Let's talk compost and weed seeds [View all]

I have a compost pile. It’s not a neatly constructed “hot” pile, but rather a rather random heap where I dump random weeds, leaves, and organic matter. It takes a while but it makes compost. Because it’s not a hot pile, I have a lot of weed seeds, making the compost useful only in the bottom of holes I’m about to plant something big in.

I read an article about sterilizing garden soil by covering it with clear plastic and letting the sun do its work, and I thought, why not compost? So I put a few inches of compost in a clear plastic storage bin, clamped the lid on, and set in on the driveway in the sun. The temperature in the bin gets up to about 130 F. After a few days, I’m going to dump the compost on a flower bed and wait to see if anything sprouts. Hopefully, nothing will.