One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

Wally

"Wally" wrote in message
...
One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

Wally

They contain oxalic acid which breaks down in the heap. Perfectly safe.
Pete C

"Wally" wrote in message
...
One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

Wally



Heard it. Ignored it. Nothing wrong with our compost
http://www.myalbum.com/Album=A7TCLLF7

Nothing wrong with our garden http://www.myalbum.com/Album=MUKLG34Q

Mike


--

....................................
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
....................................

Heard it. Ignored it. Nothing wrong with our compost
http://www.myalbum.com/Album=A7TCLLF7

Nothing wrong with our garden http://www.myalbum.com/Album=MUKLG34Q

Mike



Thank you Pete C and Mike

Wally

Wally wrote:
One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

We do it all the time, never had a problem.

On Thu, 12 May 2011 20:29:06 +0100, "Pete C"
wrote:

They contain oxalic acid which breaks down in the heap. Perfectly safe.
Pete C

As for putting stuff on the compost heap, ref Monty's compost heaps,
he said on GW, that the ratio of paper to green leaf ?
I thought he said 20 to one , do you think he meant to say 20% ?

Thanks

"Derek" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 12 May 2011 20:29:06 +0100, "Pete C"
wrote:

They contain oxalic acid which breaks down in the heap. Perfectly safe.
Pete C

As for putting stuff on the compost heap, ref Monty's compost heaps,
he said on GW, that the ratio of paper to green leaf ?
I thought he said 20 to one , do you think he meant to say 20% ?

Thanks

20% I doubt if we put that much in.

You can see some of our shreddings in http://www.myalbum.com/Album=A7TCLLF7

20 to 1?

Mike

--

....................................
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
....................................

On 12/05/2011 18:52, Wally wrote:
One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

Yes. It is complete rubbish. Rhubarb leaves thrown on top make a great
temporary cover to keep water in the heap in the summer. They are
poisonous to animals because of the oxalic acid content but that isn't a
problem for a compost heap. Bacteria and fungi don't care.

Regards,
Martin Brown

The slugs in my garden seem to love eating my rhubarb leaves so the oxalic acid is either not affecting them or it must be the variety of Rhubarb I have. Does anyone else have slug damage on thier Rhubarb? I have not seen it on other Rhubarb patches before.

However, I have always put the leaves on the compost for years without any problems.

Regards

Steve

"Wally" wrote in message
...
One of my fellow allotment holders has told
me that I shouldn't put rhubarb leaves on the
compost heap but he can't tell me why.
Has anyone thoughts on this and is it true and
if so for what reason ??

I always put rhubarn leaves on my compost heap. but whether it does any harm
I have no idea!

Alan



Wally