There is debate about composting potato peels. Knowing how to compost potato peels helps boost the quality of your finished compost and keeps valuable green matter from going down the garbage disposal.
The primary concerns with using potatoes to make compost are the spread of a fungal disease called potato blight and the potential for new potato plants to grow in the compost. Luckily, both outcomes are easily avoided by employing proper composting methods and taking good care of your pile or bin.
So, can you compost potato peels? Their popularity means they contribute significantly to food waste. Composting your potato peels and other waste potatoes, such as leftover mashed or cooked potato side dishes, is perfectly safe and advisable. Instead of sending your potato peels to the landfill or putting them down the disposal, you can compost vegetable waste in your compost pile.
Everything to Know About Composting Potato Peels
Potatoes are a staple food. They’re affordable, filling, and nutrient-dense. Can you compost potato peels? Potatoes and their peelings are loaded with nutrients like nitrogen and magnesium to help plants grow.
Though rumor states composting potato peels might spread blight, proper techniques prevent the problem. Learning how to compost potato peels lets you enrich your finished compost and lower household food waste.
What Is Composting?
Composting is an environmentally sound method for producing free organic fertilizer and reducing global food waste. A compost pile or bin repurposes vegetable scraps for green material into finished compost to enrich the soil to grow flowers or food.
Rather than sending your potato peels down the garbage disposal, it’s uncomplicated to recycle them via composting. Composting green and brown waste like leftover cooked potato dishes and even a used paper towel creates something useful out of waste items.
Can You Compost Potato Peels?
Can potato peels be composted? The answer has seen some debate between seasoned growers and composters. So, are potato peels good for compost? Thanks to their nutrients, sweet potato and potato peelings are a valuable addition to a compost heap or worm farm.
Though potatoes are organic material, some hesitate to include them on the compost pile for fear of potato blight. Certain composters are reluctant to compost potato skins as they fear a potato tuber sprouting to grow potato plants in the compost bin.
Fortunately, potato peel is safe to compost. It will not spread fungal disease or sprout if you follow the correct composting technique.
Potato Products to Compost
Composting is often associated with grass clippings and kitchen scraps such as leftover carrot, onion peel, and banana peels. According to the Idaho Potato Commission, potatoes are rich in nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, making it an excellent idea to put potato peels in compost.
Several potato dishes are prepared with garlic powder, sea salt, and olive oil. Since all these are organic matter, they don’t interfere with the food’s ability to decompose in your composter.
How to Compost Potato Peels
Blight is a fungus that affects the growth of potato and tomato plants. Potato blight spores overwinter on living plant tissue to persist from one year to the next. Whole potatoes and their skins may spread potato blight, so some people hesitate to introduce potato peels to compost heaps.
Fortunately, taking a few straightforward steps makes it easy to compost potato peelings while preventing blight spread. Blight fungus may be found in store-bought potatoes. Avoid composting potatoes with blight symptoms, such as yellow patches or dark tubers.
To stop the eyes on the peel from sprouting, bury potato peels deeply in compost piles. Ensure your compost pile has enough air, water, and green and brown material. Consistently moisten the compost pile, and turn once every few weeks.
By taking these steps, you assist the composter in remaining active and producing enough heat to destroy fungus spores or developing tubers.
Composting is a responsible technique for reducing food waste and living more sustainably. Multiple foods are valuable for including in your home composter, including potatoes. Take the necessary steps to keep your composter working efficiently, and add potato peels confidently. Correct management makes composting potato peels completely safe.
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