Topic: What cannot be put on the heap?

[Grumpy Git]

Can I put any waste veg/fruit/food stuff on the heap? or should I avoid things such as Truffles???

[tim]

Send me the truffles - in whatever condition!!

Get your local council leaflet - helpful & not nationwide.

[Mrs Ava]

Rum truffles?  ;D

Almost everything goes into my heaps except meat, fish, bread and pastics/man made fibres.  Paper goes in, card if thin and well wetted, all veggie waste, all garden waste, hair clippings, tea and coffee grouts, egg shells, sea shells (altho they really don't like to rot down!) and the contents of mine and Ava's bladder when nature calls and we are at the allotment. ;D

[Kerry]

i've started putting the fluff from the tumble dryer filter in my compost, plus the excess fur from my long furred cat once brushed! also toying with the idea of the contents of the vaccuum, but not sure about this, as it ends of with a lot of coal dust from the fire. ???

[loz]

I throw on anything as long as it will not attract rats or foxes, so anything meaty or artificially processed (like sweets)  is out.

Certain fungi will help decomposition, although the wrong sorts will create further problems if the heap cannot get hot enough.

Loz

[Phil]

I avoid putting on capsicum seeds as they don't decompose, also potatoes as they start growing!  These might be OK on a very hot heap but not a cold heap like mine.  Coal dust is a bad idea since it contains excessive amounts of sulphur.

[Roy Bham UK]

What about cooked vegatable food scraps from your plate that may contain gravey etc. ???

[Apple Dumpling]

I don't put out any cooked food or meat in case it encourages rats.
 Also I don't put any citrus on it as I read that the the acids are bad for the micro-organisms which break it all down, and this slows down the composting process.
Did also hear that any food containing yeast is a no-no but I can't remember why. That all goes on the bird table anyway.

However, everyone seems to have their own ideas about what should or shouldn't go on the heap. I suppose it makes a difference how hot your heap gets, but my little heap is cool, so I tend to err on the side of caution. But really I suppose that as long as it's biodegradeable, it'll all rot down eventually.

EJ - never thought of tumble dryer fluff before. Can I also put on Mr Dumpling's belly button fluff? It looks the same. ;D ;D

[derbex]

Have to say I'ver heard the exact opposite about yeast -so the lees from the winemaking go straight on.

Jeremy

[TULIP-23]

Some very interesting things there to add. :)

Started off now with an old Rain Butt. ::)

Bottem contains Old Leaves then damp Newpaper
now building up with old Veggie peelings.

What else is good.....Egg Shells  Cardboard Thin
Tumbledyrer Wool Fluff. ???

Greetings  Take Care Tulip-23   Mike.

[terrace max]

Do you guys put paper/cardboard with coloured ink on - I've often wondered how toxic the inks are...??

Also I can get access to as much bracken as I can be bothered to cut: is it worth the trouble?

[diver]

like Emma Jane I put everything on my heap, all veg waste (don't have meat as I'm a veggie) all stuff from garden and lottie, leaves (large quantities go for leaf mould instead ), contents of bladder when on lottie, cat hair, nail clippings, tea bags.....only things I don't put on are couch grass.....(although I'm convinced it will get there on its own! ), and bindweed as I think it would grow and take over.....I collect all my kitchen waste...but not cooked food..and take it when I go to my allotment

[tim]

Yes to all that & more - but, as I mentioned, it's not so much what you choose to put on but, rather, if you have a conscience, what the Council ask you not to put on.

What decomposes well is a different matter, &  is much to do with common sense & how you manage the heap.

[NattyEm]

so on a similar theme - what can we do with the growing couch grass pile as we clear our plot?

[sandersj89]

so on a similar theme - what can we do with the growing couch grass pile as we clear our plot?

Make a deep pile of it, cover with some other material to a depth of about 8 to 12 inches and then cover the lot with plastic, either clear or black.

Couch hates to be burried and will die off if it is. The heat generated by being covered in plastic will also help speed things up a bit.

Jerry

[philcooper]

Try visiting http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_comp.htm for full advice on composting

(A google search seems to answer many of the basic questions raised on this board)

Phil

[philcooper]

Jerry's solution to the couch grass problem sounds a bit strenuous.

Just putting it into black plastic bags for 6 weeks will cause it to turn into a black guey mess that can then be put on the compost heap with no loss of nutrients.

Phil

[sandersj89]

Jerry's solution to the couch grass problem sounds a bit strenuous.

Phil

I can understand what you mean Phil but it works well for me. As I dug out couch on my new allotment last spring it went into a barrow and then tipped in a corner. This was a mix of rhizome and soil. Covered it with soil and annual weeds and left it over winter.

I have now taken the cover off and it has all broken down nicely. Some of this has been spread back on the beds the rest will left in a pile, some well rotted FYM mixed in and a couple of pumpkins planted into it.

Jerry

[tim]

Google, Phil? Indeed, but not so much fun!

[philcooper]

Tim,

Agreed, but where a request for information that requires a page or too for a full answer, a quick Google followed by requests to the board for points of clarification or personal experience (esp yours!!!! grovle, grovle) will probably give the questioner and fuller answer.

Phil