Boron Elgar wrote:

On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:41:43 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:35:42 AM UTC-7, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 08:27:17 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 4:10:31 PM UTC-7, azigni wrote:
On Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:38:02 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:

Bananas do not compost well, mostly they rot/ferment and stink... over
ripe bananas are good for baking (banana bread/muffins), over ripe
bananas can be frozen for delicious snacks... also bananas make great
dildos.

Thanks, I was thinking of the potassium in bananas, but never heard of
anyone mixing them right into the soil. The meal ideas sound great too!

I don't add them to my compost pile as I thought the peels were full of
insecticide, etc?

However it is OK to put them into MUNICIPAL compost. Our city encourages food waste to be deposited in yard waste cans. They responded to my inquiry about meat and fat -- usually a no-no in home compost -- by pointing out that the yard waste cum compost is treated at such a high temperature that it can handle no-nos.

Pesticides? I'd like to se verification of that. Never heard of it.

The result, BTW, is rich compost that is free to residents on a quarterly basis. People line up in their cars & trucks and load all kind of containers with this fab compost.

I am unabashedly sentimental about this community event!!

I have always hesitated to use community composts, as many homeowners
allow their grass clippings to be collected and the insecticide, weed
killers and broad herbicides that they use wind up in there.

We do not eat hat many bananas and the skins to not contain enough
pesticides to prevent me from chucking them in my own compost,
however.

These comments about "polluted" municipal compost are indeed food for thought and I will ask the City about the issue. But I wonder whether treating yard waste at the high temperatures they say wouldn't be enough to "kill" or neutralize the bad things cited on this thread.

You need a certain sustaining of temp to encourage decomposition but
not so hot that you kill off the good microorganisms, but I have never
seen anything that says composting destroys garden chems. I am happy
to read any articles about it, though.

The pamphlet included with my composter warned against adding bananas
stating that they ferment before they compost, which produces alcohol
which in turn kills/repels the bacteria responsible for composting.
Adding bananas to the mix will greatly slow down the process. If one
wants they can compost bananas separately or with other items that
ferment and produce alcohol, like pineapple rinds. It also warned
against adding corn cobs and corn husks to the mix as they take so
long to break down that they will need to be picked out after
everything else is fully composted, it's best to compost corn
cobs/husks separately and separately from each other.
Everything composts/breaks down, even chemicals, but not at the same
rate, some items take so long it's simply not practical and/or can be
detrimental to gardening, which is why warnings are posted about how
to discard unused drugs rather than adding to the environment. Also
municipal compost/mulch may contain molds/fungi that will kill
desirable plants, especially particular trees... very difficult to
treat/eradicate, maybe never. One should be careful about where they
obtain fruit trees, be certain they're from a reputable nursery, don't
look for bargains from small independants, especially when
balled/burlaped or potted (that soil can be sick), it's much safer to
obtain bare root specimens from the large mail order nurseries.

Lots of info here.

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

Boron Elgar writes:

On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:41:43 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:35:42 AM UTC-7, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 08:27:17 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 4:10:31 PM UTC-7, azigni wrote:
On Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:38:02 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:

Bananas do not compost well, mostly they rot/ferment and stink... over
ripe bananas are good for baking (banana bread/muffins), over ripe
bananas can be frozen for delicious snacks... also bananas make great
dildos.

Thanks, I was thinking of the potassium in bananas, but never heard of
anyone mixing them right into the soil. The meal ideas sound great too!

I don't add them to my compost pile as I thought the peels were full of
insecticide, etc?

However it is OK to put them into MUNICIPAL compost. Our city
encourages food waste to be deposited in yard waste cans. They
responded to my inquiry about meat and fat -- usually a no-no in
home compost -- by pointing out that the yard waste cum compost
is treated at such a high temperature that it can handle no-nos.

Pesticides? I'd like to se verification of that. Never heard of it.

The result, BTW, is rich compost that is free to residents on a
quarterly basis. People line up in their cars & trucks and load
all kind of containers with this fab compost.

I am unabashedly sentimental about this community event!!

I have always hesitated to use community composts, as many homeowners
allow their grass clippings to be collected and the insecticide, weed
killers and broad herbicides that they use wind up in there.

