"Spider" wrote:


"Terry Pinnell" wrote in message
.. .
A friend told me recently that you shouldn't put banana skins into the
compost box, as they take many years to degrade. Was he correct
please? We've been including them for a long time and I'm sure we've
not seen any recognisable ex-bananas in our resultant compost.

[Compostible? Compostable? My OED doesn't tell me.]

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

It's compostable, Terry. Easy to remember: "able to compost".
Yes, of course you can compost bananas. I've been doing it for years and
never (in 27 years) had a problem. You can also bury them under flowering
trees or shrubs, as they're very high in potash.

If you want to worry that they've been sprayed with something noxious, then
the argument that they take a long time to break down negates itself, as the
noxious substance would also have degraded in that time. However, I find,
as you do, that there's so recognisable skin left after a normal (cold)
composting period.

Some people just need something to worry about. Somehow, composting and
neurosis don't fit together very well. Composters are, by nature,
down-to-earth people.

Spider


Many thanks for all the replies. Banana composting duly resumed!

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

On Jul 11, 4:07 pm, Zhang DaWei wrote:
On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:38:37 -0700 (PDT), "Cat(h)"

wrote:
I haven't made bread in quite some time - more's the pity, as it is
quite lovely. I particularly like making Irish brown soda bread.

My biggest problem with home-made bread is that it is too nice, and
so, unless we exert even more willpower, we all end up eating more of
it. Some of us with profiles already like a beach ball because of
chronic illness issues cannot afford to put on even more weight. So,
to remove all chance of temptation, I tend to just make special bread
for special occasions.
--
Zhang Dawei: Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Please use the Reply-To
field. The email address given there is guaranteed to
work for two weeks from the date of this message.

Where have you been? Have you been ill, we haven't seen you here for
a while, welcome back.

Judith

"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
On Jul 10, 5:59 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:


A friend of mine is single with a very busy and largely unpredictable
life.

She slices a loaf, wraps a day's worth of slices in cling film and freezes
them. She then takes out what she needs and because it's such a small
amount
it thaws rapidly. That way she never wastes any.

Sometime a loaf lasts us - two old folk - three or four days but it's
never
thrown away, it's always edible. But I do make our bread :-)

Mary

Your friend and you are obviously far better organised than my other
half and I :-)
I haven't made bread in quite some time - more's the pity, as it is
quite lovely. I particularly like making Irish brown soda bread. As
soon as my new kitchen is in, I must go back to my old good habits.
And try to get a little more organised, and a little less wasteful :-)
Do mid-year resolutions count?

No idea, I don't make any resolutions.

I make bread because it's easier than buying it. And better. And less
expensive. And it needs less organising :-)

Mary

Cat(h)

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
On Jul 10, 5:59 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:

A friend of mine is single with a very busy and largely unpredictable
life.

She slices a loaf, wraps a day's worth of slices in cling film and freezes
them. She then takes out what she needs and because it's such a small
amount
it thaws rapidly. That way she never wastes any.

Sometime a loaf lasts us - two old folk - three or four days but it's
never
thrown away, it's always edible. But I do make our bread :-)

Mary

Your friend and you are obviously far better organised than my other
half and I :-)
I haven't made bread in quite some time - more's the pity, as it is
quite lovely. I particularly like making Irish brown soda bread. As
soon as my new kitchen is in, I must go back to my old good habits.

Mary,

Could I trouble you for the recipe for the Irish bread? My mother used to
make it regularly, but I've never found the right recipe in the many books
of hand written ones she left... Maybe you've got it!

-E

In article ,
says...
A friend told me recently that you shouldn't put banana skins into the
compost box, as they take many years to degrade. Was he correct
please? We've been including them for a long time and I'm sure we've
not seen any recognisable ex-bananas in our resultant compost.

[Compostible? Compostable? My OED doesn't tell me.]


I find that they are one of the fastest things to degrade. I
toss in about one per day.


--
Get Credit Where Credit Is Due
http://www.cardreport.com/
Credit Tools, Reference, and Forum

"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
On Jul 10, 5:59 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:

A friend of mine is single with a very busy and largely unpredictable
life.

She slices a loaf, wraps a day's worth of slices in cling film and
freezes
them. She then takes out what she needs and because it's such a small
amount
it thaws rapidly. That way she never wastes any.

Sometime a loaf lasts us - two old folk - three or four days but it's
never
thrown away, it's always edible. But I do make our bread :-)

Mary

Your friend and you are obviously far better organised than my other
half and I :-)
I haven't made bread in quite some time - more's the pity, as it is
quite lovely. I particularly like making Irish brown soda bread. As
soon as my new kitchen is in, I must go back to my old good habits.

Mary,

Could I trouble you for the recipe for the Irish bread? My mother used to
make it regularly, but I've never found the right recipe in the many books
of hand written ones she left... Maybe you've got it!

I don't make soda bread, somone else mentioned it. We don't like it here.
Well, that is, none of the ones we've tried. I once (twenty years ago at
least) had a memorable meal at the Deer Park near Antrim, with sea food, the
wheaten soda bread there was excellent, never had any like it though.

Sorry,

Mary

-E

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
On Jul 10, 5:59 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
[]
I haven't made bread in quite some time - more's the pity, as it is
quite lovely. I particularly like making Irish brown soda bread. As
soon as my new kitchen is in, I must go back to my old good habits.
Mary,

Could I trouble you for the recipe for the Irish bread? My mother used to
make it regularly, but I've never found the right recipe in the many books
of hand written ones she left... Maybe you've got it!

I don't make soda bread, somone else mentioned it. We don't like it here.
Well, that is, none of the ones we've tried. I once (twenty years ago at
least) had a memorable meal at the Deer Park near Antrim, with sea food, the
wheaten soda bread there was excellent, never had any like it though.


Well, thanks for the note, and I tracked down the attribution. It was
Cat(h),
so, Cathy, may I trouble you for this recipe? My thanks in advance...

-E

Coffee's For Closers wrote:

In article ,
says...

A friend told me recently that you shouldn't put banana skins into the
compost box, as they take many years to degrade. Was he correct
please?

They certainly don't take years to decompose.

I find that they are one of the fastest things to degrade. I
toss in about one per day.

Yes - if it's a bit damp, I'm always amazed how quickly they sometimes
disappear just left on the soil surface as mulch around roses etc. You
can get left with a little pile of dried up banana stalks

Peter

You certainly aren't using the OED (abbreviation for the multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary), Terry. I have the online Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, which gives 'compostable', but doesn't recognize 'compostible'. You probably have one of the smaller Oxford dictionaries, such as the Concise. Hope that answers your question.

Roger Cooper