compost without invasive grasses ??

[gwithrow]

I need suggestions for a compost situation that will not invite Bermuda grass to invade and then spread wherever we put the compost..

we garden with raised beds and it is a struggle to keep the 'wire' grass out of everything...so we certainly do not want to bring in more from the compost

how can we have a couple of compost areas with out the super invasive grass making its way all through the pile...we do not want to eliminate all the microbes and earthworms so a big clear plastic over/ and or under the pile seems like it would be too hot, and even then the grasses could just lurk at the lower levels waiting to be added to the garden...right now I have a chicken house full of litter to clean out as well as the stalls in the barn....to say nothing of all the garden leftovers...

I have two nice old piles of compost, lovely and with the most lush wiry Bermuda all throughout...I can not think of a way to use that 'dirt' anywhere and I really would like a working compost situation....

[7thswan]

The only thing I can think of is to put sifted soil in your beds. Then kill all the grass around each bed and keep that area "dead" so that the grass cannot travel thru the area and get to your beds.

[GunMonkeyIntl]

We had bermuda grass at our last house. I'm not sure I can led you a very positive prognosis. It would grow into our flower beds, throughout our compost pile, into our raised bed, and even into the garage through the firing holes in the brick foundation. We hated the stuff so bad that the presence of bermuda grass was one of our hard-stop criteria looking for our new place. We actually passed up on two pretty nice places because of a bermuda lawn.

The only strategy we found that would work (sort of) for controlling it was frequent and agressive pulling. DO NOT let a day of rain go to waste. When the ground is soft, start pulling. Call off work, cancel outings, and reschdule surgeries and funerals if you have to to make sure you make use of the soft-ground days.

I had been working on a plan to lift our house by helicopter, remove our soil down to bed-rock, truck in new soil, set the house down, and start over but, according to wikipedia, bermuda grass can germinate with only water and the nightmares of a gardener, so I decided even that wouldn't work.

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Originally Posted by 7thswan

The only thing I can think of is to put sifted soil in your beds. Then kill all the grass around each bed and keep that area "dead" so that the grass cannot travel thru the area and get to your beds.

The runners can travel several feet under-ground before re-emerging. You'd have to put some sort of underground barrier around the dead zone.

[Wolf mom]

That's one reason I double dig all my garden beds. As I'm digging out all the dirt, I go through it & get as many roots as possible. I also lay flattened cardboard boxes on the bottom of my beds. I mix my compost in when I refill the beds, then try never to walk on them. Sure, it's a lot of work, but in the end I have few weeds or grasses in them. It's all in the prepping.

Lots of Mulch on top of the soil also seems to help control invasive weeds. I use about 3-4 inches of pine needles.

Bermuda grass is terribly invasive as not only does it have very deep root system, but it also spreads by seed. It's real easy to have bermuda grass grow through your compost pile as well as other types of weeds. Keep it hot. Turn it. Pull out the bermuda.

[am1too]

Originally Posted by gwithrow

I need suggestions for a compost situation that will not invite Bermuda grass to invade and then spread wherever we put the compost..

we garden with raised beds and it is a struggle to keep the 'wire' grass out of everything...so we certainly do not want to bring in more from the compost

how can we have a couple of compost areas with out the super invasive grass making its way all through the pile...we do not want to eliminate all the microbes and earthworms so a big clear plastic over/ and or under the pile seems like it would be too hot, and even then the grasses could just lurk at the lower levels waiting to be added to the garden...right now I have a chicken house full of litter to clean out as well as the stalls in the barn....to say nothing of all the garden leftovers...

I have two nice old piles of compost, lovely and with the most lush wiry Bermuda all throughout...I can not think of a way to use that 'dirt' anywhere and I really would like a working compost situation....

Reads like you need to start making your compost on a concrete slab so you can catch the invasive grass. Otherwise hot compost it and or sift all of it.