What should compost smell like? - Page 3

Rockporter · April 4, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissS

Rockporter, is your grass an annual that spreads from seeds or is it a perennial that spreads by underground runners? When you speak of "long thick rizomes", I am thinking that you either have that straw sprouting and growing or something like Bermuda grass.

It's this stuff

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/a...ns/weed12.html

Here is a color picture-This stuff is horrible out here.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...sigt=10qpf5ken

Rockporter · April 4, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissS

I love ya Worth. You are full of so much information.

Are you suggesting that he harvest the seeds for his salads?

LOL, Worth. I had no idea, but I don't think I want to start eating them.

Rockporter · April 4, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

My compost bin keeps growing tomato plants.

Hehehe, I wish that was my only problem, lol.

Rockporter · April 4, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

If it really is crab grass.
There are several kinds.
It is cultivated in other places.
If it is edible I'm gonna know about it.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...EHGERmgHr6KXUQ

That's exactly what it is! Ugh, I could yank my hair out from that stuff.

You know, if it's so valuable for food we should start bagging those seeds and selling them, lol. At least we could get something for the irritation of it.

MissS · April 4, 2017

You could use a pre-emergent around the kennel in early spring to prevent the grass from sprouting. They also have some kind of spray that is specifically made to kill crabgrass. It can be found a Walmart or any big box store. You could also try to harvest all of the seeds. They are good on tofu and add an element to you salad. Another option is to turn the pile and throw the plants onto the concrete to be dried out by the sun and then toss them back into the compost pile once they are good and dead.

Rockporter · April 4, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissS

You could use a pre-emergent around the kennel in early spring to prevent the grass from sprouting. They also have some kind of spray that is specifically made to kill crabgrass. It can be found a Walmart or any big box store. You could also try to harvest all of the seeds. They are good on tofu and add an element to you salad. Another option is to turn the pile and throw the plants onto the concrete to be dried out by the sun and then toss them back into the compost pile once they are good and dead.

Good ideas all around, but, we have really bad wind, so no sprays. I do use Scotts Bonus S Weed and Feed twice per year and I don't want it in my compost. The problem with these weeds is you can't pull them out, you have to dig them out. I don't see any way to really get them without then making more of the seeds to drop and then even more weeds. I am tempted to just to put weed and feed on it and use that compost for around the house instead of in my garden.

We don't compost our grass because of all the weeds out there, and using weed and feed pellets, our neighbors won't treat on either side or the back of us so we get the gift of their weeds all year long. Especially since not one of them will use a bagger on their mowers, which then means I get their leftovers flying through the air into my yard and garden.

If we keep up with Scotts Bonus S, we can get a handle on weeds but we cannot get rid of them all. We never water our grass, it just grows like crazy anyway. Sometimes in the summer hubby is out there mowing three times a week.

Worth1 · April 5, 2017

When I lived on the coast sometimes you had to mow in the rain.
St Augustine sucks.

Worth

brownrexx · April 5, 2017

Many of my organic gardening buddies use corn glutein for an organically approved pre emergent. I have not tried it myself but it is said to work on crabgrass. Crabgrass is an annual and comes back the following year from this year's seeds. Crabgrass is really bad here but mostly in our yards. I don't have it in my garden or compost pile.

You will still need to pull the grass this year but it should prevent the seeds from sprouting. I am not familiar with your growing season so I do not know when the seeds sprout there.

pecker88 · April 5, 2017

Get some good 'ol fashioned Glyphosate, AKA Roundup and mix it strong. Wait for a bright sunny day and spray the crap out of all the grass/weeds around the compost pile. After 4 hours everything will be wilted. 2 days later it will all be toasted brown. Problem solved.

The great thing about Glyphosate is that it has a half life of 40 days (in the soil), but in TX it's been shown to break down in soil after just 3 days! i.e. microbes in the soil readily break down the chemical thus "inactivating" it.

