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#1
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Composting
Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times? Thanks for any and all comments, Cindi |
#2
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Composting
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:29:38 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote: Hi all, I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times? Thanks for any and all comments, Cindi Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated and it will generate enough internal heat to discourage critters. It was always fun to drive by the huge heaps of ground up Christmas trees in Zilker park and see the steam rising from those piles. Do not keep it sealed (as in airtight) because you will encourage anaerobic decomposition (anaerobic = "without air") which will smell very bad and may even promote the growth of some bacteria you don't want to be around. Elliot Richmond Freelance Science Writer and Editor |
#3
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Composting
G'day
Cindi wrote: I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? Elliot Richmond replied: Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated Do not keep it sealed Also - do not add meat - keep it to plant material (produce), eggshells, teabags - newspaper if they use soy ink (if you are going to use your compost on a vege garden). DrRuth |
#4
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Composting
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:09:39 -0500, Ruth Shear wrote:
G'day Cindi wrote: I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? Elliot Richmond replied: Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated Do not keep it sealed Also - do not add meat - keep it to plant material (produce), eggshells, teabags - newspaper if they use soy ink (if you are going to use your compost on a vege garden). DrRuth Which brings up a question I had. I was going to use "The Greensheet" as a weed-stop mechanism, but read that some papers use lead in their ink. How are we to know which use lead ink and which ones don't? |
#5
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Composting
"ArcherB" wrote in message news On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:09:39 -0500, Ruth Shear wrote: G'day Cindi wrote: I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? Elliot Richmond replied: Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated Do not keep it sealed Also - do not add meat - keep it to plant material (produce), eggshells, teabags - newspaper if they use soy ink (if you are going to use your compost on a vege garden). DrRuth Which brings up a question I had. I was going to use "The Greensheet" as a weed-stop mechanism, but read that some papers use lead in their ink. How are we to know which use lead ink and which ones don't? http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0122.html "Lead was banned as an ingredient in ink by the EPA in 1985 and is, therefore, no longer a threat." "Ingestion of inks used on newsprint has not been an issue because the ingredients used in the inks are not considered toxic in either the liquid or dry state." |
#6
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Composting
On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:57:20 -0500, cat daddy wrote:
"ArcherB" wrote in message news On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:09:39 -0500, Ruth Shear wrote: G'day Cindi wrote: I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants and rodents out of your compost heaps? Elliot Richmond replied: Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated Do not keep it sealed Also - do not add meat - keep it to plant material (produce), eggshells, teabags - newspaper if they use soy ink (if you are going to use your compost on a vege garden). DrRuth Which brings up a question I had. I was going to use "The Greensheet" as a weed-stop mechanism, but read that some papers use lead in their ink. How are we to know which use lead ink and which ones don't? http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0122.html "Lead was banned as an ingredient in ink by the EPA in 1985 and is, therefore, no longer a threat." "Ingestion of inks used on newsprint has not been an issue because the ingredients used in the inks are not considered toxic in either the liquid or dry state." First, thank you very much for your reply. While it was very helpful, it still leaves some doubts in my mind. I read that article and saw this: These trials and ink references are for the black inks used in newsprint. The trials do not include the waxed or glossy inserts or supplements that accompany newspapers, nor does it include colored inks used on those publications. The "GreenSheet" uses mostly green ink (thus the name:-) which was not tested here. Searching their website only gave me information how to buy and sell stuff, which I already know how to do (which is why I have so many greensheets laying around). Rather than recycling them and paying for some other method of weed control, I thought I'd eliminate the middleman and recycle them myself. What I'm worried about is lead or some other dangerous materials making their way up the root system and into the tomatoes that I am going to be feeding my family. If it were just me, I wouldn't care, but I have a little girl to look after and want my home-grown produce to be as safe and healthy as possible. |
#7
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Composting
"ArcherB" wrote in message ... On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:57:20 -0500, cat daddy wrote: "ArcherB" wrote in message news Which brings up a question I had. I was going to use "The Greensheet" as a weed-stop mechanism, but read that some papers use lead in their ink. How are we to know which use lead ink and which ones don't? http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0122.html "Lead was banned as an ingredient in ink by the EPA in 1985 and is, therefore, no longer a threat." "Ingestion of inks used on newsprint has not been an issue because the ingredients used in the inks are not considered toxic in either the liquid or dry state." First, thank you very much for your reply. While it was very helpful, it still leaves some doubts in my mind. I read that article and saw this: These trials and ink references are for the black inks used in newsprint. The trials do not include the waxed or glossy inserts or supplements that accompany newspapers, nor does it include colored inks used on those publications. The "GreenSheet" uses mostly green ink (thus the name:-) which was not tested here. Searching their website only gave me information how to buy and sell stuff, which I already know how to do (which is why I have so many greensheets laying around). Rather than recycling them and paying for some other method of weed control, I thought I'd eliminate the middleman and recycle them myself. What I'm worried about is lead or some other dangerous materials making their way up the root system and into the tomatoes that I am going to be feeding my family. If it were just me, I wouldn't care, but I have a little girl to look after and want my home-grown produce to be as safe and healthy as possible. Maybe you can call them and ask if their green ink is soy-based. |
#8
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Composting
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:06:56 -0500, cat daddy wrote:
"ArcherB" wrote in message ... On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:57:20 -0500, cat daddy wrote: "ArcherB" wrote in message news Which brings up a question I had. I was going to use "The Greensheet" as a weed-stop mechanism, but read that some papers use lead in their ink. How are we to know which use lead ink and which ones don't? http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0122.html "Lead was banned as an ingredient in ink by the EPA in 1985 and is, therefore, no longer a threat." "Ingestion of inks used on newsprint has not been an issue because the ingredients used in the inks are not considered toxic in either the liquid or dry state." First, thank you very much for your reply. While it was very helpful, it still leaves some doubts in my mind. I read that article and saw this: These trials and ink references are for the black inks used in newsprint. The trials do not include the waxed or glossy inserts or supplements that accompany newspapers, nor does it include colored inks used on those publications. The "GreenSheet" uses mostly green ink (thus the name:-) which was not tested here. Searching their website only gave me information how to buy and sell stuff, which I already know how to do (which is why I have so many greensheets laying around). Rather than recycling them and paying for some other method of weed control, I thought I'd eliminate the middleman and recycle them myself. What I'm worried about is lead or some other dangerous materials making their way up the root system and into the tomatoes that I am going to be feeding my family. If it were just me, I wouldn't care, but I have a little girl to look after and want my home-grown produce to be as safe and healthy as possible. Maybe you can call them and ask if their green ink is soy-based. I sent them an email from their "feedback" section and asked them. I would hope that any periodical named the GREENsheet would not use toxic chemicals in their printing process. I'll post the reply here when I receive it. Thanx again. |
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