Topic: composting fruit pulp

[janebb]

I got a juicer for Christmas and am now producing tons of waste fruit pulp.  Can I compost all of this?  I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't compost too much citrus fruit as it makes it too acid for the worms to stay.  How much is too much?  If I don't put in citrus fruit can I compost large amounts of other fruit pulp or will this be too acid too.

It would break my heart to throw it away

[Mimi]

Hi Jane,  I would say just compost it all.  Make sure that you mix it in with other kitchen waste and also garden waste once you start mowing or weeding.  Just make sure that its mixed well in and it should be alright.  :D

[jennym]

You can compost it - I do loads regularly. Also use little piles of it to attract the slugs, which I then despatch quickly with secateurs  ;D
But the other thing you can do is mix it with sugar (retain a little juice to allow it to dissolve), and dry slabs of it, about 6mm thick on baking trays, very slowly in the oven, or in a food dryer if you have one. Cut it into neat rectangular bars, and give to the kids instead of buying chewy fruit bars. Much better for them, high in roughage too.

[bupster]

I've been offered a load of rotted down apple pulp (friend makes cider). Apparently a local farmer usually takes it but he's been a bit lax in picking it up. Will it be ok to chuck it straight on?

[Curryandchips]

Lucky you bupster !

[supersprout]

Definitely go ahead and compost fruit pulp, it's all organic stuff. It will change the character ::) of your compost bin though, so try to add more brown stuff and green stuff to balance it. Outdoors that's easy to do, but in my juicing days the kitchen compost bin was ... erm ... sloppy :-X and I used to put in extra newspaper just so I could get it to the garden without accidents.

[Mimi]

Not sure if they still do them Sarah but Lakeland used to make a kitchen caddy for collecting kitchen waste.  I bought one last year at the Shrewsbury flower show and its fantastic.  OH put a couple of cup hooks into the back of the under sink cupboard door and I can hang it by the handle, then peel straight into it.  Then when full, I carry it out to the compost heap in the garden.  No spills or smells ( it has a handy little filter in the top to stop smells)  All the tea bags, coffee grounds, paper bits and peelings go into it.   ;D

[supersprout]

ooh thank you mimi there's a lakeland 5 mins walk away, will go look! ;D

[flowerofshona]

Why dont you make a compost heap that is for mainly your fruit pulp and keep it for acid loving plants :) ericasias compost costs a fortune !! great for your heathers, hydrangers and blueberrys :)

[bupster]

One of my lottie neighbours says the apple mulch will be too acidic for anything but spuds :(. Other than fruit, is there anything else that likes acid conditions?

[supersprout]

hey bupster, my lottie neighbours are often tut-tutting at e.g. black plastic, no-dig, coffee grounds etc., so you might be getting some of that. If you layer the pulp in your compost heap and add more brown and green stuff, you would eventually get erm, compost! Perhaps a little lime would keep things in balance, either in the compost heap or once the compost is done, if there turned out to be a problem? Amateur cidermakers certainly compost apple pulp, and it's termed a 'slow composter' at http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/1159.htm

Carrots, aubergine, cucumber, peppers, caulis, sweetcorn and spuds all grow well in mod. acid conditions (pH5.5) and peanuts (!), parsley and alpine strawberries in more acid at pH5.

If you can get a good regular supply of apple pulp, IMHO it would be well worth experimenting and fie to the neighbours (I feel like this about my coffee grounds lol). But only if it's still fun ;)

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,57/topic,5178.20

[Palustris]

And of course you can always chuck a handful of lime in anyway. Once upon a time the advice was always to add lime to your compost heap as it grew.