There is a possibly a very simple solution to your problem. Weeds can be
killed by pouring boiling water on them. You didn't say what kind of weeds
you have, but they are generally of two types -- cool weather germinators and
warm weather germinators. You would have to wait until they all sprouted
again to try this, but I think it just might work.
--Janis
In a message dated 7/5/01 11:03:48 AM Central Daylight Time,
perennials-owner@mallorn.com writes:
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 10:01:14 -0400
From: Janet Yang <jyang1@home.com>
Subject:
I participated in a seed exchange and received thirty-five samples.
Some needed stratifying so I sowed all of them in thirty-five little
pots of sterile mix, covered them with a layer of chicken grit, and left
them outside (it was winter).
When the true leaves appeared, a number of the pots (a *large*
number) had identical seedlings. That's when I realized that these were
not the plants I had sown, but weeds that the wind had deposited on the
pots. I pulled them out but, like the Energizer Bunny, they just kept
going and going....Finally, I created a new compost heap with the weedy
soil from these pots and the flower beds. They came back the next
season.
How to kill the weeds in the compost? I'd rather not use chemical
herbicides. Could the weeds be killed by altering the pH, then restoring
the pH before using the compost in the garden?
Last week I made a simple solar cooker and used it to dye yarn and
fiber. The liquid got too hot to touch, but never got close to boiling.
I could make a larger and better-insulated cooker that would get hotter,
but what temperature is necessary for sterilizing soil?
Perhaps "sterile" is the wrong word here. I only need to kill the
weeds, not the other organisms in the soil--although if it's all or
nothing, I'd sterilize the whole works and not think twice about it.
Janet
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