My husband built me a wooden composter in the Spring - he put patio stones on the bottom. The composter is located near to a willow tree which belongs to our neighbour. We also have a flower garden in the immediate area. We filled the composter over the Summer and about 2 weeks ago when we were attempting to turn over the contents, noticed that the roots from the willow tree had grown between the patio stones and have taken over our compost box. The compost had broken down beautifully and we had turned the contents over before but the roots had not taken over at that time. We also notice the tree roots in our garden soil. Is there anything we can do to get rid of these roots, both from the compost box and the garden? We are thinking of moving the compost box to another location in our yard but that will mean a lot of work as it is quite large. Any help you can provide is appreciated.....
Hi Aileen, The roots of the willow will continue to be very happy to invade your compost. You will need to move the pile. I would suggest that you use the finished compost and place your new pileat least 100 feet from the tree. The roots of the willow will grow beyond the drip line of the crown, as much as 3 times the width of the crown. So if the crown is 40 feet wide, expect the roots to grow 3 times the distance from the trunk to the edge of the dripline. That would be 60 feet from the trunk. Root barriers can be installed to deflect the roots from the garden, but will need to be VERY sturdy. Newt
