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Compost Here and There

By rebeccag
August 14, 2011

You can "spot compost" if you do not want to deal with a compost area. Just take your potato peelings, coffee grounds, etc, dig a small hole with a shovel, stick them in, then cover them. They will compost nicely and you will have no mess or flies.

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Aug 13, 2011 6:09 PM CST
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Name: Lynn
Oregon City, OR (Zone 8b)
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I love this tip. I used to do this many years ago. Not sure when/why I quit. Now I will go back to doing it. Thank you so much for the wake up call Shelly. : )
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Aug 13, 2011 6:25 PM CST
Name: Becky (Boo)
Phoenix, AZ 85022
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I agree Thanks Rebecca for a good tip. I've never done this with anything but coffee grounds.
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Aug 13, 2011 7:10 PM CST
Name: Susie
Phoenix AZ (Zone 9a)
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This how I compost. It works fine. The consistent issue I've had with composting in this manner is that the nearby tree roots are very intelligent and find their way very quickly to the pile. They "know" the nutrients are located there. Happens every time for me. Once I located my in-ground compost pile away from known trees. STILL the roots found their way to the pile.
Sure is easy though!
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Aug 13, 2011 8:45 PM CST
Name: Sheila F
Fort Worth TX (Zone 8a)
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Bet you have worms in all your flower beds too Rebecca! Thumbs up
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Aug 13, 2011 10:27 PM CST
Name: Margaret
Near Kamloops, BC, Canada (Zone 3a)
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If I did that here I would have bears in mine!! Hilarious!
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Aug 13, 2011 10:34 PM CST
Name: Shelly
Colorado (Zone 5b)
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After I took the picture, I of course left the goodies there. Big Grin

I (sort of) hate to admit I hadn't tried this type of composting before. I'm not too sure why. Whistling But now I am ready to "take on" this type of composting. Thank you for the tip Rebecca!
"You may not be responsible for getting knocked down, but you're certainly responsible for getting back up."


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Aug 14, 2011 12:24 AM CST
Name: Sharon
Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)
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Great tip, Rebecca. My roses love this.
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Aug 14, 2011 12:34 AM CST
Name: Susie
Phoenix AZ (Zone 9a)
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I think the roses like a banana peel every now and then... my momma told me.
“Don't give up too quickly"... unknown, I heard it somewhere.
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Aug 14, 2011 1:23 AM CST
Name: Sharon
Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)
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Yep, they get that too, Susie. Well fed roses.
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Aug 14, 2011 3:35 AM CST
Name: Vicki
North Carolina
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Roses love the banana peels, egg shells, and coffee grounds Thumbs up
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Aug 14, 2011 5:41 AM CST
Name: Dahlianut
Calgary, AB Zone 3a
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Fabby tip rebeccag Thumbs up
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Aug 14, 2011 11:17 AM CST
Name: Ginger
Fountain, Florida (Zone 8b)
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When I make salad I always have at least two sets of doggie eyeballs begging...what they don't get I toss in the yard for the critters. And last night I discovered that Onyx (lab/chow mix) likes orange peels! So as much as I'd like to compost, I'd probably end up with a riot on my hands Rolling on the floor laughing
Each cloud has a silver lineing if only you look for it.
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Aug 14, 2011 1:02 PM CST
Name: Rebecca Gardner
Gold Beach, Oregon (Zone 9a)
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My uncle gets all the fish debris from the local fish place. He puts it in a ditch and its not covered. My daughters dog gets into it and she gets a bath, he also has his own set of pet vultures. I am so glad I do not live close to him, he is 87 so the nieghbors just let him do what he does.

I do the spot compost but when my garden is full, its hard to find a spot. So sometimes I just do a narrow trench around the edges. I do have a lot of worms because I get all the coffee grounds from the big bookstore/coffee shop we have. I get 6 full bags a week, more if its a holiday and I spread it everywhere. Sometimes I just put a thin layer of coffee on the grass and the next day its bright green. Coffee has a lot of nitrogen in it. I like my worms to be full of coffee and work long, hard hours, from the caffiene buzz.
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Aug 14, 2011 1:56 PM CST
Name: Sharon
Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)
Charter ATP Member Houseplants Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
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Becca, would you show us that heather picture here? It is unbelievable. Do your heathers like eggshells and coffee grounds too?
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Aug 14, 2011 2:11 PM CST
Name: Shelly
Colorado (Zone 5b)
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rebeccag said: I like my worms to be full of coffee and work long, hard hours, from the caffiene buzz.


Thumbs up Picturing FAST little workers! Big Grin
"You may not be responsible for getting knocked down, but you're certainly responsible for getting back up."


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Aug 14, 2011 3:45 PM CST
Name: Linda
SE Houston, Tx. (Hobby) (Zone 9a)
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Just make sure your hole is deep enough that when you cover your scraps no smells are seeping out, or you WILL have animals digging it up...
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Aug 14, 2011 4:35 PM CST
Name: Rebecca Gardner
Gold Beach, Oregon (Zone 9a)
Charter ATP Member Garden Ideas: Level 2
Wasn't sure which one you liked Sharon. Heather loves the coffee. They do not take fertilizer so I just top dress with a compost and bark. I used bark here to dress it up for the show, but usually I just mix mushroom compost or a bagged compost with coffee grounds, about half and half. I haven't really used eggshells, I mostly use coffee now. I spot compost in the winter when I am not so busy. I have not had any creatures dig in it but do have skunks that like to dig around my birdfeeders for sunflower seeds and whatever else they are looking for.
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Aug 14, 2011 4:54 PM CST
Name: Sharon
Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)
Charter ATP Member Houseplants Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
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Doesn't matter, Becca. They are all just amazingly beautiful to me.
Thank you.

Makes me want to get my paints and canvas out. I love your gardens.
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Aug 14, 2011 4:58 PM CST
Name: Rebecca Gardner
Gold Beach, Oregon (Zone 9a)
Charter ATP Member Garden Ideas: Level 2
My garden is not done the correct way. The rule is that you put heather in 3, 5 or 7 of each type. I like to break rules but the experts call my type of garden a "polka dot" effect. Now what is wrong with polka dots, I say?
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Aug 14, 2011 5:03 PM CST
Name: Sharon
Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)
Charter ATP Member Houseplants Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
Native Plants and Wildflowers Dog Lover Ferns Daylilies Irises Cat Lover
Love those polka dots, Becca.
Just consider ourselves experts, OK?
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