Re: compost contents

Bargyla Rateaver (brateaver@earthlink.net)
Sat, 23 Oct 1999 23:11:10 -0700

Once upon a time I was writing a column for a magazine sold to growers. I wanted to
include something about the bad effect of Euc leaves, but that was not permitted.
Then i the very next issue was a letter from a grower who said he had noticed that
his plants grownnext to the Euc windbreak had not thrived at all, and he wondered if
the Euc trees had anything to do with it.
So that changed the editor's attitude, and I was permitted to write a reply
explaining that yes, indeed, the Euc does not want anything else around/near it.
That reader was very gladto get an answer.

Another time I was given the chance for a weekly broadcast on org g. and one time I
mentioned how bad the Euc leaves were, and apparently the many nurseries who sell
Euc plants complained, and I suddenly was not on radio there any more.

Pat Elazar wrote:

> Rachael asked:
> A question for soil biologists or home composting experts, here. I have
> heard that certain types of trees, walnuts and ecalypts among them, are
> allelopathic -- their roots secrete something that discourages other
> plants from growing nearby. How do eucalyptus leaves behave in
> compost? I have a cold compost pile that recently had a lot of
> eucalyptus leaves added. Will they break down harmlessly and combine
> with the other things in the pile (kitchen scraps, weed clippings, other
> leaves etc) to make nice healthy compost to add to my garden, or will
> they break down, but leave the compost an environment that will not
> enourage veggie growth when I dig it in in the spring?
> Thanks for any help and advice.
>
> Pat replies:
> I noticed on my home farm where we had lots of old Eucalyptus groves that
> nothing lived either under them or in them so I never tried using them in my
> compost (we had lots of chicken manure, spoiled hay & unlimited sawdust). On the
> other hand, the leaves did rot on the ground so they theoretically would rot in
> a pile?
>
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