How to turn kikuyu grass into compost effectively

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How to turn kikuyu grass into compost effectively YMC 06-26-2008
Posted by YMC on June 26, 2008, 9:50 am
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Hi,

I've got a bit of the kikuyu grass
http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=E27

in my lawn. The council planted it as the common nature strip grass and some
of it has gotten into my garden.

They grow very quickly - I've been weeding them out- and throwing them into
the council garden waste bins.

But can I put it into my compost bin- or will the grass roots survive and
grow again?




Posted by 0tterbot on June 26, 2008, 6:53 pm
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> Hi,
>
> I've got a bit of the kikuyu grass
> http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=E27
>
> in my lawn. The council planted it as the common nature strip grass and
> some of it has gotten into my garden.
>
> They grow very quickly - I've been weeding them out- and throwing them
> into the council garden waste bins.
>
> But can I put it into my compost bin- or will the grass roots survive and
> grow again?

you probably don't want to risk that (& it can happen with live things put
into compost). if it's left on the surface during hot weather (esp windy),
the plant will die quickly & can be put in after a few days. this time of
year that doesn't really happen - things live on on the surface like the
undead..!! so you could drown it in water for a few weeks & then put it in.
(then you could use the water as a fertiliser afterwards). not sure how long
it would take kikuyu to drown - by the time it's going slushy & decomposing
in the bucket, it's dead (as a general rule ;-).
kylie



Posted by Erik Vastmasd on June 27, 2008, 5:31 am
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On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:50:48 +1000,when reading "aus.gardens", I'm
saying:

>Hi,
>
>I've got a bit of the kikuyu grass
>http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=E27
>
>in my lawn. The council planted it as the common nature strip grass and some
>of it has gotten into my garden.
>
>They grow very quickly - I've been weeding them out- and throwing them into
>the council garden waste bins.
>
>But can I put it into my compost bin- or will the grass roots survive and
>grow again?

In my neighbourhood I've always had to contend with "kikuyu" as there
was no other option, my lawns and those of my neighbours are all
"kikuyu". I have always composted kikuyu lawn clippings and providing
your compost bin is heating up it will kill off any kikuyu roots.

An alternative I have had great success with is two compost bins
virtually turned into worm farms because I introduced worms that I
purchased from "Bunnings" and they certainly won't allow kikuyu to
survive.

I moved my compost bins into shady areas because too much heat could
kill the worms. I put all my kikuyu lawn clippings in my councils garden
waste bin where they reside for two weeks. After two weeks I move the
clippings into my compost bins. If I was to put the lawn clippings
straight into the compost bins the heat could kill off the worms.

Compost bins with worms need to be kept damp so chucking in a bucket of
water once a week is a good idea also vegetable peels, coffee grounds
etc. and sheets of wet newspaper are excellent for maintaining the food
content and the moisture. Worms love wet cardboard but try to select
cardboard without too much printing.
--

Erik.



Posted by YMC on June 28, 2008, 6:19 am
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Thanks for that Erik! Good stuff there!

Cheers,

Yau

> On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:50:48 +1000,when reading "aus.gardens", I'm
> saying:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I've got a bit of the kikuyu grass
>>http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=E27
>>
>>in my lawn. The council planted it as the common nature strip grass and
>>some
>>of it has gotten into my garden.
>>
>>They grow very quickly - I've been weeding them out- and throwing them
>>into
>>the council garden waste bins.
>>
>>But can I put it into my compost bin- or will the grass roots survive and
>>grow again?
>
> In my neighbourhood I've always had to contend with "kikuyu" as there
> was no other option, my lawns and those of my neighbours are all
> "kikuyu". I have always composted kikuyu lawn clippings and providing
> your compost bin is heating up it will kill off any kikuyu roots.
>
> An alternative I have had great success with is two compost bins
> virtually turned into worm farms because I introduced worms that I
> purchased from "Bunnings" and they certainly won't allow kikuyu to
> survive.
>
> I moved my compost bins into shady areas because too much heat could
> kill the worms. I put all my kikuyu lawn clippings in my councils garden
> waste bin where they reside for two weeks. After two weeks I move the
> clippings into my compost bins. If I was to put the lawn clippings
> straight into the compost bins the heat could kill off the worms.
>
> Compost bins with worms need to be kept damp so chucking in a bucket of
> water once a week is a good idea also vegetable peels, coffee grounds
> etc. and sheets of wet newspaper are excellent for maintaining the food
> content and the moisture. Worms love wet cardboard but try to select
> cardboard without too much printing.
> --
>
> Erik.
>
>



Posted by YMC on July 3, 2008, 12:33 pm
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> In my neighbourhood I've always had to contend with "kikuyu" as there
> was no other option, my lawns and those of my neighbours are all
> "kikuyu". I have always composted kikuyu lawn clippings and providing
> your compost bin is heating up it will kill off any kikuyu roots.

Do you have to mince up the kikuyu roots or can you just throw them in
whole. I mention this as - I do a lot of weeding and pull out these massive
grass runners from the soil - which are so thick they resemble barbed wire.

Do you also spray round up or some herbicide into the compost bin to kill
them off?

Thanks!



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