I'm getting ready to clean out my cupboards. There are several old bags of rice, lentils, beans and split beans. I mean OLD. Can I throw them in my compost bin?
Question re: what to put in my pile ...
You sure can!!
They'll rot nicely. If anything sprouts, just bury it under the compost and it'll die.
You could also cook them a bit first to expedite the process--or at least soak them for a day.
Will give them a head start in decomposing.....(Ugh! What a thought....)....
Gita
Thank you. I HATE wasting food ... at least I can feed my plants with the old stuff : )
Cooking them is a very good idea. I started microwaving some of the leftover greens that I intend to throw into my worm bin a couple days before they land in the bin. They are a bit ripe but they are in the process of composting which is what the worms love.
Also, I would think they are less likely to sprout if they were cooked.
What about stale bread? Or is that just like sending out an invitation to the coons etc ...
I have read that bread is OK. It is any kinds of meats that are not.....
Bread's great. Worms love it. Just bury it well, so racoons won't smell it.
In the spring and summer, I will throw any organic material including shredded paper into our compost bin. Incidentally I throw stale bread in my worm bin they do love it.
anything that was once alive EXCEPT meats and fats can be tossed into the compost pile. I usually pull a trench down the middle of mine (dug deep enough) and toss in enough used coffee grinds and veggie peels for a good meal. Then I carefully close up the trench and pat it down so no smells are emitted (which attracts rodents). I've never had a problem with rodents foraging in my pile.
Earthworms LOVE coffee grinds and will set up a whole subdivision when they run into them in your pile. Toss every earthworm you find on your property into the compost pile. At the end of a season of breaking down, I use a piece of wire screen about 1/2 guage and SIFT the compost into the wheelbarrow. Any large pieces that have not broken down go back in the pile. The sifted compost gets tossed into my veggie beds and eBuckets, along with some Black Kow composted manure (40 lb bag) and a large bag of MG potting MIX.
The mixture is fast draining, and loose enough you can plunge your hands in up to your forearms with no digging tool. Carrots and the root veggies do very well in this type of growing medium.
I would never throw worms into my bins. Most of the year my compost is too hot for them- they're be fried worms. If I let it sit untouched in winter, they find it by spring.
My feeling is it's always out there. If they find it appealing they'll enter on their own.
Karen