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Can I put Alkanet on my compost heap ?
Peanuts3
Posts: 759
I'm starting the battle of trying to get rid of as much alkanet as possible.
Can I put it on the compost heap ? I'm thinking no, but maybe my garden waste recycling might be better suited. Have just filled two thirds of a bin in about 15 mins... otherwise I see a few trips to the tip ahead.
Any advice, how to get it under control ?
thanks,
0
Posts
No peanuts burn it!. Alkanet is a perennial weed, never put perennial weeds on the compost heap, unless you are using a hot composter.
thank you. If I take it to the tip I assume the compost there will get hot enough to get rid of it.
On the other hand the coarse leaves will make quite good compost. If you can bother to separate the roots from the leaves and dump just the former.
Council compost heaps generate huge amounts of heat peanuts, far higher than most of us can manage. You can of course, if you have the cash, splash out on the ones in the current GW mag. Those will compost a human body!
I live on Cape Cod Massachusetts USA. I get the impression that alkanet is an invasive weed to be avoided at all costs. I googled it but could not see a reference for such a weed. Please elaborate. Thank you, jagdoran
Hi Jagdoran
Green alkanet is a native British plant - on some soils it can be extremely invasive, on others it is not a nuisance. I have no idea whether it grows in the countries of Northern America.
http://www.seasonalwildflowers.com/march/green-alkanet.html
It's edible and in the past has been used as a wild vegetable - the flowers can be used in Pimms instead of borage flowers. http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/wild-green-tartlets
I have happily composted it, and it does make really good compost - but first I do what I do with all perennial weeds, and remove flowering tips and roots - they go on the bonfire or in the council bin - I only compost the lush green leaves and stems.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So thats what its called ! I only ever knew it as "the thing that looks a bit like a forget me not with bigger leaves"
I've got a lot of forget-me-nots growing in my garden right now. Or have I?! Now I'm wondering if its Alkanet. I'll have to get comparing!
If the stems and leaves are bristly then it's likely to be alkanet rather than forget-me-nots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
...and alkanet's MUCH bigger