Couple of compost queries

[chris]

Just read that you can pour urine on your compost on a thread here... how much, and how often can you do this? I don't intend to stand behind my gh weeing on the compost all the time, but like one "wee" a week, or what? just once?

Cooked food is said to be a no go, but say if you have left over jacket potato, can you not compost the innards of the jacket spuds - leave the oily skins for the council compost?

[rustylady]

I should think a couple of wees a week would be OK, depending on how much you produce, and how big your compost heap is. Cooked vegetables don't break down like raw ones do, this is why we don't compost them, so even the innards of the potato are a no-no.

[Jeanied]

I was tempted to say once a week, on a Wednesday at this juncture, CM

- but to answer your first question, you are using the wee as a compost accelerator, so you need to add it every time you add a layer of, say, 4" of compostable material. And yes, having found rats in my compost more than once I'd say don't risk it, even with a cooked potato. You can compost food in a bokashi though if you are that keen.

[rustylady]

I was tempted to say once a week, on a Wednesday at this juncture, CM

Nice one Jeanie!!

[chris]

Thanks both

[Two_Sheds]

btw, there's no such thing as "left over jacket potato". Same as "left over wine"


Chris, wee is high in nitrogen, so an ideal lawn fertiliser (dilute first, no don't ask me what ratio, I don't know, just guesstimate it).

[chris]

I have 15 left over jacket spuds still in the oven, and about 10 in a tub in the fridge... that's plus 48 burgers, a pack of sausage, a pack of salmon, bags of booze (including wine!) left over from our little uns first bday bbq...

I should have tied it in with that grapestock thingy, could have taken all the leftover food up there

I have more compost queries though:

- What about boiled veg? Surely that must be ok?
- Sundried fruit - raisens?
- Lolly pop sticks - from magnums etc.. surely that was alive once. Can it be broken up in bits and composted?

Had some other stuff I'd thought of but forgotten, so will try to remember and post back..

[Jeanied]

Dried fruit - very tempting to rats.
Lolly pop sticks - too thick to compost efficiently - use them as plant labels instead.
Boiled veg - I think you need a bokashi for this. Clearly you are going to be composting quite a lot of leftovers and I think this is the best solution for you.

[rustylady]

- What about boiled veg? Surely that must be ok?
- Sundried fruit - raisens?
- Lolly pop sticks - from magnums etc.. surely that was alive once. Can it be broken up in bits and composted?

No cooked veg, as I said it doesn't break down. Sundried fruit - why waste it, make something. Lolly pop sticks make good plant labels, as Jeanie said

[chris]

We generally don't have a lot of wastage food wise (just had a massive BBQ though!)

Spent compost, I chuck that in.. as my beds are full at the mo is this ok? I figured hopefully it contains some good microbes to get the process going!

I'll have a look at a bokashi system, thanks (that's the bin with the powder stuff you pour on isn't it?)

[Jeanied]

Spent compost will help to vary the mix for you if you are putting a lot of wet green stuff on, CM. And yes, the bokashi system you pour special bran on. I have one that I haven't started using yet (still in its box 0).

Or you could look at having a wormery - they nibble up cooked food as well, IIRC.

[chris]

Great stuff, thanks all I don't really have the space for a wormery, but will have a look one of those boki thingies!

[Keith2202]

I should think a couple of wees a week would be OK, depending on how much you produce, and how big your compost heap is. Cooked vegetables don't break down like raw ones do, this is why we don't compost them, so even the innards of the potato are a no-no.

I don't understand why you say that cooked vegetables don't break down like normal ones do? Surely cooking actually starts breaking them down anyway (i.e so they are easier to digest?). If you leave cooked veg out they go mouldy and rot just like any other veg don't they?
I compost the odd bits of vegetarian leftovers, pasta, veg from stock and bread, but only small amounts so as not to attract rats. My assumption being that small amounts in the compost bin will be disguised by the other compost smell, as opposed to the rubbish lying around the streets which would be easier for them to smell.

I also compost ice lolly sticks, although the tip about plant labellers is a good one so I'll start doing that.

Chris, surely if you have loads of baked potatoes and burgers left over, they are the main ingredients for a batch of shepherds pies which you can then freeze to save wasting the grub?

[Glutton4...]

... Chris, surely if you have loads of baked potatoes and burgers left over, they are the main ingredients for a batch of shepherds pies which you can then freeze to save wasting the grub?

Brill idea!

Anything left after that, take round to your nearest Chook owner - Chooks'll eat the lot!

[chris]

Great idea!

I don't know any chicken owners unfortunately, otherwise that would have been a good idea too