Reading Time: 7 minutes 🍃
Composting is growing in popularity and is viewed as one of the most beneficial activities you can perform for your garden and the planet. You want to add citrus to your compost pile, but you are concerned about whether it’s a good idea. Can citrus peels be safely composted?
Citrus peels can be easily composed to add considerable nutrition and natural acidity to a compost pile. They break down gradually and add valuable bulk to compost. Plants that thrive in acidic soil can especially benefit from citrus-rich compost, though some plants will not tolerate it well.
Keep reading to learn how to compost citrus peels, the benefits of composting citrus, and contexts in which you may wish to avoid using citrus peels in compost.
Can Citrus Peels be Composted?
It is possible to compost citrus peels successfully and efficiently. Citrus peels will break down gradually but surely in a compost pile, are safe for the soil, and compost with a minimal unpleasant odor. In addition, every component of a citrus tree, including the fruit leaves, and peels, can contribute essential nutrients to your compost pile.
Citrus peels can take a while to break down fully but are a safe and valuable addition to most gardens. Breaking peels down into smaller pieces can help them compost faster, as can turning your compost often.
Citrus peels pair well with grass clipping, tree bark, twigs, dead leaves, and other kitchen scraps to create a complex and nutritious mix of nutrients for your garden. They’re completely natural and will not harm the local environment, wildlife, or plant life.
So, what are the specific benefits of composting with citrus peels?
What Are the Benefits of Composting Citrus?
Citrus peels make excellent green compost. Green compost is the name given to decaying fresh vegetable and fruit matter which tends to release copious amounts of nitrogen into the environment. Brown compost, in contrast, generally refers to dead matter such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs which release carbon into the soil and add bulk to a compost pile.
Compostable materials that are rich in nitrogen, or “green compost,” are necessary for developing a healthy compost pile. The pile of green compost is warmed up as microorganisms carry out the decomposition process. The fermentation process is tremendously enhanced as a result of this.
Citrus compost is an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, all of which can benefit plants at every stage of growth, flowering, and fruition.
Citrus scents are offensive to many kinds of pests and scavengers. Using citrus to deter animals from rooting through your compost pile is a natural way to repel unwanted creatures without using poison, toxic sprays, or cruel traps.
Are there instances in which citrus peels should not be composted?
Can I Use Composted Citrus Peels Everywhere?
While citrus peels in compost are going to benefit most plant life, there are some instances in which adding enormous amounts of citrus peels to compost may be harmful. For example, if your soil is already acidic, adding citrus peels to your compost may add excess acidity to your garden and harm more sensitive plant life.
Roses, for example, thrive in very mildly acidic to neutral pH levels. If your soil is already on the acidic side, adding acid-rich citrus peel compost can harm your roses and cause them to struggle or die.
Acid-loving plants likely to thrive in citrus-rich compost include:
- Bleeding Hearts
- Bunchberry
- Azalea
- Rhododendrons
- Magnolia Trees
Make sure that the plant life you seek to nourish can tolerate acidic compost. Acidic soil is any soil of 6.9 pH or lower. If your garden flowers and vegetables are sensitive to acidic soil or thrive in more alkaline soil, citrus-rich compost may harm them.
So how do citrus peels break down in compost, and how quickly do they decompose?
Do Citrus Peels Decompose Readily in Compost?
Yes, citrus peel, such as oranges and lemons, will decompose. However, citrus rinds may decompose a bit slower than other organic matter due to the tough and leathery nature of citrus rinds.
How long can this process take? If composted in a warm, healthy, and microbe-rich compost pile with plenty of rotation, citrus peels can break down in as little as 2 months, though this process can take longer.
Is this a bad thing? No, not necessarily. Organic matter which decays more slowly can add valuable bulk and air pockets to your compost heap, which will improve air circulation and help all decaying matter break down faster. The slower composting rate also ensures that valuable nutrients are added to your compost at a steady rate instead of all at once.
What about other parts of a citrus plant? Can citrus leaves be composted as well?
Can You Compost the Citrus Leaves?
Absolutely! Leaf compost is a soil amendment that improves soil texture, aids moisture retention, and provides a favorable habitat for earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms.
Citrus leaves require 6 to 12 months to decompose naturally into the compost because they lack the necessary nitrogen to accelerate the process. However, you can reduce this time t if you properly construct and maintain your leaf compost pile with weekly rotation, hydration, and aeration.
Citrus fruit leaves are an acceptable composting material. Indeed, decomposing will take longer, and it is always best to cut large pieces into small pieces to accelerate the natural breakdown of leaf fibers.
Is there an ideal method by which to compost citrus peels?
How Do I Best Compost Citrus Peels?
