Compost Mythbusters

Myth #1: You can't compost animal products

Well, I'm here to tell you that you can indeed compost animal products.  Look at this beautiful blue fin tuna head.  It came from Manresa, and would have ended up in the dumpster had it been at just about any other restaurant.  But here at Love Apple Farm, we take all the fish waste back to the garden and compost it.  This tuna head was gigantic; it's hard to get a proper perspective on its size, but if you check out the head of romaine lettuce next to it, you can appreciate how big it was.

You can compost animal carcasses as well.  I was initially appalled at this revelation when Harald Hoven, my professor at the Rudolph Steiner College explained how they regularly put road kill carcasses in their biodynamic compost piles.  But after helping the class turn a pile that had six months before contained eight dead opossums, I became a believer.  The only discernible residue of the opossums in the now perfectly black and crumbly compost was small bones and skulls.  Harald explained how they sprinkle a good handful of lime on the carcass to help get the decomposition started.

I haven't quite got up the nerve yet to compost any dead animals, mostly because the restaurant keeps us in a pretty steady stream of fish parts.  We keep my dogs and the marauding racoons out of the fish-infused piles by making sure there is plenty of plant waste put immediately on top of and around the stinky bits.  Once enough plant residue is properly layered on the fish and then compacted down by stomping on the pile (more on that later), the decaying fish smell isn't noticeable to humans.  As far as the curious critters are concerned, I further ensure they don't dig up the pile by having high wire sides to it, and covering it with a tarp.

Fish products in the compost pile make  extra nutritious finished compost.  You all know the benefits of fish emulsion on plant growth; it's very high in nitrogen.  Having the decomposed fish in the compost just adds another healthy element to this all-important soil amendment.  And let me tell you, the quality of Manresa's seafood scraps couldn't possibly be any better.  They indeed help us grow better vegetables.

Stay tuned for more compost myths debunked this week.

Comments

[Baroque]

Awesome tuna head! Did the restaurant carve out the cheeks? I heard the cheeks are full of flavor!

[Love Apple Farm]

Yes, the chef carved out the gills, but I really don't know why. I'll have to ask him. I'll let you know!

[Bob Bowe]

Cynthia,

OK, I know a composter is the next garden step for me. Can you recommend a composter that's cheaper then the $499. I don't want to be cheap but I also don't need or want to be extravagant (It's my CFO training). This also has to have some Better Homes & Garden appeal for my wife.

I also enjoyed your post on preparing the beds. Can you recommend a store near Saratoga where I can buy these ingredients?

Cheers,

Bob Bowe

[Walter Jeffries]

We compost dead animals, including larger ones. Works fine. Be patient. Add lots of carbon - I use wood chips, shavings, saw dust and hay. Mix in some dirt. Don't turn the pile. Just let it sit. In a year or two there is virtually nothing to find of the dead body - just rich black soil. The biggest animal we've composted to date was a sow that fell through the ice in the winter - probably 500 or 600 lbs.

One trick is we use pallets to form the walls of our compost pile. Stick a 2x4 between them and tie them together at the edges with wire. This lets the pile breath better and keeps it more ovoid rather than pyramidal. That provides for better, more even heating and thus composition.

[marcy]

hello. i would like to try the wire composter but we get visited by snakes during the summer. would this attract them more?

[Love Apple Farm]

Marcy: I don't know about snakes in your neck of the woods. Our compost piles do not attract snakes, just dogs and raccoons. The sides of the compost pile are built up high to keep them out.

[Jon]

Cynthia,
Do you put cooked seasoned food waste (scrap from blanched veg. ie. fava skins, Meat scraps, etc.) in your compost? I heard it might be bad to put things that contain lots of salt in the pile. Myth?