Composting Citrus - Do You?

[alexgadd]

It appears that some people compost lemon, orange, grapefruit etc. peelings, and that some don't.

What are the opinions of people here?

Would be interested to hear.

Cheers

Alex

[Moridin]

Most of the literature I have on composting states that worms etc do not like anything Citrus. I occasionally pop in a few lemons and oranges and the creatures inside the bins don't seem to mind. I always get excellent compost but I think that's more to do with the poop I get from my hens

[Alison]

I don't put them in my wormery but no problems in the main compost bin (although sometimes you have to throw them back in when you empty as they take a while to break down). I suppose if you eat hundreds of oranges it could cause a problem with the pH but the number I eat get well diluted with all the other waste so I'm not remotely worried. By the way, some literature also says no to onion waste and I ignore that too and I use far more onions than citrus.

[Madasafish]

I put everything organic from the kitchen (excluding cooked food##) into our compost wormery. Everything: citrus, teabags, pineapple, spare crab apples, turkey crap (a little) leaves (a little), grass (a little) shredded wood (a little).. Everything.(incl onions...)

After 12 months it's all compost. The worms are doing superbly.. And the slugs..

## We do not throw away any cooked food. Goes to turkeys if any is left - sorry did not say that as it is illegal.. so we have none...

[Alison]

## We do not throw away any cooked food. Goes to turkeys if any is left - sorry did not say that as it is illegal.. so we have none...

LOL and of course if you did have any then you wouldn't do it at all............

[lynda66]

i compost everything compostable including junk mail (really must remove the plastic off the envelopes) i don't eat millions of oranges if i did i might think about using it to make compost for acid loving plants ... but a few here and there don't cause a problem.

[taff]

I don't use enough citrus stuff to worry that much about it.

[Gwyndy]

I never compost citrus fruits. This is a good explanation of why not to do it - http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/conten...ternalSection5

[andrewo]

There are a number of reasons not to compost it, the top one is that they aren't grown on your plot and you don't know what they've been sprayed with. In practice though it would take a heck of a lot of citrus peelings to turn the compost completely acidic. Most compost is slightly acidic but you'd have to have an arboretum full of lemons to do any real damage. The only downside is that most citrus peelings are quite thick and therefore need more shredding before adding to the heap. If you don't feel comfortable including them in your compost, then don't, and it you're worried they'll make the compost too acidic, add lime.

[NOG]

I compost all fruit and veg....but I don't give the worms citrus.

[alexgadd]

I never compost citrus fruits. This is a good explanation of why not to do it - Bristol City Council: Composting: Composting - frequently asked questions

From the above link:
"Citrus fruits can make your compost heap overly acidic so only add them in moderation or not at all. If you do add them, add plenty of other matter (such as grass clippings) at the same time to try to even up the balance a bit.

Also, many types of compost heap worms, such as tiger worms, don't like d-limonene, an antiseptic substance found in fresh citrus peel. The d-limonene disappears as the peel rots though so your worms will prefer it if you leave it out of the main compost heap until it's green and furry."

Therefore if I have a mini compost pile with just citrus and let them break down a bit I can add them in every now and again.

There are a number of reasons not to compost it, the top one is that they aren't grown on your plot and you don't know what they've been sprayed with. In practice though it would take a heck of a lot of citrus peelings to turn the compost completely acidic. Most compost is slightly acidic but you'd have to have an arboretum full of lemons to do any real damage. The only downside is that most citrus peelings are quite thick and therefore need more shredding before adding to the heap. If you don't feel comfortable including them in your compost, then don't, and it you're worried they'll make the compost too acidic, add lime.

I have a few citrus trees so I know exactly what they have (not) been sprayed with, I do have a heck of a lot of citrus peelings! Would a bog standard soil PH tester be suitable to check and then decide on adding lime?

Thanks

Alex

[HeyWayne]

I'd never even considered it until reading this post.

[janeyo]

We don't have much at all so it goes in. Hadn't really thought not to. If I had loads and loads I might not now though.

[sweetiepea]

All of our citrus waste is composted. Like so many of you we don't have a huge amount of it, but there's ususally some to compost everyday. Make sure your heap has a good balance of materials and there shouldn't be a problem. I've not had any anyway.

[Flummery]

I compost mine. I haven't noticed a dearth of worms in the bin (don't have a wormery though.) I think they specially like sucking the G&T lemon slices!