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August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Posted by sylviatexas z8a Tx (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 2, 11 at 17:14

sorry, I seem to be running a little slow!

Today my semi-lucky microherd (lucky for getting fed at all, unlucky for baking in our record-breaking heat) got:

about half a dozen doughnuts from the office, along with the doughnut box

eggshells & the water used to boil the eggs

grapefruit rinds

coffee grounds/filters

tea bags

torn-up newspaper

& what has your lucky or semi-lucky microherd received today?


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Leftover DONUTS? What kind of people work at this office!

Kidding. :-]

I haven't put much in my pile lately other than the high levels of kitchen waste from all the summer veggies and fruits we're eating!


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

I think everybody stuffed themselves with as many doughnuts as possible...
we just had a very generous supply that day!

Today, the micro-herd got:

deceased geraniums
water-spout shoots from the big old redbud tree
the contents of the vacuum cleaner (mostly dog & cat hair!)
a hearty breakfast of eggshells, toast crumbs, coffee grounds & filter, & one paper towel.

It's so hot & dry here that the compost isn't composting, so I've started keeping one of the compost "buckets" (a big red plastic Folger's coffee can) in the sink under the kitchen faucet to catch the water that would otherwise go down the drain.

I get at least 1 can a day, & if I have cooking water, from boiling eggs or some such, I'll have at least 2.

& what have you fed *your* compost pile today?


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Someday I will live somewhere I can have a composter. And a barn.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

25 gallons of rain water
2 huge bags of sycamore/linden/Maple leaves (chopped)
5 lbs onion/sweet potato peelings
bucket of dead-headed roses
1 gallon coffee grounds/filters


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Would the sugar glaze on the doughnuts draw ants?

I have a friend who owns a doughnut shop and she usually has a good supply of leftover doughnuts at the end of the day. I have been wondering if I could compost them.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Elbourne, I my own self always throw in sugary things & don't worry about ants;
I figure they're just another vehicle for reducing big clunky identifiable stuff to fine crumbly compost...
& eventually, of course, the ants themselves become compost.

but you could put doughnuts into whatever liquid you're going to add to the pile (water, old coffee or tea or soft drinks or beer or wine) & sort of slosh or scatter it so that no one spot is a big sugary oasis for critters.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Things to do with left over donuts:

1. Jelly Donut Bread Pudding
2. ????
3. Profit


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Nothing yet, but I'm about to work in the yard now that my computer battery is dying. We've got coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, and a tortilla chip that fell on the floor. Also the tomato I found wtith blossom end rot will go in there.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Cleaned out the fridge yesterday, a win-win, neat fridge and happier compost pile. Have a big pile of grass clippings that I first added 5 big bags of UCG's to, then the dregs from fridge - stale tortillas, old potatoes, cilantro stems, leftover gazpacho, one petrified jalapeno (LOL), plus several kinds of jellies/preserves - don't remember what all else.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

A pickup truck load of spent mushroom substrate -- hot, raw, mushroom compost.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Do you really feed donuts to your compost? I put only vegetable scraps, paper towels that haven`t been contaminated with anything other than water, coffee & filters in mine. My problem is that I can never get just the dirt out of the composter...all the uncomposted stuff comes with it. Does no one else have this problem?


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

Well a lot of garden scrap. Cykes were done so all the plants went in. I would do donuts, suger is high carbon, Yes?

Curt


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

  • Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
    Thu, Aug 25, 11 at 15:40

"and a tortilla chip that fell on the floor."

What, no ten second rule in your house??

;-)

Lloyd


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

  • Posted by batya Israel north 8-9-10 (My Page) on
    Fri, Aug 26, 11 at 11:18

Bagful of apple parts from the apple pie making session
the usual suspects (UCG, kitchen scraps, etc.)
spent tomato plants, sunflower stalks, etc.
anything that died while I was on vacation but most of the garden survived
a very old jar of garlic juice used for spraying but that had finally begun to recreate the primeval slime
used mint, lemon verbena, lemon geranium and other ice tea stuff

Dry as a bone here and I've actually added water to the pile. Hot as Hades and nearly impossible to garden at all. Soon it's seedling starting time for cooler weather plants, but I fear that this year again I'll have to buy a few bags of soil and compost to make up for the rather disappointing piles this year. But I'm getting better all the time at this and soon it'll be enough...........


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

I really scored today!

I've been trawling the Free section of craigslist, and came across fruit vendors giving away boxes and boxes of fruit trimmings. All I can haul!

I hope this continues until next year when we're getting chickens.


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

I am proud to report that I just fed my compost a little black rat that I found "asleep" under the peach tree. He went to his rest sometime in the last 6-24 hours, probably as a consequence of rat poison but perhaps thanks to one of our local marmalade cat mousers. I pulled up a couple of layers of leaf mulch in bin #4, until I got to some nice looking maggots and BSF, and then I moved ratoncito from point A to point B using a shovel.

You are the only people I can tell this to without eliciting screams of horror or instant assumptions that this is the ultimate nightmare scenario of suburban life.

P.S. If he did die of rat poison, I choose to believe the compost will eventually break that down as it does everything else. (Am I wrong?)


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RE: August 2011 What Have You Fed Your Compost Today?

@cali - my rule is: no meat (includes dead animals) or carnivore poo.
but I know others are willing to risk it... especially if your compost cooks for longer than 12 months.

best of luck to you and ratocinto :)


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