Hi guys and a warm welcome to all you amazing composters! I must congratulate you for taking up this eco-friendly habit which is an excellent initiative toward not just growing greener and healthier plans, but also toward saving our planet. Every organic matter that comes from your kitchen can be composted with certain exceptions. So, if you are wondering, if tomato is a good option for your compost pile, then you stop by the right place. In this topic we will discuss all about it, so keep reading.
For years now there has been plenty of discussions among horticulture professionals and gardeners, and they have all had a similar sort of question; can we add tomato to the compost pile? When we talk about adding tomatoes, to the compost pile it does not mean ripe tomatoes but, rather the spent ones. So, let us dive into the details and check out the finest way for us to compost tomato and tomato plants.
Tomato compost
As soon as the growing season ends, you would have a huge amount of old and spent tomato and tomato plants lingering. Most gardeners believe that returning the plants two the soil is the best way to go about it. While some feel it is very risky, because it could spread diseases. Let us take a quick look at why we should not compose tomato and tomato plants.
Killing the seeds
The extensive process of composting may end up not killing all the seeds of the tomatoes present on the tomato plant. This can make tomato plants sprout up in various places of the garden.
Incomplete breakdown
If you end up adding a large number of tomato plants, you may face a certain issue. The pile will not get managed. In certain cases, the tomato wines may fail to break down well and create sore eyes along with a ginormous mess during spring, when you are all set to utilize the compost.
Spreading disease
When you composed tomato plants, they pose a risk of diseases, that that for sure will damage the crop in the following year. These diseases include bacterial canker and fusarium wilt. Bacteria could survive the entire process of composting and could end up being the unwelcome visitor in your garden.
Composting tomatoes
We have seen the numerous reasons why tomato plants could be risky, if added to the compost pile. Now let us learn more about composting tomatoes and the best time to do so.
You can go ahead and add tomatoes to your compost pile. Tomatoes increase the nutrient value of compost. You can add tomato plants to the compost pile, as long as they are free of fungal and bacterial diseases. Spotted wilt & curly top virus does not survive on the plant that is dead for long. Therefore, plants that have these viruses can also be composted.
Always remember, to crush the plant and the tomatoes before you could mix them into the compost heap. When you do this, it will help the plant and tomato matter to break down faster.
Overall, spent tomatoes breakdown quickly; however, do remember that seeds of the tomato could germinate in spring. You would realize that you have a rogue tomato plant in your flower beds or compost heap. If such a thing happens do not panic, you could simply pull them off and deal with them the way you would deal with weeds.
So that is all for now, I do hope that these insights have given you more clarity and help you with composting tomatoes. All the best!