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Can I call the compost from my heap organic?

I like to be organic and make good use of the compost in my compost bin, however I put peelings from my supermarket bought fruit and vegetables, which are usually not organic. Can I  describe my compost as being organic in this case?

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  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Strictly speaking probably not dd. 



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • DaisydayDaisyday Posts: 373

    I think you are right. image  What do other people think about it I wonder?

  • No expertNo expert Posts: 415

    Daydaisy you could get too caught up in this organic or not question.

    If all you are adding to your compost heap from outside your plot is a few peelings from bought in fruit and veg then it's as close to organic as makes no difference.

    The important thing is to garden as organically as possible yourself.

    If you are not selling as organic then what the difference.

    If you are happy that you have kept non organic practices to a minimum.

    Strictly everything added to the veg plot must be organic for the finished product to be classed as organic.

    Most of us use seeds that are not certified as organic to start with.

    Here in my garden I use nets and fleece to leep off pests as much as possible but if you want a crop of Rooster spuds then a blight spray is a neccessary evil.

     

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    Good luck with that one. (soil association rules).

    Soil is classed as organic if no pesticide or artificial fertiliser has been applied for 5 years. The perfect organic system is closed. nothing is imported in to the cycle.

    In a normal garden setting, I think it is better to put the banana peelings in the compost, even if they are not organic, than to landfill. By the time it is composted any pesticide residue should have decomposed. Most seeds are not grown organically. I think that it is such a tiny %of the end product as to make no difference. Most people would count peat as an organic product, but it fails on the count of  not adding in to a closed system. Without keeping our own pigs and sheep, it is not feasible to have a closed system in the average garden.

  • No expertNo expert Posts: 415

    My point fidget is to do as much as is feesable without getting hung up on the organic for organic sake.

    Even if we are not 100% organic the produce from our veg plots is 100 times better than veg grown far away and harvested a week ago.

     

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    I add compost (my own) , fish blood and bone, and FYM from the farmer up the road. The FYM  is from cows and horses bedded on straw and wood shavings.Probably none of those sources are truly organic. I would rather add that than  growmore and recycled rubbish from the council. The seed  I use is not organic, but I consider the end product that I eat, to be as near organic as I can get. I know that pesticide residue is next to non existent, and thats what I'm bothered about.

  • Plant itPlant it Posts: 155

    Organic or not Organic that is the question.I,ve been allotmenting for umpteen nifty years.I mostly use my own compost got in the usual way.But there aint no way it could be claimed to be organic.I put racehorse stable manure every two years on the plot and although I get a lot of winners veg. and fruit wise(get the joke) no way is my plot organic even though I don,t use propriety fertaliser except growmore in moderation.

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I don't think it matters much if you're not selling it or your produce as organic. Just get it as good as you can



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    The trouble is , an organic farm won't sell their FYM. They keep a closed cycle and use it on their own fields.

    How far back do you go.? If you grow organic seed, were the parents of that seed organic? If the racehorses were fed organically grown feed, were the parents of that horse?

    A plant does not know the difference between organic or non organic nutrients, or whether its in soil or grown hydroponically, so long as it gets the nutrients it needs.

    What bothers me is the pesticide residues. So I use barriers, moth traps, and tolerate some losses.

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