Weed Tea Problem

Two posts back I mentioned using the wheelie bins to make weed tea.

After about 2 months or so they didn't stink and so I thought the whole mix had become matured.

However when I scooped out some of the water- I found that was totally incorrect - IT STANK LIKE RAW SEWAGE. It stank so bad that my hands stank of the filth for days afterwards despite repeated washing using all manner of soaps and anti-bacterial agents - I didn't use rubber gloves.

I think what happened was that the top layer of water did in effect mature and stopped stinking - but the oxygen was not able to penetrate to the lower levels - but once I gave it a stir - the O2 got into the composting material and ripen the whole mix.

I emptied the dead weeds into the council green waste bins. And after a week, they still stink.

I've been slowly and very carefully removing the waste weed tea water and emptying into the compost bins to hasten the rotting process in those containers.

But the stink is so bad I wish I had a full haz-med suit.

I think a solution might be to use smaller bins - and keep them well away from the house and washing drying clothes area.

However the whole idea seems OK. The weeds looked totally dead and consumed, not sure about their seeds of course (only time can tell).

The compost bins are also rich with plenty of worms. Not sure how they take the weed tea but I suspect that it will help to hasten the rotting process of the contents of the static compost bins.

Post script 2012.

Looks like some of the oxalis bulbs are actually surviving being soaked in the stink. Incredible.

Weeds weeds weeds

There are just so much awful weeds in my garden.

I've filled up the two wheelie bins with weeds and have soaked them in grey water. They stank for awhile but now they don't stink so much. Actually, they don't seem to stink at all. I think the weeds are dead though. Not sure whether the seeds survived the process.


What I plan to do is to pitchfork the weeds into the council bin - on a week when its hardly used - and empty the nutrient-rich water onto the lawn. But the problem is my council rubbish green bin is perpetually full at present.

Yeah, I've got weeds all over the damn place. What is especially irritating are the grass runners that have weaved into the flower beds and gotten amongst the lavender and rose plants.Trying to put them all is sheer torture.

Its easy to get discouraged- so I'm just concentrating on one section of the garden at present. Get that cleaned up. Mulch it. Then proceed to the next area.