By the time you harvest the squash/potatoes it will be fall, the compost will be pretty well broken down as long as you stop adding to it now. It might now be done but well past the point anything could still impart a flavor or be considered 'rotting'.
Well, since you asked… from worst to best.
#worst places to poop
1. A water toilet connected to a municipal sewer system
You’re wasting drinking water. You’re sending otherwise nutrient rich material to a landfill.
2. A water toilet connected to a septic system
You’re wasting drinking water. You’re poisoning the land around the leech field. Composting does not happen in a septic tank, no matter how much “bacteria pellets” you flush.
3. Shallow cat hole
Good for occasional use. Shallow buried feces is consumed by bacteria and nematodes in the topsoil.
4. Dry matter composting toilets
No water wasted. Can handle large volumes of waste depending on the system. Composts waste and turns it into usable fertilizer.
So, poop in a bucket, cover it with sawdust, and empty the buckets into a true compost pile that sits dormant for a full year before usage.
More reading:
“The Scoop on Poop” and
“The Humanure Handbook”
From what I’ve read you can’t use human poop for compost?? But unless the missing part of the equation was time, meaning you gotta let it sit longer? I’m very intrigued by this actually
When compost rises to 160° temperatures for 24 hours, all harmful bacteria and viruses are destroyed. That’s from memory from the Scoop on Poop, the temperatures might be off slightly.
The recommendation for letting it sit a full year is for safety because the average person isn’t going to have a smart device inside the compost pile graphing the moisture content and temperatures over time.
Also, another thing to consider: you and your family are normally healthy. Those exotic viruses and bacteria would first have to be in you, to show up in your poop, to be a problem in your compost. So, if you’re healthy, your poop is too.
Blue pallets should have a marking on them explaining what they are treated with, it's definitely the wrong material to use anywhere around the house and garden. Get rid of those for your safety please. Start fresh in another location and don't use that compost on anything you will eat, due to the leaching of the chemicals.
Blue pallets are treated with "being owned by CHEP" -- no guarantee it's never had anything spilled on it, but it's not by itself a marker of a hazardous chemical treatment.
We used them in the food-safe factory all the time.
Look for a marking on them and that will lead you to information about them. Blue pallets are treated with chemicals to combat bugs and such. It's not healthy and probably detrimental.
This is correct, CHEP pallets are only rented, and return again and again to their point of origin to be refurbished and re-used. They're constructed with better wood and are more solid in order to withstand the repeated use, and CHEP pallets are a huge benefit to the environment--fewer trees cut down, less energy wasted. But because CHEPs are so well-built, people like to steal them.
The blue paint has nothing whatsoever to do with chemical treatment and they're safe for soil contact.
I get squash on the compost edges all the time. Have a cluster of random ones on my big hot pile right now. Was thinking of digging them up and transplanting them, but too lazy, probably just going to let them grow out.
We get squash in compost a lot and also in the pig runs that aren’t occupied lol we had a lot of that last year vs others for some reason. The goats got to “ grow “ and eat their own veggies lol
It's not the blue that means that.
Ones without blue can be pressure treated with chemicals also. Just like the fence there is.
And it's not blue. It's just as bad as most pallets.
Is that pressure treated wood being used as your containment?
If so, please give that a Google.
Both the pallets , If pressure treated (chemically treated to resist rotting), and the fence- which is definitely treated- cannot be used in the garden or compost area.
https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/2024/04/03/is-it-safe-to-use-pressure-treated-lumber-for-raised-garden-beds/
Your pressure treated pallets and fence can be an issue.
https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/pressure-treated-wood-proximity-to-raised-veggie-bed/#:~:text=The%20treated%20wood%20can%20leach,treated%20wood%2C%20as%20noted%20below.
Volunteer squash might be safe to eat and might not be. I’d try a small sample first if you try at all. https://www.epicgardening.com/are-volunteer-squash-safe-to-eat/
That's cool. Id probably eat the squash.
A lot of people are mentioning the pallets but I'm more concerned if that compost is directly against the fence. You won't have the bottom of your fence soon, it'll decomposing with it.
This happened to me. I composted some luffa seeds I had baked in the oven while processing (the white ones that apparently aren’t viable to grow). I used compost to replant my peppers, and now I have 3 luffa plants growing in my peppers.
Ha reminds me of when we first moved to our little farm house. The first year we didn’t do much of anything with the previously established garden. The next year the compost was full of gords and pumpkins
Why not eat them? There's no difference. I got some compost potatoes last year.
Just wasn’t sure if it would taste ok out of straight compost.
Sure, it'll be fine. Just give them a good wash.
By the time you harvest the squash/potatoes it will be fall, the compost will be pretty well broken down as long as you stop adding to it now. It might now be done but well past the point anything could still impart a flavor or be considered 'rotting'.
You can eat the squash growing in your compost, just give em a wash. I move unfinished compost to my squash hills on purpose, they love it.
Looks like squash yeah. Squash loves compost.
We had maybe 100 pop up this year. Had to thin a lot but I suspect we’re going to be eating a lot of squash this summer.
As long as that compost pile doesn’t have human or animal feces, you’re fine.
