In article ,
Frogleg writes:
| On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 20:10:39 -0000, "Trevor Tyrrell"
| wrote:
|
| I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not meat!)
|
| Why is this - what difference could it make?
|
| I have a vegetarian compost pile. That is, only raw veg and fruit
| trimmings, coffee grounds, rinsed&crushed eggshells, etc. (plus the
| other usual non-food items). I don't add any cooked or prepared food
| leftovers unless they contain no butter, oil, salt, (salad dressing)
| because I don't want any grease or salt in my compost. Except for the
| first day after I put out a canteloupe rind, the pile is virtually
| odor-free.

Well, I put turkey carcases, food beyond even my tolerance on date,
fish skins, old cooking oil, dead rats and an old duvet on mine, and
the same applies to it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Robert) wrote:

One good reason is that it can attract rats

How did rats survive before the cooker was invented?

Back then, rats were strict raw-food vegetarians, wore beards, and
used only natural undyed materials of vegetable origin for their nests.

Janet

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 20:10:39 -0000, "Trevor Tyrrell"
wrote:

I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not meat!)

Why is this - what difference could it make?

I have a vegetarian compost pile. That is, only raw veg and fruit
trimmings, coffee grounds, rinsed&crushed eggshells, etc. (plus the
other usual non-food items). I don't add any cooked or prepared food
leftovers unless they contain no butter, oil, salt, (salad dressing)
because I don't want any grease or salt in my compost. Except for the
first day after I put out a canteloupe rind, the pile is virtually
odor-free.

In article ,
Frogleg writes:
| On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 20:10:39 -0000, "Trevor Tyrrell"
| wrote:
|
| I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not meat!)
|
| Why is this - what difference could it make?
|
| I have a vegetarian compost pile. That is, only raw veg and fruit
| trimmings, coffee grounds, rinsed&crushed eggshells, etc. (plus the
| other usual non-food items). I don't add any cooked or prepared food
| leftovers unless they contain no butter, oil, salt, (salad dressing)
| because I don't want any grease or salt in my compost. Except for the
| first day after I put out a canteloupe rind, the pile is virtually
| odor-free.

Well, I put turkey carcases, food beyond even my tolerance on date,
fish skins, old cooking oil, dead rats and an old duvet on mine, and
the same applies to it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Robert) wrote:

One good reason is that it can attract rats

How did rats survive before the cooker was invented?

Back then, rats were strict raw-food vegetarians, wore beards, and
used only natural undyed materials of vegetable origin for their nests.

Janet

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Robert) wrote:

One good reason is that it can attract rats

How did rats survive before the cooker was invented?

Back then, rats were strict raw-food vegetarians, wore beards, and
used only natural undyed materials of vegetable origin for their nests.

Janet

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Robert) wrote:

One good reason is that it can attract rats

How did rats survive before the cooker was invented?

Back then, rats were strict raw-food vegetarians, wore beards, and
used only natural undyed materials of vegetable origin for their nests.

Janet

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Robert) wrote:

One good reason is that it can attract rats

How did rats survive before the cooker was invented?

Back then, rats were strict raw-food vegetarians, wore beards, and
used only natural undyed materials of vegetable origin for their nests.

Janet

The message
from Frogleg contains these words:

I have a vegetarian compost pile. That is, only raw veg and fruit
trimmings, coffee grounds, rinsed&crushed eggshells, etc. (plus the
other usual non-food items). I don't add any cooked or prepared food
leftovers unless they contain no butter, oil, salt, (salad dressing)
because I don't want any grease or salt in my compost.(snip)

Why do you go to such lengths to eliminate salt and grease from your
compost? There are natural oils in many plants and natural salts in many
soils, so I reckon naturally formed humus/compost/soil must contain
both. Going by the state of my windows, the soil on this island must get
drenched in sea salt all winter but remains very fertile :-)

Janet.(Isle of Arran)

In article ,
Janet Baraclough.. writes:
|
| Why do you go to such lengths to eliminate salt and grease from your
| compost? There are natural oils in many plants and natural salts in many
| soils, so I reckon naturally formed humus/compost/soil must contain
| both. Going by the state of my windows, the soil on this island must get
| drenched in sea salt all winter but remains very fertile :-)

This goes back to the old saw of sowing land with salt to render
it infertile. In a location where evaporation exceeds precipitation,
that works. However, in the UK, precipitation exceeds evaporation
everywhere, and by a considerable margin in your case :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 20:22:38 +0000 (UTC), "Robert"
wrote:

: I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not
: meat!)

One good reason is that it can attract rats and another is that it all
settles into a 'mush' that does not allow air in for the proper composting
to occur

OTOH a womery will quite happily take all the cooked food, hoover bags
etc. that you can throw at it. Not either/or but both/and?
Derek

The message
from Frogleg contains these words:

I have a vegetarian compost pile. That is, only raw veg and fruit
trimmings, coffee grounds, rinsed&crushed eggshells, etc. (plus the
other usual non-food items). I don't add any cooked or prepared food
leftovers unless they contain no butter, oil, salt, (salad dressing)
because I don't want any grease or salt in my compost.(snip)

Why do you go to such lengths to eliminate salt and grease from your
compost? There are natural oils in many plants and natural salts in many
soils, so I reckon naturally formed humus/compost/soil must contain
both. Going by the state of my windows, the soil on this island must get
drenched in sea salt all winter but remains very fertile :-)

Janet.(Isle of Arran)

"Trevor Tyrrell" wrote in message
news:4kL2c.3018$54.1804@newsfe1-win...
I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not
meat!)

Why is this - what difference could it make?

Thanks


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The issue of what and what not to compost is more a question of rodent
attraction than quality of compost
If your compost bins are solid and rodent proof then theres no reason why
you cant compost everything
If not then make a worm bin from a plastic dustbin with a tight lid because
in 10 years rodents have not eaten into mine which are fed with every single
kitchen scrap going cooked or uncooked including meat /bones/fish etc

In article ,
Janet Baraclough.. writes:
|
| Why do you go to such lengths to eliminate salt and grease from your
| compost? There are natural oils in many plants and natural salts in many
| soils, so I reckon naturally formed humus/compost/soil must contain
| both. Going by the state of my windows, the soil on this island must get
| drenched in sea salt all winter but remains very fertile :-)

This goes back to the old saw of sowing land with salt to render
it infertile. In a location where evaporation exceeds precipitation,
that works. However, in the UK, precipitation exceeds evaporation
everywhere, and by a considerable margin in your case :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 20:22:38 +0000 (UTC), "Robert"
wrote:

: I've been told not to compost cooked food (vegetables - obviously not
: meat!)

One good reason is that it can attract rats and another is that it all
settles into a 'mush' that does not allow air in for the proper composting
to occur

OTOH a womery will quite happily take all the cooked food, hoover bags
etc. that you can throw at it. Not either/or but both/and?
Derek