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Organic Gardening

Using old market veggies and fruits for compost

17 years ago

While driving by a roadside market I noticed a trailer-full of old produce and wondered if I could use them for my landscaping compost needs. I would love to use them in my garden but am afraid of the pesticide residue. What's the lastest on pesticide breakdown in compost? It's about 300 lbs. of produce for free!

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Comments (5)

good_gardening1
17 years ago
My answer is yes!

A very enthusiastic yes!

The studies I have read have shown that composting breaks down and eliminates pesticide residue.

I would caution you to be sure that you have a huge amount of browns available to off-set the green of the produce before you get started. Approx twice as much as you have in greens.

Otherwise you will have a smelly mess.

I composted 350lbs of old pears last year with great success.
lam702
17 years ago
I throw all my "greens" in the compost pile, old bananas, wilting lettuce, etc. Of course, these are small amounts compared to what you're talking about. But, I like to recycle as much as possible. Although, whenever I throw fruit out there, it never gets a chance to compost, because the little creatures of the night make it dissappear. They especially like watermelon, they'll clean that rind so there's not a trace of pink. I don't mind, they probably add fertilzer while they're snacking. Although, my husband tells me that's probably why we have the woodchuck problem, I am leaving too many edibles in the compost pile.
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Spokaneannie, I'm in Olympia. I lost my garden and orchard to divorce. Now I make do with a tiny patch of illicitly converted lawn barely big enough for a few head of lettuce and some peas or beans. This year I am trying potatoes in chicken wire baskets. I live in a rental, on glacial gravelly till, in a neighborhood overrun with raccoons and norway rats. Hard to keep them out of the garden, even with 2 dogs actively patrolling. Anyone see the NatGeo special on urban raccoons?? that was us, westside Olympia. I could take care of them pretty quickly if this weren't a no shooting zone ... but the neighbors think they're cute and leave out food for them. Though I must say the rats are more destructive to the garden as they burrow under fencing that keeps raccoons at bay. We'll see if I get any potatoes or strawberries. The soil is poor for growing most edibles anyway, and the summers too cool. Best growing crop around here is Doug fir, and you can't eat that; but it likes the gravelly soil and dry summers and it's native. Greens and peas and berries grow very well in better soil but you can only eat so much of those. Fruit trees can do well enough, but the landlady doesn't want me planting trees so I have dwarf peach and apples in pots. And anyway I wouldn't be here long enough to harvest anything off trees I planted. We do have a farmer's market here in Oly, and another one in Lacey, but it's kinda hard for me to get to because of its limited hours. Also the Oly one limits produce to that grown in WA so no citrus. We get to-die-for tree fruits from Yakima, and local berries and greens, and root crops from the Skokomish and Chehalis Valleys where the soil is decent, and nuts and kiwis from Morton. But they're only open a few days a week, not at all in winter, and they close at 3pm. how's a working person to shop there?? I don't do errands on weekends, I save those for adventures; and going to the farmer's market does not count.
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IMO it depends on how and what is modified. Trying to make plants resistant to one companies pesticides and have that same company manufacture the seeds isnt really fair, as well as that company suing farmers for "copyright" basically because of nature spreading pollen. Now look at oregon and the fiasco going on about that GMO wheat that escaped. This is the last thing that should happen in regards to genetics, especially when the products are released without any viable long term studies. Im not saying GMO shouldnt be studied or that it doesnt open up a large window of advancement for us. So far it has not solved any problems at all, if anything its caused more problems. If it were used to created drought resistant plants, or help cold tolerance, yeild (not by surviving chemicals, i mean all around survival). Lets face it, being able to grow peaches in most of canada would make a huge difference on food availability, or even pushing it to the max, and using to to make cold hardy oil palms. The problems with all GMO, is the same problems monsanto is facing; How do we stop the plants from spreading, or contaminating natural stock? How do we stop those GMO genes from entering nature? I think thats the big problem - we would have to create 100% infertile plants, or pollenless plants (which can still revert), and in that case that basically makes doing this with fruit trees pointless. GMO foods are a long way away from saving us, or even bypassing evolution. IF anything it would be better to spend the time and money to better refining genetic techniques first, such as reviving the exting passenger pigeon, a bird that was extremely valuable to the eastern forests.
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I'd put some shredded paper, leaves, or cardboard in with every bucket of kitchen waste that is added to the cold container. When it thaws in the spring, the browns will really help give carbon energy to all the organisms and help the composting process. Easier to add browns now as you go along than trying to mix it in the block of frozen kitchen scraps in the spring. Mold is okay in compost, but too heavy nitrogen/green ratio and you will get slime/mucky/odor with the thaw. Of course that can be corrected later with adding browns, but adding browns through the winter will help prevent that.
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Hi Everyone, I get a newsletter from Roots Market/Nest/Bark/Great Sage and this was posted today. "Roots Olney is looking for a local farmer or gardener with their own truck to pick up a substantial amount of compostable organic fruit and vegetable trimmings and waste from our fabulous produce department every Monday. If youÂre looking to supplement your compost pile Â give us a call! For more information, contact Kate OÂNeill or Hilary Craig at 301-744-1344." Newt
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led_zep_rules
17 years ago
I have been picking up loads of old produce from a nearby stand for almost 2 years, about once every 2 weeks. I have looked into this and supposedly after you compost the stuff you don't need to worry about what it was sprayed with, it will break down. Remember these things are supposed to be edible in the first place. There is a danger from some kind of herbicide or pesticide in grass clippings, something that doesn't break down in composting, but produce should be safe. I do get tired of taking the little plastic stickers off oranges and other fruits, I wish they would make them all from paper.

This year I didn't have many leaves stored, so especially when it rained a lot my compost smelled awful for a while. I am thinking about starting some huge compost piles in chicken wire or some kind of fencing and layering produce with wood chips, and letting it just sit for a long time.

Marcia
byron
17 years ago
Can you find a pickup load of sawdust or shavings?
mercury12
17 years ago
Great question, good answers. I have been pondering about pesticide residues and was going to ask it in the composting forum

Helen

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