We do not eat hat many bananas and the skins to not contain enough
pesticides to prevent me from chucking them in my own compost,
however.

These comments about "polluted" municipal compost are indeed food for
thought and I will ask the City about the issue. But I wonder
whether treating yard waste at the high temperatures they say
wouldn't be enough to "kill" or neutralize the bad things cited on
this thread.


You need a certain sustaining of temp to encourage decomposition but
not so hot that you kill off the good microorganisms, but I have never
seen anything that says composting destroys garden chems. I am happy
to read any articles about it, though.

Lots of info here.

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

In general, allowed chemicals do not remain toxic for long times
in the environment. That's how DDT got banned.

But it's trendy now to fear everything. OMG, that stuff contains
CHEMICALS. Run and hide.

Face it, put 9 billion people on the planet, and pretty soon we're all
taking in each others waste products. No way around it.
Composting breaks lots of stuff down, the bacteria have a field day.

Here are meal worms breaking down styrofoam:

http://tinyurl.com/qz3jdqx

Then, if you are growing edibles, the plants themselves are selective
about the compounds they take out of the soil.

Personally, I think a lot of people are fooling themselves, thinking
they can eat their way to health. You need to stay active.
Any crap you eat, a healthy body can process.

--
Dan Espen

On Thu, 01 Oct 2015 11:46:58 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

Boron Elgar writes:

On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:41:43 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:35:42 AM UTC-7, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2015 08:27:17 -0700 (PDT), Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:

On Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 4:10:31 PM UTC-7, azigni wrote:
On Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:38:02 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:

Bananas do not compost well, mostly they rot/ferment and stink... over
ripe bananas are good for baking (banana bread/muffins), over ripe
bananas can be frozen for delicious snacks... also bananas make great
dildos.

Thanks, I was thinking of the potassium in bananas, but never heard of
anyone mixing them right into the soil. The meal ideas sound great too!

I don't add them to my compost pile as I thought the peels were full of
insecticide, etc?

However it is OK to put them into MUNICIPAL compost. Our city
encourages food waste to be deposited in yard waste cans. They
responded to my inquiry about meat and fat -- usually a no-no in
home compost -- by pointing out that the yard waste cum compost
is treated at such a high temperature that it can handle no-nos.

Pesticides? I'd like to se verification of that. Never heard of it.

The result, BTW, is rich compost that is free to residents on a
quarterly basis. People line up in their cars & trucks and load
all kind of containers with this fab compost.

I am unabashedly sentimental about this community event!!

I have always hesitated to use community composts, as many homeowners
allow their grass clippings to be collected and the insecticide, weed
killers and broad herbicides that they use wind up in there.

We do not eat hat many bananas and the skins to not contain enough
pesticides to prevent me from chucking them in my own compost,
however.

These comments about "polluted" municipal compost are indeed food for
thought and I will ask the City about the issue. But I wonder
whether treating yard waste at the high temperatures they say
wouldn't be enough to "kill" or neutralize the bad things cited on
this thread.


You need a certain sustaining of temp to encourage decomposition but
not so hot that you kill off the good microorganisms, but I have never
seen anything that says composting destroys garden chems. I am happy
to read any articles about it, though.

Lots of info here.

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

In general, allowed chemicals do not remain toxic for long times
in the environment. That's how DDT got banned.

Composting is done relatively quickly, and believe me, no one knows
what kind of stuff folks put into their "green" pickups.

But it's trendy now to fear everything. OMG, that stuff contains
CHEMICALS. Run and hide.

I have never claimed such.

Face it, put 9 billion people on the planet, and pretty soon we're all
taking in each others waste products. No way around it.

We all have a big of the Big Bang in us already.

Composting breaks lots of stuff down, the bacteria have a field day.

That is how it works.


Here are meal worms breaking down styrofoam:

http://tinyurl.com/qz3jdqx

Then, if you are growing edibles, the plants themselves are selective
about the compounds they take out of the soil.

But that is no reason to be indiscriminate in what one adds to the
soil.

Personally, I think a lot of people are fooling themselves, thinking
they can eat their way to health. You need to stay active.
Any crap you eat, a healthy body can process.

Depends. Kids and women of child-bearing age do need to take a bit
more care about certain compounds/elements, but there is a sucker born
every minute, and the Dr. Oz's of this world like to take advantage of
it.

