
>>>> brambles, docks etc.
>>>>
>>>> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
>>>> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
>>>> not quite as much.
>>>>
>>>> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
>>>> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
>>>> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?
>>>
>>> Did you spray the plots with glyphosate? If not, all the perennial weeds
>>> will be back.
>>>
>>
>> No, not sprayed. Quite a few are back from where they weren't properly cleared
>> last year, but the plot is now manageable. The weed pile has compressed to a
>> dark lump of woody material. I'd like to dispose of it to stop the seeds and
>> regrowable bits taking hold again.
>
> Do you not have compost bins? With that size plots and I assume other
> bits of the garden, you should be generating enough orgnaic waste to
> make a hot compost heaps - which kills off the seeds and the "regrowable"
> bits.
>

My experience is you could have a sterile compost laid everywhere and in
2 weeks it would be sprouting weeds from wind blown seeds. I mean, why
even bother?

--
Climate is what you expect but weather is what you get.
Mark Twain

On 12 Jun 2023 at 17:40:34 BST, Jim Jackson wrote:

> On 2023-06-11, RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
>> On 9 Jun 2023 at 11:35:45 BST, Jeff Layman wrote:
>>
>>> On 09/06/2023 10:21, RJH wrote:
>>>> I've two plots (each roughly 20m x 10m) that I'm clearing of weeds - nettles,
>>>> brambles, docks etc.
>>>>
>>>> One I did last summer - that's been under partial cover, piled up, and reduced
>>>> about 75% over the winter, to about a metre cubed. The other I'm doing now,
>>>> not quite as much.
>>>>
>>>> What should I do with them? I'd have to wait until the autumn to burn them
>>>> (local regs), but will they be sufficently burnable by then, and should I make
>>>> more of an effort to protect them from rain? And is this the best/only method?
>>>
>>> Did you spray the plots with glyphosate? If not, all the perennial weeds
>>> will be back.
>>>
>>
>> No, not sprayed. Quite a few are back from where they weren't properly cleared
>> last year, but the plot is now manageable. The weed pile has compressed to a
>> dark lump of woody material. I'd like to dispose of it to stop the seeds and
>> regrowable bits taking hold again.
>
> Do you not have compost bins? With that size plots and I assume other
> bits of the garden, you should be generating enough orgnaic waste to
> make a hot compost heaps - which kills off the seeds and the "regrowable"
> bits.

Not a s such - 3 sided with pallets, sort of crude and effective at keeping it
all in one place.
>
>>> Do you have power at the plots? If so, I'd shred all the green and woody
>>> stuff and then pile it into heaps for composting. If it's just green
>>> stuff, you might get away with running a mower over it a couple of
>>> times. Then it can be piled into heaps. Basically, the smaller the stuff
>>> is, the quicker it will compost. It will take at least six months - more
>>> likely a year.
>

No, no power. But I will make the composting bins sturdier, so at least it'll
be benign.

> A decent sized protected heap (I make boards from dismantled pallets,
> and cover the top with a tarp.) will rot down way quicker. In summer my
> compost heaps take 3-4 months before it's usable as compost. I turn
> twice and add grass clippings on the first turn to help it rot quicker.
> You have to keep the heap not too wet and not too dry.
>

Thanks - I'll give that a go.

>>> You might be able to rotavate it in as green compost, but I'd be
>>> concerned about things like brambles rooting from the cut stems unless
>>> sprayed with weedkiller before hand.
>>
>> I've been avoiding weedkiller.
>>

--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

In article <u69ei1$3i5eg$1@dont-email.me>,
patchmoney@gmx.com says...

> > A decent sized protected heap (I make boards from dismantled pallets,
> > and cover the top with a tarp.) will rot down way quicker. In summer my
> > compost heaps take 3-4 months before it's usable as compost. I turn
> > twice and add grass clippings on the first turn to help it rot quicker.
> > You have to keep the heap not too wet and not too dry.
>
The more material you can pile in the heap, the hotter
it gets and faster it works. I grow non-spreading
Bocking 14 comfrey ( to harvest several times from spring
to autumn) and I also harvest large amounts of local weeds
from clean wasteland(organically grown natcherly; and cut
before flowering); thistles, nettles, bracken and rosebay
willowherb. I layer weeds with fresh seaweed, kitchen
waste, lawn mowings. If I get chance of horse or sheep
manure, that too.

Janet

On 14/06/2023 09:47, Janet wrote:
> In article <u69ei1$3i5eg$1@dont-email.me>,
> patchmoney@gmx.com says...
>
>>> A decent sized protected heap (I make boards from dismantled pallets,
>>> and cover the top with a tarp.) will rot down way quicker. In summer my
>>> compost heaps take 3-4 months before it's usable as compost. I turn
>>> twice and add grass clippings on the first turn to help it rot quicker.
>>> You have to keep the heap not too wet and not too dry.
>>
> The more material you can pile in the heap, the hotter
> it gets and faster it works. I grow non-spreading
> Bocking 14 comfrey ( to harvest several times from spring
> to autumn) and I also harvest large amounts of local weeds
> from clean wasteland(organically grown natcherly; and cut
> before flowering); thistles, nettles, bracken and rosebay
> willowherb. I layer weeds with fresh seaweed, kitchen
> waste, lawn mowings. If I get chance of horse or sheep
> manure, that too.
>
> Janet

+1

My experience with composting was the need to dispose of vast amounts of
unwanted organics. I just piled it all in an unused corner of the
garden, and years later there was inches deep humus.

Trying to accelerate the process never seemed to produce what I wanted,
so I gave up and left it to rot, literally.

On revisiting it years later, it was perfect mulch to improve soil

They actual mass reduction was surprisingly large. 4 ft high piles ended
up 3-4".

--
Any fool can believe in principles - and most of them do!