contradiction about table scraps

azure639 9/8/2013, 12:07 am

All New SFG book, page 93 (table) says yes to kitchen scraps, table on page 94 says no. Which is it?

it's surprising a copy editor didn't catch this contradiction on adjacent pages.

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 8:21 am

Generally, anything that will rot can go into the compost heap, that includes table scraps... however there are some exceptions.

It is advised to NOT ADD meat, bones, fats (brings in pest animals) dog or cat poo (disease issues), shiney newspaper inserts, etc.. There are a few backthreads about this.

Some valuable links:

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/outdoorbest.html

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/faq.html

plantoid 9/8/2013, 9:53 am

I also like to add the generalization that it is cooked food that people think of as kitchen scraps that is not so good in the compost heap as the bacteria that break it down have been removed by cooking what you will have is a dollop of sterile material that will not decay quite as well or quick as uncooked stuff,
Maybe toxins will develop in this decaying material.

Perhaps think of kitchen scraps as all kitchen waste that is not cooked or heavily preserved and you won't go far wrong.

We put uncooked meat, fat off meat fish trimmings, entrails , feathers skin and bones in our heap but then our heaps are enclosed lidded cones of durable plastic that stand nearly three foot six feet tall with a three foot wide base so we don't get the insect or pest problem .

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 10:23 am

Don't overthink it.

I put cooked food in my compost heap, but it's not usually much because I eat most of what I cook. I also put spoiled milk and moldy cheese rinds in the compost.

CapeCoddess 9/8/2013, 11:00 am

My pile gets everything except dog/cat/human poo, meats/bones (with the exception of the occasional dead rabbit & such), glossy paper, evergreen/invasive vines, dairy & laundry lint.

I read online about a gal that puts chicken bones in hers so I'm rethinking that.

CC

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 11:05 am

CapeCoddess wrote:My pile gets everything except dog/cat/human poo, meats/bones (with the exception of the occasional dead rabbit & such), glossy paper, evergreen/invasive vines, dairy & laundry lint.

I read online about a gal that puts chicken bones in hers so I'm rethinking that.

CC

I do, but I can get away with it in my hood.

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 11:05 am

CapeCoddess wrote:

I read online about a gal that puts chicken bones in hers so I'm rethinking that.

CC

I do, but I can get away with it in my hood.

CapeCoddess 9/8/2013, 12:16 pm

camprn wrote:
CapeCoddess wrote:

I read online about a gal that puts chicken bones in hers so I'm rethinking that.

CC
I do, but I can get away with it in my hood.

She says that if you put them way down into the center it shouldn't attract critters. I found that to be true with the lobster shells and such. Learned the hard way when lobster shells ended up in all my neighbors yards one morning. One couple was having coffee and the h looked out the window to the back yard and says, "Honey, what's that red thing out there in the middle of the lawn?" They both went out to look and were VERY surprised by what they found. *LOL* I apologized profusely when I heard the story...and asked for the shell back but it was gone by then.

Do you bake/dry the bones first?

CC

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 12:46 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:
Do you bake/dry the bones first?

CC

No.......

CapeCoddess 9/8/2013, 1:08 pm

Well now, Camp...glad you got a good laff over that. sfg smile

But that's what the gal in the article says to do if you're worried about critters.

I gotta find that article...stand by...
OK, read the very last section called 'Free Soil Additives':

http://www.self-reliance-works.com/2010/08/build-a-compost-pile-what-goes-into-a-the-compost-and-what-stays-out/

CC

**camprn** 9/8/2013, 1:19 pm

Well, if you have the time and resources to dry the stuff it is all well and good, yet unnecessary. It will get wet again in the compost pile. Wink

murarrie25 9/9/2013, 1:19 am

They compost dead pigs on farms by placing in a bin of saw dust also saw on that show "dirty jobs" did similar with road kill .Using saw dust in a closed container may be an option .

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