Composting Spent Rhubarb

[sparkykev]

Hi all,
I've 5 Gallons of Rhubarb on the go and have just strained off the wine into demi-johns. I now have about 7kg of spent rhubarb in a bucket and was wondering whether I can add this to the compost heap but wasn't sure about the sugary content of it as it may attract wasps or pest.
If a soak and dilute the rhubarb in water to wash away the excess sugary syrup would this be ok?
Any advise would be great.

[Flummery]

There won't be much sugar left in it - I add all fruit residues to the compost bin.

[endymion]

I thought you could put just about anything onto a compost heap and it'll rot down. If you water it in, the extra moisture might actually help it compost a bit quicker. I know it isn't quite the same, but spent hops is meant to be a good compost. I wonder if all home brew waste is as good?

[Hilary B]

Can't see any reason for a problem. If it stays on the top of the compost heap and has a significant sugar content, it is liable to ferment a bit, then you might get some drunk insects (including butterflies) and that tends to be comical, outside of that it is no more attractive to pests than any other compost ingredient!

[Two_Sheds]

If it's been in a fermenting bin for a few days, most of the sugar will have gone. I always add all the bits from homebrew to the compost bin, it seems to really speed things up

This is the wrong time of year for wasps to be hunting sugar: at the moment they are breeding and busy picking off caterpillars to feed their young. They only start getting drunk on fruit and sugar in the late summer

[sparkykev]

Thanks everyone, and into the bin it goes!

[Jelliebabe]

After straining my Rhubarb out of the mix I stewd mine as normal and ate it! Needed hardly any sugar adding - was yummy still! Waste not want not

[zazen999]

I reused mine for another batch which was put to ferment on the 5th of May and was finished last night to Mr Z's delight.

[Annada]

I thought you could put just about anything onto a compost heap and it'll rot down.

[chashale]

hi folk
new today been reading some of the things said about spent rhubarb no that I have seen so far has said anything about the leaves so this what I do with mine I shred them and use the as a mulch around my blueberry bushes helps keep the soil acid so it is said they seem to be doing fine no problems as yet.

[ohbeary]

I put my rhubarb leaves onto patches of weed seedlings, they don't like it, looks a bit scruffy for a while but seems to work

[Aberdeenplotter]

hi folk
new today been reading some of the things said about spent rhubarb no that I have seen so far has said anything about the leaves so this what I do with mine I shred them and use the as a mulch around my blueberry bushes helps keep the soil acid so it is said they seem to be doing fine no problems as yet.

Brilliant idea. why didn't I think of that?

[jackie j]

hi folk
new today been reading some of the things said about spent rhubarb no that I have seen so far has said anything about the leaves so this what I do with mine I shred them and use the as a mulch around my blueberry bushes helps keep the soil acid so it is said they seem to be doing fine no problems as yet.

Takes a newbie to give us some good advice lol