Is there any known problem with composting Bald Cypress 'leaves'(needles?).

Eggshells?

I've heard a rumor that pine needles are undesirable.
If it is just a matter of pH I think doses of ashes from my BBQ pit will
help balance that issue.

tia

Carl

--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
.com...
Is there any known problem with composting Bald Cypress
'leaves'(needles?).

Eggshells?

I've heard a rumor that pine needles are undesirable.
If it is just a matter of pH I think doses of ashes from my BBQ pit will
help balance that issue.

Evergreen needles are acidic, which could pose a problem if you don/t add
lime or wood ash to counteract its pH-lowering fx.

Eggshells make for good compost material, altho they are slow to breakdown,
but good gardeners are not usually in a big hurry. Eggshells, like
seashells are made of calcium, which acts to raise pH.

BBQ ashes are OK, as long as they/re not coming from Kingsford-type charcoal
brickettes. There/s coal them there brickettes, which t'aint' no good for
your dirt. If you burn real wood in your smoker, then you/re good to go.
Wood ash is a good source of K and has the added benefit of sweetin' sour
soil.

TQ wrote:

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
.com...

Is there any known problem with composting Bald Cypress

'leaves'(needles?).

Eggshells?

I've heard a rumor that pine needles are undesirable.
If it is just a matter of pH I think doses of ashes from my BBQ pit will
help balance that issue.


Evergreen needles are acidic, which could pose a problem if you don/t add
lime or wood ash to counteract its pH-lowering fx.

Eggshells make for good compost material, altho they are slow to breakdown,
but good gardeners are not usually in a big hurry. Eggshells, like
seashells are made of calcium, which acts to raise pH.

BBQ ashes are OK, as long as they/re not coming from Kingsford-type charcoal
brickettes. There/s coal them there brickettes, which t'aint' no good for
your dirt. If you burn real wood in your smoker, then you/re good to go.
Wood ash is a good source of K and has the added benefit of sweetin' sour
soil.



Thanx TQ, I think I may try SOME cypress this fall - I get tons of it,
and I suppose I could just test teh pH. I just didn't know if there were
other components that might be toxic or undesirable.
Yes, I use lump charcoal and no petroleum distillates for lighting either.

thanx again

Carl


--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
y.com...
TQ wrote:

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
.com...

Is there any known problem with composting Bald Cypress

'leaves'(needles?).

Eggshells?

I've heard a rumor that pine needles are undesirable.
If it is just a matter of pH I think doses of ashes from my BBQ pit will
help balance that issue.


Evergreen needles are acidic, which could pose a problem if you don/t add
lime or wood ash to counteract its pH-lowering fx.

Eggshells make for good compost material, altho they are slow to
breakdown,
but good gardeners are not usually in a big hurry. Eggshells, like
seashells are made of calcium, which acts to raise pH.

BBQ ashes are OK, as long as they/re not coming from Kingsford-type
charcoal
brickettes. There/s coal them there brickettes, which t'aint' no good
for
your dirt. If you burn real wood in your smoker, then you/re good to go.
Wood ash is a good source of K and has the added benefit of sweetin' sour
soil.



Thanx TQ, I think I may try SOME cypress this fall - I get tons of it, and
I suppose I could just test teh pH. I just didn't know if there were other
components that might be toxic or undesirable.
Yes, I use lump charcoal and no petroleum distillates for lighting either.

thanx again

Carl


--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

You don't have to worry much about the pH of herbaceous waste that you
compost. Compost ends up with a close-to-neutral pH no matter how it
starts. However, I'd also consider using the cypress leaves as mulch. As
you know, a cypress is not an evergreen, if that's relevant. I'd also
consider using the leaves for mulch. I work as a garden volunteer at a
place that has a number of bald cypresses and dawn redwoods. The gardeners
fight over the leaves. They break down very quickly. As to ashes, I would
not put them in an active (i.e., hot) compost pile. It will cause a lot of
nitrogen to leave as ammonia. I put ashes around plants that like a higher
pH and if I have any left over, I add it to compost piles that are nearly
finished.
_________________
John Henry Wheeler
Washington, DC
USDA Zone 7

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
.com...
Is there any known problem with composting Bald Cypress
'leaves'(needles?).

Eggshells?

I've heard a rumor that pine needles are undesirable.
If it is just a matter of pH I think doses of ashes from my BBQ pit will
help balance that issue.

tia

Carl


It's usually recommended that you not put any non-vegetable matter in your
compost because it can attract various critters who have an excellent sense
of smell. In some towns, this can also attract the attention of whiners
who'll call the property upkeep police to annoy you. If rats are the
problem, this is justified. However, the scent can also draw attention to
your garden, from critters who would otherwise not be interested. People who
think "Oh my - I'd never own a gun" will suddenly become quite bloodthirsty
when half their garden is decimated by woodchucks & raccoons.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote

It's usually recommended that you not put any non-vegetable
matter in your compost because it can attract various critters
who have an excellent sense of smell. In some towns, this can
also attract the attention of whiners who'll call the property
upkeep police to annoy you.

