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Bindweed shoots in horse manure - can it be saved?

iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
in Problem solving
i got some well rotted horse manure from a local horse owner recently which had some suspicious white fat shoots in it. I have since identified them as bindweed underground runners/shoots. I don’t have bindweed in my garden and no wish to introduce it. Is there any way to save the manure and still be able to use it?

i wondered about carefully going over it all, removing all visible shoots, then leaving it in black sacks for 6-12 months. Might that render it safe to use?

aside from the wasted effort of digging it all out of the muck heap and transporting it to my place, if I can’t now use it I have the additinal
headache of how to dispose of it. Argh!

Posts

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    As a bindweed sufferer, I have covered it for 18 months with thick black butyl liner and the b*gger was still there looking fresh and perky. I have sieved soil and tried to pick out every last bit, but its impossible to get them all - not all are fat and white, teeny weeny brown crinkly fragments lurk unseen and turn into big fat white monsters. I really REALLY wouldn’t risk it, sorry!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    The horse manure I get from a friend comes with bindweed in it. I use it in pots and raised beds though so if I've missed any then it's easily removed when it pops up and can't go anywhere. If it's well rotted then it should be easy enough to sieve or rake through when it's dry and that helps you see most of the roots but you do have to be aware that there might be seeds in there. I haven't had a problem with the stuff yet. Even if the plant does develop you can trace the vine back to the ground and dig the root out. Don't use anything around mature plants that can't be dug around and keep an eye on the places you use it. I've dumped some around fruit bushes though and just put weed barrier over it.

    Otherwise if you have room to store it then check it through and keep it in old builder's sacks or similar in a sunny spot for a year, keep turning it and remove anything that grows. Bindweed really isn't that bad if you keep on top of it so even small patches can be dealt with just through hand weeding.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
    Hmm, not sure I can risk it. My raised beds have no bottom so it could easily escape and my mum has battled it for years.

    I did wonder about if I could use it in bags to contain it and grow squash in them? Might that work or would the roots break out?


  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    The plant needs decent above ground growth to give it enough root to break out of a bag or bed, as long as you remove any shoots as soon as you see them then the roots can't go anywhere. The seed might be more of a problem if your farmer friend hasn't been keeping on top of the flowering growth.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I think confinement is the key, so in grow bags that would be ok (but I would put them on a hard surface because I’m paranoid about it!). Mine is rampant throughout my vegetable patch, the roots go down so far, in hard clay, its impossible to get to the bottom of it, so your soil must be more easily workable than mine, W.E.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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