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Posted by electricladyrose (U13642691) on Friday, 18th November 2011
I've been raking up leaves like mad for the past couple of weeks and setting them aside in a wire netting cage to rot. however I've got a lot of useless windfall apples and I wondered if these are suitable for my compost bins or will I ruin the compost that is already in there. Hopefully someone out there can help me.
I hope not,i've been doing it for years now,including Plums and Pears.
Only problem is the Plum stones tend to come through entire.
Strangely enough though the birds would attack Apples whilst on the trees,but we have put Apples on the bird feeder and they don't touch them.
I'd leave the apples in a spot away from danger for the birds in the winter. Cheers, Tony.
We have migratory blackbirds and fieldfares eating the windfalls, plus of course those darn'd starlings.
we also leave our windfalls under the trees and both birds and insects eat them
There's nothing wrong with putting apples on the compost, but one of the great pleasures of winter for me is watching the fieldfares feeding on the fallen apples under the old Bramley.
I collect my windfalls, and the fallen crab apples and set them in a pile in an old terracotta dish at the foot of my stone garden statue.
They look like an harvest offering, pretty, earthy, and very seasonal.
They are there for the wildlife.
, in reply to message 1.
Posted by TonyC-HotBin (U15048875) on Wednesday, 30th November 2011
They will make great compost - especially if mixed with your leaves. Large quantities of apples alone will tend to putrefy/rot and go mushy/smelly.Sprinkle in some wood chip as you go to help aeration. Ideally you want to keep the heap hot, if you do you'll have great compost ready for spring. More info on hot composting at [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
Tony
Are you sure your windfalls are really useless? I have juiced most of mine and dried many others. The juice is absolutely delicious, if anything, it's too sweet and needs diluting. It freezes well. The dried ones make lovely tasty, healthy snacks. I resurrected the old juice extractor attachment for my 40-yearold Kenwood Chef. Bet you could borrow something similar, if you don't have one. I also leave some for the birds and small mammals too.
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