=========================


I have never phoned the police over a neighbor's compost pile,
but I have complained a few times when moron's dump animal
products into their compost pile and/or they dump 90% lawn
clippings and fail to ever turn the pile. Fortunately, they have
all responded favorably to friendly requests.

Not everybody is so lucky.

One neighbor located a "compost pile" (aka, rotting garbage
pile) at the property line. They were too lazy or too dumb to
manage it properly. It was located upwind and 10' from the
closest edge of their next-door neighbor's patio. Like you, they
thought that the neighbors were "whiners." They failed to
comply with friendly requests to relocate the compost pile or
to maintain it better. They circumvented the eventual legal
requests as much as possible, with a moronic "it's our property"
attitude.

The resolution of the issue was ugly. After many years, the
offenders left for a week's vacation one summer and returned to
discover that a liberal dose of 2-4-D had been applied at 3:00am
to their entire veggie garden, plus their raspberry and blueberry
plants. The compost pile was moved shortly thereafter.

I don't approve of such vigilante actions, but I do believe that all
of us should respect the laws and civilities of the municipality
in which we live. If you don't like the rules, then work to change
them or move to an open area without zoning.

I enjoy our gardening and I'd have a difficult time living without
our compost piles. But I respect the rights of my neighbors
more. On the rare occasions when some of our compost gets
a bit "too ripe", I always apologize to the neighbors and reassure
them that I'm aware of the issue and working to mitigate any
smell ASAP. Nobody in an urban area should have to suffer due
to somebody else's hobbies.

Gideon

"[-=LÈGIÖN=-]" wrote in message
...
This is the wrong froup to post your stupid question. Go find the
google grou asshole.

What the hell are YOU talking about?

"Gideon" wrote in message
. ..

JoeSpareBedroom wrote

It's usually recommended that you not put any non-vegetable
matter in your compost because it can attract various critters
who have an excellent sense of smell. In some towns, this can
also attract the attention of whiners who'll call the property
upkeep police to annoy you.

=========================


I have never phoned the police over a neighbor's compost pile,
but I have complained a few times when moron's dump animal
products into their compost pile and/or they dump 90% lawn
clippings and fail to ever turn the pile. Fortunately, they have
all responded favorably to friendly requests.

Not everybody is so lucky.

By "whiners", I was referring to people who believe composting's illegal in
their town. Maybe it is, but these knuckleheads (like a former neighbor of
mine) never bothers to check. She used to bitch constantly about how my
nice, neat brown plastic compost box was going to attract vermin, sharks,
dinosaurs, homosexuals, etc. You know the type. I finally told her to either
STFU, of call the police. She called the police. They told her it was legal,
invisible from the street AND from her property, and to STFU. :-)

That 2,4D vigilante routine was nasty. It potentially affected innocent
people. I would installed a bank of flood lights with motion sensors set to
max sensitivity, so any time the neighbor stepped outside at night for any
reason, they'd be completely blinded.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Here is www.gneedg.com, we have all kinds of golds for the games.And we
always try our best to offer all of our customers the best service.So
if you need service for your char in the game,please come to
www.gneedg.com.We are around you all the time.So please feel free to
come to us any time.WWW.GNEEDG.COM

you also can contact them via:
AIM:gilssales
ICQ:108239029
Yahoo: sellgilstoyou 5051360 8379263 13107942609

http://www.gneedg.com


I don't know why you posted this in a gardening newsgroup, but damn.....get
yourself an editor whose native language is English.

"[-=LÈGIÖN=-]" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 17:32:25 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

wrote in message
groups.com...
Here is www.gneedg.com, we have all kinds of golds for the games.And we
always try our best to offer all of our customers the best service.So
if you need service for your char in the game,please come to
www.gneedg.com.We are around you all the time.So please feel free to
come to us any time.WWW.GNEEDG.COM

you also can contact them via:
AIM:gilssales
ICQ:108239029
Yahoo: sellgilstoyou 5051360 8379263 13107942609

http://www.gneedg.com


I don't know why you posted this in a gardening newsgroup, but
damn.....get
yourself an editor whose native language is English.

You've just been tweaked by the troller's association.

Ouch. Pass the bourbon.

"JoeSpareBedroom" expounded:

"[-=LÈGIÖN=-]" wrote in message
.. .
This is the wrong froup to post your stupid question. Go find the
google grou asshole.

What the hell are YOU talking about?

It's a troll, don't feed it.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************