Compost piles gone wild

[LStone]

While I was turning my manure / compost pile I noticed that it was time to start harvesting my potatoes. This was a complete surprise to me. I didn’t even notice the potato plants in or on the pile, but I remember I had a few store bought Russets go bad on me and composted them. Or should I say planted them. I thought this was rather cool and figured I would share. A similar thing happened to me about 15 years ago when I somehow cross pollinated Roma Italian and Beefsteak Tomatoes. I was quite happy with the result and I managed to keep the seeds going for a few years and sadly I lost them in the move to my current place. Anybody else want to share other experiences like this?

Larry

[jen judkins]

yeah, Larry I’ve read that you can plant potatoes in the manure pile. I plan to try it next year. I used partially composted manure to ‘hill’ my potatoes this year with really good success, but it would be easier to simply start them in the pile, instead of moving the compost 😉

I also tried something new this year. I planted corn in a section of the horse’s winter paddock. It was a pretty churned up area and heavily fertilized…if you get my meaning, so no need to plow. I planted, then mulched with straw. This fall, I simply let the horses clean it all up (which they did in a single day). jennifer.

[Vicki]

I almost always have volunteer pumpkins and tomatoes, and frequently potatoes, grow in last year’s compost heaps. This year I had a pile of last years’ straw manure bedding left to mellow, that looked ugly, so I intentionally planted pie pumpkins on it, which produced great. One consideration about potatoes in compost is the pH: if too high the taters can scab, but if you have leaves and coffee grounds in it, it is usually not too high; lots of manure can be high pH.

I always cover my mellowing manure heaps with some sort of squash that really use up the nutrients, shade the pile, and hide it.

[Author]

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