Compost Question

[Tin Monkey]

Does anyone here make their own compost i.e. kitchen waste, garden waste, etc? I was just wondering if you put tomato plants in your compost bin?

I've started composting this year and I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can't put tomato plants in your compost bin, but I wanted to check on other people's real experiences. I'm not ready to chop down my tomato plants yet, but when I do, it will be a shame to just dump them in the waste bin and not the compost bin.

Any experienced composters out there?

[flashy]

i started composting at the beginning of the year TM, i dont know about the tomato plant thing BUT what i have been told is that if you compost the compost that you have used from growing spuds or tomato's (they come from the same family) you CAN NOT use the compost again for growing spuds or tomato's, David1 will tell you all the in's and outs of it, he's very good with growing things and the do's and donts of composting

[Tin Monkey]

Thanks Flashy. I'll wait for him to come along

[Retlaw]

I've been composting for over 40 years, and never put potato or Tomato stems or leaves in the composters.

Potato blight & other diseases, also affects tomato plants and any spores don't seem to die.

If you look at Tomato stems after all the Toms have been picked the will appear brown, dusty and rotten. I sterilise the greenhouse and all the pots with Jeyes fluid every spring, and never use the same growing medium again for spuds or tomato's

Burn them.

Retlaw.

[pipinfort]

Welcome

I get my info from here, personally i would, we compost allsorts and it always turns out great, although we don`t use it for growing veg in, just mulching in winter and mix a bit in with our plants in spring, i still buy compost its just that it saves all that waste food going to landfill and it really all adds up.

[pipinfort]

Fruit & veg waste, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grinds, bits of paper & cardboard, wood based cat litter, leaves and a little grass and hedge trimmings.............all goes in the compost bin , mix it up and come spring/summer we have some very rich looking compost. loke i said i don`t use it for growing veg but it works for me,

[Tin Monkey]

Thanks for the input. What Retlaw says backs up what I read and makes perfect sense. If you compost diseased plants the chances are your compost will carry the disease too.

I do compost most other things on your list PF, but I'll give the tomato plants a miss.

[West Ender]

I compost all uncooked kitchen fruit and vegetable waste, teabags, crushed eggshells and torn up uncoloured cardboard (toilet roll middles, egg boxes etc.). From the garden, I use grass cuttings and weeds but I've never composted tomato plants because they can be toxic to other plants. I don't put woody clippings in my compost bin, either, but they go in my Green Bin - Warrington B C has shredders, I don't.

[Retlaw]

To make good compost you need five things.

1) a good compost bin, preferably with a door at the bottom.
2) a spade full of good soil to start it off, full of friendly bacteria.
3) worms, they are what really make the compost.
4) small quantity of garden lime every two or three layers.
5) uncooked kitchen waste, loads of it.

All worms I find in the garden are put in the composters, the more the merrier.
Don't put twiggy clippings in, or the stems from Brussel sprouts, they take ages to compost, not worth the trouble, leaves and grass cutting have very little goodness in them, and are in a separate composter.

Retlaw.

[West Ender]

There's one other ingredient that makes excellent compost - human urine - it adds moisture and it contains nitrogen. What's more, it costs nothing and there's always a plentiful supply.

[Bonnyboy]

I only started composting the other year and didn’t know not to chuck spud peelings in or tomatoes. In fact I was not aware until I read this thread.

This year I have 2 tomato plants coming up and a couple of little spud plants as well. What do I do now ? Should I chuck the compost I already have in the bin or just carry on but not put such things in again ?

[West Ender]

I put potato peelings in mine and tomatoes are fine. It's just the plants they grow on that aren't so good for the heap.

[Bonnyboy]

Originally Posted by West Ender

I put potato peelings in mine and tomatoes are fine. It's just the plants they grow on that aren't so good for the heap.

Ok doke, will be more careful over what I put in...Thanks

[david1]

It is best to leave potatoes and tomatoes out of the heap , Retlaw is correct , it will pass on deseases to other plants.

[Bonnyboy]

Will make sure I don't do it again, seemed a good idea at the time