Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Visit the Gro Shop! merch hat Shop Merch

Can You Put Weeds in the Compost Pile?

“Is really ok to use weeds when doing compost? Do you have to make sure that they are in a certain stage of growth? Because I really don’t have the time to study them as I pull.” Question from Erin of Kirkwood, Missouri

Answer: You can certainly put weeds in the compost pile if they meet two criteria: (1) They are not sickly or obviously diseased, or (2) they are not noxious weeds, such as bindweed or Canada thistle, that have set seed. I would also avoid trying to compost any perennial weed roots. A well-tended compost pile should heat up enough to kill weed seeds, but when it comes to noxious weeds, I would not take the chance and recommend that other gardeners apply the same precaution. The heating process in the compost pile can also kill any diseases, but once again, I think it’s smarter to err on the side of caution.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

Leave a Reply

Content Disclaimer:

This site may contain content (including images and articles) as well as advice, opinions and statements presented by third parties. Sun Gro does not review these materials for accuracy or reliability and does not endorse the advice, opinions, or statements that may be contained in them. Sun Gro also does not review the materials to determine if they infringe the copyright or other rights of others. These materials are available only for informational purposes and are presented “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement or other information is at your own risk. In no event shall Sun Gro Horticulture Distribution, Inc. or any of its affiliates be liable to you for any inaccuracy, error, omission, fact, infringement and the like, resulting from your use of these materials, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting there from.