[richy]

Im just wondering if anyone else has stopped composting spud peelings, i stopped doing it just incase i pass on some disiese to my ground, i suppose that could be the same for any peelings though.

Richy

[arugula]

I don't compost potato peelings to stop volunteers appearing in the compost.

[Yorkie]

Likewise, I don't compost peelings in case they resprout.

[Trillium]

I compost mine and have yet to find any sprouts in the compost bin.

That said, we don't get potato blight much here and if I did, I wouldn't compost any peelings.

[mumofstig]

They all get bunged in the compost bin here  but they are finely cut with a peeler - It tends to be thick peelings or cut off lumps that grow I've found, so those pieces get but in the dustbin.

[BabbyAnn]

I have a bag in the freezer in which I put the peelings then when the bag is full, I tip the peelings into the compost bin 

[ThatsNice]

That's a good idea Babbyann. Will remember that once I've built my compost heap/s! Need to source me some pallets first though!!

[Ema]

I hadn't thought of this!! it's a good point!

I'm no longer going to compost egg shells, having just bagged a load of compost up out of the dalek all the egg shells had been pushed to the edges and hadnt decomposed at all

[snowdrops]

I compost them & if they sprout I just pull them out & chuck them back or harvest the spuds if they look ok,but last year i had lots of fresh steaming manure & that finished them off

[Trillium]

I've always peeled my potatoes with a peeler and get only very thin peels, which is probably why I get no sprouts. Knife peeling would definitely give you sprouts.

As for egg shells, I always rinse mine out first, then crush them up before putting them into the compost. This way they mix in when I turn over the compost pile. Rinsing doesn't encourage critters. The egg shells won't break down during compost, but will eventually disappear once spread in the garden, which is why breaking them up first is handier - no shell clumps.

[JayG]

All my kitchen veg waste, toilet roll tubes and egg boxes go into the dalek nearest the house, and just to be on the safe side I don't use the compost on potatoes or tomatoes to avoid the possibility of pests or diseases being carried over.
Never found spud peelings sprouting in the compost, although I do use a veg peeler.

Egg shells are almost 100% chalk (calcium carbonate) so won't rot down in the usual sense although eventually they will dissolve in rain and soil acids. Not something to be using on ericaceous plants.

[sunshineband]

I've never had a potato peel resprout, and blight can only persist on live potato or tomato parts, so would not be spread by properly composted material as it is dead. I compost in closed bins.

However, I would not use them in a bean trench open compost system for example, becasue then, whilst they are busy rotting down, they might be encouraged to grow early in the Spring. Others may think differently but this is mhho 

[aelf]

If you put the peelings in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, that should stop them sprouting and may kill off some diseases. Could use the water from draining your cooked spuds...

[ThatsNice]

Jay, do you rip up the loo roll tubes, or put them in as they are? I've never had a compost heap before so no idea. I'm going to have to completely change my mindset about waste and what can be used to compost, I stead of mindlessly binning/ recycling 

[BabbyAnn]

As for egg shells, I always rinse mine out first, then crush them up

I can't remember which tv garden series I watched but I recall someone had a complex method of growing brassicas in a clubroot infested plot with good results.  The seeds were started off in pots of compost and repotted to develop a good root system before planting out - the final potting compost was a mix of compost, horticultural lime (obvious now) and crushed egg shells.  I'm not sure what the purpose of the egg shells are (calcium?) but ever since then I've saved all my egg shells and dried them, then used a mortar & pestle to break up and grind to a gritty powder and stored in a tub ready to use.  It's not as industrious as it sounds and while I realise the lime is the key to raising the pH, as I've always had good results it's a method I stick with.