Another plus is that it does not drift, or vaporize like 2,4D. So, even if you hit your compost pile with the Roundup, it will be totally fine to use in your garden as long as you wait a few weeks. Up here on the prairie, the wind is usually 15-30mph daily, and I've never had Roundup drift. Now, you obviously don't want to spray during a 15 mph wind, but usually early in the morning it's calm for an hour, great time for Roundup spraying.

Barbee · April 6, 2017

How often are you turning the pile?

Rockporter · April 9, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbee

How often are you turning the pile?

Not enough, but it doesn't stink, and it is continually getting smaller in spite of my adding to it. Actually, it's about time to add more straw to it and mix it up, then start again. It's the weeds encroaching from the sides that are deep rooted, and hard to pull. They have to be dug out, and the runners are in my pile.

Worth1 · April 9, 2017

Get a grape hoe the best investment I ever made.
And your husband could fit the handle.
Worth

Worth1 · April 9, 2017

IMG_20170409_40727.jpg

Rockporter · April 9, 2017

I'd love to get one of those, but I can't physically use one of them. My injuries and surgeries, and all my arthritis really slow me down. If I used that hoe I wouldn't be able to move for a week.

loulac · April 10, 2017

I'm really surprised by the lenght of the handle of your hoe. Did you choose it for your personal convenience to reach all the parts of the plot from the path or are they all like that ? I know that Texans are said to think big, that handle is maybe just another chapter of the story...

all the best

April 4, 2017	#35
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	You could use a pre-emergent around the kennel in early spring to prevent the grass from sprouting. They also have some kind of spray that is specifically made to kill crabgrass. It can be found a Walmart or any big box store. You could also try to harvest all of the seeds. They are good on tofu and add an element to you salad. Another option is to turn the pile and throw the plants onto the concrete to be dried out by the sun and then toss them back into the compost pile once they are good and dead. __________________ ~ Patti ~

April 5, 2017	#39
pecker88 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 192	Get some good 'ol fashioned Glyphosate, AKA Roundup and mix it strong. Wait for a bright sunny day and spray the crap out of all the grass/weeds around the compost pile. After 4 hours everything will be wilted. 2 days later it will all be toasted brown. Problem solved. The great thing about Glyphosate is that it has a half life of 40 days (in the soil), but in TX it's been shown to break down in soil after just 3 days! i.e. microbes in the soil readily break down the chemical thus "inactivating" it. Another plus is that it does not drift, or vaporize like 2,4D. So, even if you hit your compost pile with the Roundup, it will be totally fine to use in your garden as long as you wait a few weeks. Up here on the prairie, the wind is usually 15-30mph daily, and I've never had Roundup drift. Now, you obviously don't want to spray during a 15 mph wind, but usually early in the morning it's calm for an hour, great time for Roundup spraying. Last edited by pecker88; April 5, 2017 at 10:42 AM.

April 6, 2017	#40
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	How often are you turning the pile? __________________ *Barbee*

April 9, 2017	#44
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	I'd love to get one of those, but I can't physically use one of them. My injuries and surgeries, and all my arthritis really slow me down. If I used that hoe I wouldn't be able to move for a week. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 10, 2017	#45
loulac Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: France Posts: 554	I'm really surprised by the lenght of the handle of your hoe. Did you choose it for your personal convenience to reach all the parts of the plot from the path or are they all like that ? I know that Texans are said to think big, that handle is maybe just another chapter of the story... all the best Last edited by loulac; April 11, 2017 at 04:03 AM.

April 5, 2017	#37
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	When I lived on the coast sometimes you had to mow in the rain. St Augustine sucks. Worth

April 5, 2017	#38
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	Many of my organic gardening buddies use corn glutein for an organically approved pre emergent. I have not tried it myself but it is said to work on crabgrass. Crabgrass is an annual and comes back the following year from this year's seeds. Crabgrass is really bad here but mostly in our yards. I don't have it in my garden or compost pile. You will still need to pull the grass this year but it should prevent the seeds from sprouting. I am not familiar with your growing season so I do not know when the seeds sprout there.