Could have been from grass clippings that had nutgrass seed in them or if you were pulling weeds and threw them in your compost. Nutgrass has root tubers which are very hardy and help it to spread very successfully.

It could also be from leaves last fall that were raked from an area that had nutgrass that was going to seed. I thieved a lot of leaves last fall that I'm finding were loaded with weed seed.

If I were you, I might be tempted to dump that batch of compost and not use it.

Deanna

The nut grasses, sedges, grow from seed or tubers so the only way you could have gotten any in your compost pile would be from one of them. Birds do relish the seeds and deposit them in many places as they fly around. Sedges are wetland plants, they need a fairly moist environment to grow so that may be an indication that you compost is too wet if these sedges are growing there.

scotty you need to try and get that nutgrass pulled out of the new bed ASAP because it spreads so fast it will just take over. pull it all out and keep on top of it until it's all gone. as far as the compost, me, I'd find something to screen the compost with to separate out the nuts before using it

Kimmsr reminds me of the movie Red October where the computer defaults to "magma displacement" when it doesn't know what its doing.

Kimmsr's "magma displacement" is "your compost is too wet".

Considering that compost is supposed to be MOIST and nutsedge likes moist soil, I doubt the management of your pile has anything to do with its presence. You got some nuts/seeds in there, either via birds, leaves or grass clippings, and the nice moist conditions of the pile make a perfect growing medium for it.

I meant to add that if you can get your compost pile really hot and keep it hot, you may be able to kill those seeds/nuts.

The safest way IMO to rid the compost of the nut grass is to screen it through 1/4 inch screen. Anything bigger and the nuts will just pass through. Pulling those that are in the beds are about the only way to rid the bed of this pest. Keeping the soil soft and loose will aid in getting the nut in my experience...

Blutranes

Yep......keep pulling and screening....persistence wins. Don't give up......make it a game.

Compost should be about as moist as a well wrung out sponge, which will feel dry to the touch when it is well wrung out. A compost pile that will grow any sedge is way too wet.

repeating something over and over again doesn't necessarily make it true.

Yeah, but I have nut grass in my backyard and this thread taught me what it was. Looking out this second, it is only in wet places--mostly at the bottom of my driveway where sheets and sheets of water run off. I also have it at the bottom end of my daylily bed where water collects when I (over) water.

I'd always thought it was some grass that could tolerate the sogginess while everything else drown. But now I know how it spreads, I have to say it has never moved UP my daylily bed, or to the side of my driveway.

It was my understanding that you shouldn't "pull" nut grass (or nut sedge). I had posted on another forum about this, and asked for identification and help, and was warned by a whole lot of people NOT to pull it out because it only causes it to spread further. In the case of nut grass -- according to the people on this forum -- the only control is something like round up. I have to say that I had been pulling and pulling for the better part of a summer and it had done nothing but take over an entire bed, or in other words, it spread. Then I started "painting" it with Round Up using a small paint brush while the sprouts were still fairly small. It took me another whole summer doing this, and I still had some "painting" to do this spring, but only in isolated areas of the bed. Or in other words, the Round Up was working, whereas the "pulling" definitely was not. Anyway, hope this helps. Oh, and about the compost -- I'd get rid of it. That stuff is insidious. One tiny piece and it's back. I wouldn't take the chance on a whole composter, not after the months of back-breaking labor I just went through to get it out of one bed. I NEVER want that again. I'd just chalk it up as a loss and get started on a new one. MacThayer

I pulled a bunch of nutgrass in a particular part of my yard last fall, and guess what, it's back. I think when you pull it, it tuber stays in the ground.

There's a product called Manage that's specifically for killing nutgrass. That's what I'm going to resort to. It won't kill your grass, so you don't have to painstakingly paint it on.

Deanna

Hey! I pulled some nutgrass and found some nuts. Naturally I ate one. Tastes like coconut, but the big one (1/2 inch) was too woody. Maybe they soften with toasting.... or the pharaoh had some tough tough teeth.

when you pull nutgrass out you have to make sure you dont break it off and leave the nuts in the ground or they will just grow back, the nut is where it stores it's energy, you need to do it gently or use a weeding fork and get it out properly.

