Bindweed and dandelions

[SunshineOutdoors]

After two years on a waiting list I finally have the allotment of my dreams. It's been well looked after in the past, and I've been chuffed to find raspberries, blackberries, a fig tree, a plum tree, an olive tree, a blueberry bush and rhubarb, amongst other things. There is also lots of bindweed and dandelions. We're just weeding them out, what do we do with them after this? Do they just go on the compost heap or do we need to burn them or something else? We are enthusiastic but novices so any advice is much appreciated. Thanks

Just seen this :) Bindweed and dandelions are perennial weeds which will keep coming back. So no - don't compost them , as it will just reinfest. You can do various things.
Drown them - put them in a big bucket and cover with water. Good if its got a lid. Leave for 4- 8 weeks. You can then use the juice for feeding plants.
Send them to the council composting/green waste if you have one easy to hand.
And you could join us on our allotment thread for support maybe :)
here

I had a huge infestation with bindweed when I moved in. Do what book says. It's important you dig as much of the nasty roots out as possible (they are the Devil's spaghetti) as the wretched plant can spring from even a tiny piece left in the soil.

Thank you! I think there might be too much to drown, I will bag it up and enquire about green waste. Off to check out the allotment thread now

Is bindweed the very white root? Absolutely infested with it here.

Yes, very white and very long! Urgh.

Ah yes. At least I know I'm not wasting my time grubbing it up and insisting it goes in the green waste, not our compost heap!

We paint bindweed when it is in leaf, with glyzophate weed killer, mixed in cheap wallpaper paste. You can buy 'paint on' weed killers but they are expensive, and don't go very far.

Our local botanic garden encourages the bind weed to grow up bamboo wigwams, then when the leaves are all together they put the weed killer on.
It must work, or they wouldn't do it, I suppose?

I was recommended to let them grow into, and through, a plastic bottle with the end cut out, then you can spray into the bottle , without worrying about the surrounding vegetation. It was an old market gardener that gave me that tip, though I haven't tried it, as I tend to dig :)

Fantastic ideas, thank you!