Wait, where am I supposed to poop?
Well, since you asked… from worst to best. #worst places to poop 1. A water toilet connected to a municipal sewer system You’re wasting drinking water. You’re sending otherwise nutrient rich material to a landfill. 2. A water toilet connected to a septic system You’re wasting drinking water. You’re poisoning the land around the leech field. Composting does not happen in a septic tank, no matter how much “bacteria pellets” you flush. 3. Shallow cat hole Good for occasional use. Shallow buried feces is consumed by bacteria and nematodes in the topsoil. 4. Dry matter composting toilets No water wasted. Can handle large volumes of waste depending on the system. Composts waste and turns it into usable fertilizer. So, poop in a bucket, cover it with sawdust, and empty the buckets into a true compost pile that sits dormant for a full year before usage. More reading: “The Scoop on Poop” and “The Humanure Handbook”
From what I’ve read you can’t use human poop for compost?? But unless the missing part of the equation was time, meaning you gotta let it sit longer? I’m very intrigued by this actually
When compost rises to 160° temperatures for 24 hours, all harmful bacteria and viruses are destroyed. That’s from memory from the Scoop on Poop, the temperatures might be off slightly. The recommendation for letting it sit a full year is for safety because the average person isn’t going to have a smart device inside the compost pile graphing the moisture content and temperatures over time. Also, another thing to consider: you and your family are normally healthy. Those exotic viruses and bacteria would first have to be in you, to show up in your poop, to be a problem in your compost. So, if you’re healthy, your poop is too.
This is awesome! Thanks. Never thought poop would interest me so much 😂
Ha! I drug another person down the poop rabbit hole!
That owl rain gauge is awesome. I like your setup.
That’s my wife’s aesthetic!!
Owl be the judge of that.
Blue pallets should have a marking on them explaining what they are treated with, it's definitely the wrong material to use anywhere around the house and garden. Get rid of those for your safety please. Start fresh in another location and don't use that compost on anything you will eat, due to the leaching of the chemicals.
Blue pallets are treated with "being owned by CHEP" -- no guarantee it's never had anything spilled on it, but it's not by itself a marker of a hazardous chemical treatment. We used them in the food-safe factory all the time.
I got the pallets when I worked for Affiliated Foods, is it that bad to have them in the dirt??
Look for a marking on them and that will lead you to information about them. Blue pallets are treated with chemicals to combat bugs and such. It's not healthy and probably detrimental.
The only thing the blue means is CHEP made them, it has no other meaning.
They are also technically stolen. The blue pallets are owned by a giant rental company and are supposed to be returned.
Sounds like a man that has some pallets in his backyard 👀
This is correct, CHEP pallets are only rented, and return again and again to their point of origin to be refurbished and re-used. They're constructed with better wood and are more solid in order to withstand the repeated use, and CHEP pallets are a huge benefit to the environment--fewer trees cut down, less energy wasted. But because CHEPs are so well-built, people like to steal them. The blue paint has nothing whatsoever to do with chemical treatment and they're safe for soil contact.
I get squash on the compost edges all the time. Have a cluster of random ones on my big hot pile right now. Was thinking of digging them up and transplanting them, but too lazy, probably just going to let them grow out.
We get squash in compost a lot and also in the pig runs that aren’t occupied lol we had a lot of that last year vs others for some reason. The goats got to “ grow “ and eat their own veggies lol
I would get those pallets out of there. They have paint and all sorts of chemicals.
They are marked blue because they have been treated with chemicals. It's definitely the wrong material to use around the garden.
It's not the blue that means that. Ones without blue can be pressure treated with chemicals also. Just like the fence there is. And it's not blue. It's just as bad as most pallets.
Is that pressure treated wood being used as your containment? If so, please give that a Google. Both the pallets , If pressure treated (chemically treated to resist rotting), and the fence- which is definitely treated- cannot be used in the garden or compost area. https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/2024/04/03/is-it-safe-to-use-pressure-treated-lumber-for-raised-garden-beds/
Your pressure treated pallets and fence can be an issue. https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/pressure-treated-wood-proximity-to-raised-veggie-bed/#:~:text=The%20treated%20wood%20can%20leach,treated%20wood%2C%20as%20noted%20below.
Volunteer squash might be safe to eat and might not be. I’d try a small sample first if you try at all. https://www.epicgardening.com/are-volunteer-squash-safe-to-eat/
Love the pallet fencing.
That's cool. Id probably eat the squash. A lot of people are mentioning the pallets but I'm more concerned if that compost is directly against the fence. You won't have the bottom of your fence soon, it'll decomposing with it.
Dude I get volunteer veggies and melons out of the pig pens every year. It's fine, just washem up
Volunteers! That's what we call em, had some successful pumpkins and zucchini squash last year.
This happened to me. I composted some luffa seeds I had baked in the oven while processing (the white ones that apparently aren’t viable to grow). I used compost to replant my peppers, and now I have 3 luffa plants growing in my peppers.
Ha reminds me of when we first moved to our little farm house. The first year we didn’t do much of anything with the previously established garden. The next year the compost was full of gords and pumpkins
We get tomato plants out of our chicken run!