What about its roots, where it hasn't sent up a piece of grass yet? I was told not to pull it because then all of the "nuts" in the root would send up new shoots. I have to say I am still fighting this beastie. I was in my daylily bed yesterday, and just SICK because I got a little carried away with the Round Up trying to get all the nut grass, and by doing so, I killed off several of my prized daylillies. I'm just SICK. And that's not all! Not only is the nut grass BACK in the bed, but you can stand at the top of the bed and see it "marching" out of the bed on both sides! And on top of that, it has invaded the bed on the right! (Deanna -- where do you find that product: Manage. I've never seen it, and I'm definitely in need!) Scotty, if you don't want to dump your compost bin, please try using a bit of it in a small place and checking to see if the nut grass came from there. I noticed you said you also used peat, and it wouldn't be the first time I've had products that were contaminated by a "beastie". But if it does grow out nut grass, then really -- you don't want more of this. I'm going to be fighting this all summer. That will make 2 1/2 years of fighting the darn stuff, and I know it came in on some plants I ordered. I may end up killing all the plants just to get rid of the nut sedge! Really, you don't want that. MacThayer

IMHO
Get your compost hot, keep it hot and keep it moist/wet/well quenched.
I have never had one of my bins (which are pallet bins, built on top of a pallet so they can drain and breath) stay too wet.
I love my pallet bins because I don't strain my back turning it. I fluff it and it works great.
To check my compost before I use it I put some compost in a ziplock bag and let it sit for a week or two, if any seeds pop up I just wait on that bin (maybe I'll add some fishy rain barrel water) and use one of the other bins that I have (of course thats just me-bins to pick and choose from)
ialbtc

Macthayer, I got Manage at a local gardening center.

Nutgrass isn't caused by wetness, it's caused by nutgrass seed or tubers being spread. Where I have boatloads of nutgrass in my lawn is on a slope, and it doesn't stay wet. Last summer we had a drought, and the only thing growing was the nutgrass.

Deanna

I think I can top any of your stories. After building the house,we brought a couple of loads of topsoil to fill in around the house.
Well, guess what??? Nutgrass everywhere the topsoil was spread. There was so much of it I could not control it. If I had known it was there, I could have treated it with something strong enough to kill it, but I just planted and planted my daylilies, shrubs etc.
Its in all my daylily beds, etc.,You can watch the stuff grow. Plus, when you treat the nutgrass you will cause harm to, if not actually kill daylilies. My daylilies did not die, but the blooms are deformed for this season.
I fight this stuff all the time for you cannot get rid of it. You can kill the top but the nuts are just waiting to resurface. It has taken the pleasure out of my gardening for all I do is stay bend over pulling, spraying, pulling, spraying, day after day.
I read somewhere to pull the green tops off and it will die. That does not work for me, the grass just multiplies making a cute little clump, like its mocking me !!!
The only way to get rid of it, is to move !!!
I never share a plant unless I clean it to insure that no nuts are along for the ride.
Yes, the dirt was suppose to be sifted !!!

Eeeeew, I feel for you, hilltop. What a nightmare--I have it in one of my daylily beds and it's constant little chore to pull it.

Thanks petalpatsy, for instead of enjoying my garden, adding to the gardens, installing more plants and garden items, I'm pulling nutgrass.

That's what I mean -- STOP pulling the Nutgrass! You're just making work for yourselves and making the problem worse. The only way I've been able to improve the Nutgrass problem is stop pulling it, and start treating it with Round up (and I'm going to look for the Manage now). It may sound like I have a huge problem because I sound so frustrated, but trust me, this is nothing compared to where I was at 2 years ago -- my bed was LOADED with Nutgrass then, so I've seen a huge improvement. I'm not replanting that daylily bed until it's cleared of Nutgrass. I also read where the best time to treat it is in the early fall, when the underground bulbs are naturally taking up food to get them through the winter, and thus will 'take up" more of the Round Up or Manage, or what ever. I am also noticing that what is coming up right now is quite small and delicate looking, so I am hoping it can be dealt with by using a dose or two of Round Up. But whatever you do, STOP pulling. You're just making more work for yourselves and making the problem worse. Or at least, that's what the experts on the other post told me. And I stopped pulling and started treating the tops and the problem got better. MacThayer

Hi all,

Great thread. I have been battling nutgrass for a long time. It has a useful purpose for soil erosion prtection in earthen waterways. It is good because it survives flooding and drought. This is because of the nut. I have controlled nutgrass by pulling it, but you must water heavily to loosen the soil and make sure the nut is removed. It is easier if you use a small narrow digging tool when pulling. By far the quickest and easiest method is to touch Round-Up (add a little soap to the solution as a surfactant) to the plant with a small brush(as others have said). RU is a systemic herbicide that will kill the entire plant nut and all. The new material from Mosanto chemical(Manage) now called SEDGEHammer, I haven't tried, but is selective to kill only nutgrass and leave other grasses and some plants intact. It states it is systemic acting like Round-Up. Apply only early morning on non-rainy days so plants will take up the herbicide. Systemic herbicides don't kill quickly but destroy the plants growing ability over a week or two of time. Nutgrass Eradicators unite and paint your hearts out. Aloha to you all.