Compost question....

[lurmot]

If I want to grow in my allotment organically, do I need to only add organic kitchen waste to my compost and/or worm bin? (By organic I mean no pesticides etc, and not the dictionary definition of organic). What I'm trying to say in fact is will composting also break down pesticide residues?  ???

[lurmot]

[derbex]

Personally I don't worry too much about what's in the compost bin -or in manure for that matter. I'm not sure what the official line is but various of the books I've read seem to use 'stacking' or composting to 'purify' non-organic matter.

It won't get rid of all the nasties, but at least some of them will break down and it'll be better than fresh.

Unless you're growing food commercially 'organic' is something of an elastic term, some of the things that you're allowed, like Bordeaux Mixture, seem pretty dodgy to me (it's 1st cousin to the stuff I put on my boat to kill the wildlife off), and other parts of the standard are ideals to aim at. Having only organic waste through your compost heap is one of those, if you grow enough veg it will happen in time anyway and until then at least you're reducing landfill.

I suppose my philosophy is to do what you can, and go for the 'big wins' (like not using weedkillers, pesticides, fungicides*) early.

Jeremy

*Although even that's not simple as I commonly use things like coffee, milk and Bicrab to do some of these things -which might be somewhat naive.

[Svea]

...like not using weedkillers, pesticides, fungicides*...

*Although even that's not simple as I commonly use things like coffee, milk and Bicrab to do some of these things -which might be somewhat naive.

care to divulge furhter information on this?
i have already read about ;the slug-deterrant that is coffee, but what about the rest? and how come it is not classified as organic?

svea

[derbex]

Milk and bicarb act keep the mildew off, I use them on my greenhouse cucumbers mainly -I think others might have tried bicarb for blight, although you'd have to apply it often.

I don't know if they are allowed under the organic standards or not, I think that they are now permitted by the EU though.

Other things that can be useful are soft soap as a bug spray and alcohol (meths) for wooly aphids & maybe scale insect- brush it on with a toothbrush. I'm pretty certain the latter isn't permitted by the EU as a pesticide ....although as a tree trunk cleaner ;).

Jeremy