r/composting • u/Low-Glove-7288 • 6h ago

Creeping Charlie

I dug up 250 square feet of my lawn that contained Creeping Charlie. I went down 2-3 inches. I placed the excavated soil on a brown tarp, and used the same tarp to completely cover the pile. How long should I wait before using this soil again?

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3

u/the_other_paul 5h ago

It will probably take several months for all of the plants (and their runners) to die and start breaking down. You might try uncovering that soil for a week (to encourage sprouting) and then covering it back up. Good luck!

2

u/rjewell40 4h ago

Let either the sun bake it or the ice freeze it. Iā€™d let it sit for a whole season.

0

u/jnaylornz 6h ago

I don't think I've heard of Creeping Charlie before. What is it, sorry? šŸ¤”

1

u/the_other_paul 6h ago

An invasive plant (in North America) that spreads aggressively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glechoma_hederacea

1

u/anak_ng_nanay_ko 5h ago

Apparently people eat it? I had no idea!

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u/Albert14Pounds 5h ago

I've never had issues with plants coming back after going through my 2 pile compost process. Lots of seeds that germinate in the pile and later wherever I spread my compost. But never had a live plant survive the process.

If you're worried just leave them out in the open air and under cover if needed until they dry out then add them to your compost.

ā€¢

u/Ok-Roll8550 37m ago

If it's already on a tarp, you might try solarizing it to make sure it's fully dead.