Composting citrus peels is a great activity during the warmer months when the citrus peels will use added air temperature to break down faster. However, before throwing citrus peels and rinds into the compost bin, it is always best to chop them up into little pieces and let them dry.
Mix any citrus fruit into your compost as soon as possible to prevent small vinegar flies from becoming attracted to it and breeding there. You may add more citrus to your compost if it is more significant; however, it is still advisable to work the citrus into the compost as soon as possible to speed up the decomposition process.
If you have to utilize the whole fruit in your compost pile, it’s best to cut it open and separate the pieces beforehand. The same rule applies to citrus leaves too. If you put the fruit in whole, it will take more time. The lengthy breakdown time is therefore eliminated.
Remember that it takes a delicate balance to handle the acidity that citrus might provide to your compost. Citrus peels, rinds, and pulp can help plants that prefer acidic soil, but adding too much citrus to your compost pile will lower the mixture’s quality. This could negatively affect your plants and disturb their growth.
Adding too much citrus to a compost mix can make it more acidic, which can be unpleasant for worms and microbes. The remedy is to ensure that your compost pile contains an even distribution of materials. Put in plenty of brown compost to counteract the acidity of the citrus fruits you plant. Straw, hay, and dried leaves are all excellent examples.
The addition of brown compost will stabilize the pH level of the compost pile. The decaying brown matter also absorbs any excess water or moisture released from the citrus. As a result, brown compost should outnumber green compost by a slight margin of 60:40. For a visual presentation of the process; you can look at this video.
What about cold composting? Can citrus peels work well in a cold compost pile, too?
Can Citrus Peels be Used in Cold Compost?
Cold compost refers to a compost pile that is allowed to degrade on its own, with no turning or care from a human gardener. Even if you are not paying close attention to your pile very often, you should remember that the proportion of browns to greens is still quite crucial.
To begin, arrange the citrus fruit so that it is in the center of the pile. Make sure that your citrus peels are cut into little pieces; for optimal decomposition, it may be a good idea to dry them off beforehand. This ensures that the parts properly break down and prevents the formation of things like compost balls, both undesirable outcomes.
Ensure that no seeds, including those that may have come from your citrus fruit or other sources, such as weeds, have been included. It is unlikely that there will be sufficient heat to destroy the seeds and stop the germination process.
It is possible to hasten the process further by using dried grass clippings and other materials such as toilet paper and cardboard. The pile must be kept damp for the compost to come together pleasingly.
The final stage consists of putting the kettle on, making yourself a cup of tea, and waiting. If you place your citrus in the middle of the pile, you should find that it breaks down quite quickly, even in a chilly compost pile.
Remember that this procedure takes a great deal more time than using a heated compost pile; you should anticipate that it will take anywhere from 4 to 12 months for your compost to be ready for use.
Check out: Can You Compost Paper Towels?
Can Citrus Peels Work in Hot Compost?
A finished compost pile can be ready in less than 4 weeks with consistent care. For optimal results, combine equal parts of green and brown compost. Hot compost is produced when nearly little heat is lost during the composting process and with more frequent turning and supervision.
Follow the below steps to achieve well-rounded hot compost.
- Citrus should be placed in the center of the compost pile when assembled—sandwich it between dark brown and light green compost piles.
- Aerate the compost pile by mixing it up.
- Rotate the contents of your compost pile weekly and add water when you do so.
After a few weeks, your citrus will have begun decomposing nicely. However, since microbes have started decaying the compost, it has reached a very high temperature.
Give your compost the air and water it needs to flourish. Regular mixing accomplishes this by moving the compost’s constituent elements to their proper locations. For the best results, ensure an even distribution of greens and browns, roughly a 60:40 ratio.
Conclusion
You can add citrus peels and rinds to your compost pile. Citrus peels take a few months to break down but add valuable bulk and acidity to compost. Breaking your citrus peels into smaller fragments can help them compost faster, while whole sections of citrus peel can take 2 months or more to break down.
Make sure the plants that you’re going to fertilize can handle acidic soil. While some trees, flowers, and vegetables thrive in acidic soil, others will be harmed by it. Avoid using citrus-rich compost on plants that don’t tolerate acid well.
Acidic soil is ideal for the growth of a wide variety of plants, including camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, daffodils, and nasturtiums, among others. If you cultivate these plants in your garden, consider using citrus-rich compost that is specifically created to care for these flowers.
Sources
- https://www.allaboutgardening.com/composting-citrus/
- https://laidbackgardener.blog/2021/08/11/garden-myth-you-shouldnt-put-citrus-peels-in-the-compost/
- https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/citrus-peels-compost.htm