Boron Elgar wrote:
These comments about "polluted" municipal compost are indeed food
for thought and I will ask the City about the issue. But I wonder
whether treating yard waste at the high temperatures they say
wouldn't be enough to "kill" or neutralize the bad things cited on
this thread.


You need a certain sustaining of temp to encourage decomposition but
not so hot that you kill off the good microorganisms, but I have never
seen anything that says composting destroys garden chems. I am happy
to read any articles about it, though.

Seattle and LA apparently had problems with one chemical.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/27/local/me-18323

"Bob F" writes:

Boron Elgar wrote:
These comments about "polluted" municipal compost are indeed food
for thought and I will ask the City about the issue. But I wonder
whether treating yard waste at the high temperatures they say
wouldn't be enough to "kill" or neutralize the bad things cited on
this thread.


You need a certain sustaining of temp to encourage decomposition but
not so hot that you kill off the good microorganisms, but I have never
seen anything that says composting destroys garden chems. I am happy
to read any articles about it, though.

Seattle and LA apparently had problems with one chemical.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/27/local/me-18323

Thanks, for a very interesting article.

For those that don't follow links, this should be of interest:

Unlike Clopyralid, which survives the heat, most chemicals used in
lawn care and agriculture break down completely enough to satisfy
organic farmers.

I found this on Clopyralid, the problem chemical:

Clopyralid is known for its ability to persist in dead plants and
compost, and has accumulated to phytotoxic levels in finished compost
in a few highly publicized cases. This first came to light in
Washington State when, during 2000 and 2001, residues of clopyralid
were detected in commercial compost, and compost made at a municipal
site damaged tomatoes and other garden plants planted in it. Word
quickly spread to other local and state governments and in 2002,
DowAgro, the manufacturer of clopyralid, voluntarily deregistered it
for use on domestic lawns in the US[5] and it is banned in several US
states but it is found in consumer products in Europe such as Scotts
Verdone Extra and Vitax Lawn Clear 2.

--
Dan Espen

Drew Lawson wrote:
....
I've never personally noticed a composting problem with bananas,
and my wife used to buy a lot of them (and eat 3/4 of those). The
peels, exposed on the surface, seem slow to break down, but inside
the pile, like butter.

if you're worried about pesticides in bananas
harming your compost you could always buy organic
bananas...

i've been worm composting banana peels for years
now and the worms take care of them fairly quickly.
if you bury them in the bins they don't smell or
cause any issues apart from the common sense ones
you'll develop as you learn how to worm compost.

the issues of fermenting and causing problems
would be if you put a huge amount of them in a
very small bin all at once which can overload it.
but if you have that much to do you can refrigerate
it or freeze chunks of it and add it over time to
give the system time to digest it.

my response here to peak demand loads is to
keep enough bins of worms to handle them. so when
Ma decides to make fruit salad for a hundred i
have enough bins to put all the scraps in at one
shot. no smell, no mess, just some time spent
cutting things up so they fit and the worms take
care of it all in a few days or a few weeks/months
depending upon what it is (melon rinds are gone
within days, pineapple tops and cores may take a
few months).


songbird

On Fri, 2 Oct 2015 00:51:53 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Drew Lawson wrote:
...
I've never personally noticed a composting problem with bananas,
and my wife used to buy a lot of them (and eat 3/4 of those). The
peels, exposed on the surface, seem slow to break down, but inside
the pile, like butter.

if you're worried about pesticides in bananas
harming your compost you could always buy organic
bananas...

i've been worm composting banana peels for years
now and the worms take care of them fairly quickly.
if you bury them in the bins they don't smell or
cause any issues apart from the common sense ones
you'll develop as you learn how to worm compost.

the issues of fermenting and causing problems
would be if you put a huge amount of them in a
very small bin all at once which can overload it.
but if you have that much to do you can refrigerate
it or freeze chunks of it and add it over time to
give the system time to digest it.

my response here to peak demand loads is to
keep enough bins of worms to handle them. so when
Ma decides to make fruit salad for a hundred i
have enough bins to put all the scraps in at one
shot. no smell, no mess, just some time spent
cutting things up so they fit and the worms take
care of it all in a few days or a few weeks/months
depending upon what it is (melon rinds are gone
within days, pineapple tops and cores may take a
few months).


