How to test compost

Wonder if someone can give me some advice please. There is a recycling plant fairly close to where I live. They have a system whereby if you take a couple of bags of compostable material there, you can take away a couple of bags of compost.

I hadn't been before until today and they have "mountains" of compost. It has been allowed to heat up and rot down for quite some time and looks amazing ....almost black and it is graded too so no large bits. I have a huge garden which makes weeding a never ending chore and was wondering if I could use the discarded compost material (ie the stuff that is sieved out of the compost) as a substitute for bark chippings.To barkchip my garden, I'd have to win the lottery 1st! I am thinking about asking a local farmer to collect a trailer full of the stuff but feel I should maybe test it 1st to see if the content is suitable for the job, but not sure how to go about it. Any ideas would be appreciated. Obviously if I am going to get quantities of the stuff I don't want to end up harming my soil or plants. Thanks.

 

It will rot down / be incorporated into the soil (e.g. by worms) a lot more quickly than bark would.

Personally I'm not inclined to use Council Compost (much as I would like to). My lawn selective weed-killer says something like "Do not compost, do not put anywhere near other plants for 18 months, do not put in municipal compost bins" ... I doubt very much that everyone using selective lawn herbicides cares what happens to the clippings ...

Same thing with pernicious weeds such as Marestail, and diseases such as Club Root - they might be killed by the impressive temperatures that the composting process reaches, but I'm not confident enough to try it!

Maybe some tests have been done and I'm over-reacting?

 

Hmmm hadn't thought about that Kirsten, thanks for the advice, I agree lots of people won't care what goes into the composting piles. I only use Roundup in my garden because it is neutralised once it hits soil but bet the local council use all sorts of "nasty stuff". I thought all my birthdays and Christmases had come at once but maybe not. Think I'll maybe talk to the recycling manager and see what he says. It ain't a bargin if all my lovely plants die off! I already have a couple of patches of mares tail which I live with having tried everything I know to get rid of it. I certainly DON'T want anymore!!!

 

On balance I think Marestails will be killed by the composting temperature, Club Root etc probably/maybe, and Aminopyralid herbicide residue will probably by untouched :(

 

P.S. I don't think you've got much / anything to worry about what the Council are using - I expect they are doing it as-per manufacturer's instructions (barring human-error and cock-ups of course), its Joe Public putting lawn clippings, from recently treated grass, in their brown-bins that will be the problem

 

Silu,that sounds a lovely idea,I wish our council would adopt the same idea.......I can never make enough of my own,well not quick enough anyway.
They do sell the stuff in sealed bags,but it's not cheap.
I do think that they make such vast quantitys at such heat ,I would suspect it's pretty safe.

 

Thanks again Kirsten, and roders. I've have been doing some detective work and found out that 2 local farmers use the compost on their fields (barley) and things grow like Topsie! so maybe the weed situation isn't that bad, knowing how farmers moan about weeds, but not so sure if my plants will like it.Like roders I cannot make enough myself for all I want and living in a pretty cold part of the world I find it difficult to get the heap hot enough to be good. At the recycling plant they turn the heaps every 3 days,funnily enough by huge machines, unlike me with my fork!!!! Agree with roders it is a fab idea, so if the compost turns out to be fine for gardens, I'll let you know where it is and you can all come with lorries, trailers, donkey and cart...to collect! There is enough to cover a rugby pitch in 10 ft deep of the stuff.

 

I know batches will vary but the old test for nasties was to get a sample and plant cress seed, if it grew OK then it was probably OK.

I'm sure if this stuff had any real problems surrounding it, it would be well publicised.

I think I would prefer council compost against horse manure these days, bearing in mind the recent weedkiller problems in that quarter.

 

Help what is that pete? I have 2 VERY expensive manure making machines and they go a long way to feeding the garden. I haven't heard anything about "bad horse manure" but then they graze here on pasture which has never had weedkiller anywhere near it...far too dangerous for them far less plants. Yes the field is full of field buttercup...hated by horses, and we pull any ragwort the minute we see it, (poisionous to horses) but never heard of horse manure being toxic with weedkiller. Thanks for the tip about cress. I did that years ago on some compost I got from a farmer and had completely forgotton about it. Off to buy some cress seeds tomorrow, egg and cress sandwiches anyone?!

 

The key - as you have already found out, is to discover if the council themselves use it and/or who else.

I suspect that it is probably all right. The thing about council compost is that they have very large piles, which they regularly mix using tractors with forks on the front. The large mounds get very hot, and consequently would kill off infinetely more than you could with your own heap in the garden.

 

" 2 local farmers use the compost on their fields (barley)"

I sound like a harbinger of doom ... don't mean too though ... the Aminopyralid herbicide doesn't harm Barley (or other members of the "grass" families), so would be fine on Wheat and Barley. I don't suppose farmers would worry too much about other weeds either, they will be sprayed anyway (and if them put Manure on their fields that would carry seeds of grass and other weeds too)

" I haven't heard anything about "bad horse manure""

This was also related to Aminopyrali. Some farmers used it on their pasture (its a selective weedkiller and effective at killing weeds in pasture which are very hard to control with anything else). The instructions very clearly state that any Silage, Hay etc. from such pastures, or Manure from animals eating such silage / hay, must not be used on a whole range of crops, and that there is a duty on the farmer to inform any 3rd party when such products leave the farm, etc. etc. etc.

Didn't happen though, and thus piles of contaminated manure turned up on allotments and all sorts.

The product was temporarily withdrawn (a year or two back) pending more stringent procedures being put in place. So its now back on the market ... and has also turned up in amateur gardener products like Verdone (which is a selective lawn weedkiller).

 

What's your opinion on Aminopyralid in Verdone John? (and the risk that it gets into Council Green/Brown bins and then back into gardens)

 

"Is it really true it's in Verdone ?"

Can't see the chemical name in picture son the web, but IIRC its a chemical-cousin.

Scotts Product-page: http://www.lovethegarden.com/product-details/verdone-extra
and the label: http://www.lovethegarden.com/files/ve-label.pdf

"The first mowing after application must not be used as a mulch, either fresh or after composting since it may damage desired plants. Dispose of via normal household waste :( !!. Do not dispose of via council composting schemes. The next three mowings should be used as a mulch only after composting well for at least 9 months"