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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Broccoli plants in compost bin?

14 years ago

I am pulling my broccoli plants out of my garden, is it ok to put them in the compost bin? I have heard you are not supposed to plant broccoli in the same spot 2 yrs in a row, so I wanted to make sure I can put the entire plant, roots and all in the compost bin??

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Comments (5)

jbann23
14 years ago
It'll compost fine. By the time you use that compost it won't be broccoli any more.
Kimmsr
14 years ago
Always put any garden debris into your compost pile, along with any other organic matter you can get. Those Broccoli plants grew in your garden soil and took nutrients from that soil and if you compost them those nutrients will end up back in your soil, eventually. If you toss them out in your trash you will never get those nutreints back.
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michelelc
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you! That's what I thought, but I'm new to both gardening and composting, so I thought I'd check. I'll also add some of my first batch of finished compost to the garden after I take out the broccoli!
toxcrusadr
14 years ago
When people start suggesting to do this or never do that, I always ask them if they know why. Usually they don't.
flora_uk
14 years ago
You might want to smash up the stems a bit, maybe with a hammer or mallet. They take longer to rot down than the leaves and breaking them up a bit helps. But if you don't it doesn't matter. They'll rot eventually anyway.

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