songbird

Much of what folks compost over time I compost in less than 24
hours... everything that vegetarian critters eat goes on the lawn in
my back yard... amazing how much kitchen scrap and garden waste deer,
Canada geese, woodchucks, rabbits, and other critters will process
into fertilizer within hours... even meat fat/trimmings are composted;
crows miss nothing. My composter handles what critters won't eat;
coffee grounds, tea bags, onion trimmings, potato parings, citrus,
berry cores, grape stems, and many other items, even shredded paper. I
don't put melon rinds in my composter, during warm weather melon rinds
are a good source of water for many critters, even song birds. Banana
peels take too long to compost and critters won't eat them, those get
tossed into a hedgerow or under a spruce tree where they wither away
but it can take a few years... I don't go through more than a couple
three dozen bananas in a year... over ripe bananas go into baked goods
(muffins) and smoothies. Uh oh, one of my resident composter
families just landed, first place they head is to my office window
where earlier I put out seeds for song birds, I'll put out more seeds
later when the geese move on to their main job of fertilizing several
acres of lawn, mother goose stands guard:
http://i60.tinypic.com/9a4pqf.jpg
They do a great job of organically fertilizing my trees... there's my
composter behind my vegetable garden. This family was born here, they
like that tree because I used to have a small plastic pool the
http://i60.tinypic.com/1zmi35y.jpg
Hey guys, union break is over:
http://i58.tinypic.com/28u75u1.jpg
That's better:
http://i60.tinypic.com/2i08aw3.jpg
Often there'll be over a hundred geese munching away from early light
until sundown... there will be herds of deer too. But most of my
composting is done by building several mountainess brush piles in the
woods... clearing brush here is a never ending job.

On 9/30/2015 12:35 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:

I have always hesitated to use community composts, as many
homeowners allow their grass clippings to be collected and the
insecticide, weed killers and broad herbicides that they use wind
up in there.

Most residential pesticides have fairly short half-lives, generally in
terms of days or weeks, so the typical insecticides and herbicides
applied by homeowners will break down during the composting process.
The more common problem with community compost is the amount of trash
within it, as so many people neglect to remove wire twist ties, plant
markers, etc. when cleaning out their gardens. Communities where
property owners rake their leaves into the gutters for city vacuum
machines to collect and dump also end up with larger bits of trash
sucked up with the leaves, such as can and bottles.

On the bright side, it is still better than no compost at all.

On Mon, 05 Oct 2015 15:56:59 -0500, Moe DeLoughan
wrote:

On 9/30/2015 12:35 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:

I have always hesitated to use community composts, as many
homeowners allow their grass clippings to be collected and the
insecticide, weed killers and broad herbicides that they use wind
up in there.

Most residential pesticides have fairly short half-lives, generally in
terms of days or weeks, so the typical insecticides and herbicides
applied by homeowners will break down during the composting process.
The more common problem with community compost is the amount of trash
within it, as so many people neglect to remove wire twist ties, plant
markers, etc. when cleaning out their gardens. Communities where
property owners rake their leaves into the gutters for city vacuum
machines to collect and dump also end up with larger bits of trash
sucked up with the leaves, such as can and bottles.

On the bright side, it is still better than no compost at all.

A lot of what is mentioned below is only supposed to be used in
commercial settings, but I that doesn't stop stupid or ignorant home
owners from using chems that are not safe and do not break down
easily.

And yes, there is lots of trash in there, too.

https://extension.umd.edu/learn/gard...ost-and-manure

http://www.motherjones.com/environme...s-your-compost

http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sfn/f09Herbicide

I have a small garden and have no problem making enough compost for
it. I do not consider myself any sort of organic freak or woo-woo
gardener and I have certainly used stronger chems at times, but in my
case, I know what they are, how to use them, exactly where in the
garden I have used them and I know what can and cannot go near the
compost.

It isn't loony chemical aversion that stops me from using community
compost, it is dummies.

When it comes to the chemical side of bananas it is what chemicals were
used, sprayed or otherwise introduced that are long term toxic and
illegal in many countries.

A small banana farmer may not be too concerned about safety over
quantity. It may mean the difference between thriving and surviving.