Composting sweet potato scraps with worms
Scraps from sweet potatoes, such as peels and harder ends, can be added to your Bonter worm bin. Due to their dense and starchy texture, they require a bit more time and patience to compost than softer types of vegetables. With the right preparation and moderation, however, they can be processed well into valuable compost.
Can sweet potato go in your worm bin?
Yes, sweet potato scraps are suitable for your Bonter worm bin, but with the note that they break down quite slowly. Sweet potato is a dense, starchy root tuber. The peel and the dense flesh are firm, which means breakdown proceeds slower than with most other kitchen scraps. They are not harmful to the worms, but remain visible in the bin longer. So, add them in moderation.
How much sweet potato can you add?
Add sweet potato scraps in moderation to your Bonter. Limit the quantity of peels or snippets at a time. It is important to mix them with other, faster-digesting waste and ensure sufficient dry, carbon-rich bedding material (such as cardboard or paper). Due to the slow breakdown and the starch, it is not advisable to add a lot of sweet potato at once; spread it over different feedings and observe the condition of the bin.
What to do instead? Alternatives & waste management
Because sweet potato scraps are perfectly fine for the worm bin (in moderation), you don’t have to throw away small quantities. Sweet potato peels can be used to make broth. Cook them along for a lightly sweet, earthy flavor. They can also be used in certain recipes like peel chips. Larger excesses of raw sweet potato are better taken to a traditional outdoor compost heap, if available. Try to prevent waste by utilizing scraps culinarily where possible.
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Tips for safe sweet potato composting
The most important tip for sweet potato scraps is size reduction! Cut the peels and harder ends of the sweet potato as small as possible, preferably into snippets less than 1 cm. This increases the surface area and significantly speeds up breakdown. Mix the sweet potato snippets with other waste and bury it well under the top layer of the bedding material. Be patient, as you will likely see the scraps of sweet potato longer in the bin than most other vegetable scraps. Your Bonter filters odors effectively.
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Frequently asked questions about composting sweet potatoes
Can sweet potato peels go in the worm bin?
Yes, sweet potato peels can go in the worm bin, provided they are made quite small because they are fairly fibrous and dense. Add them in moderation.
How quickly does sweet potato decompose in the worm bin?
Do I need to make sweet potato small before I add it?
Can cooked sweet potato go in?
Is sweet potato different from regular potato for composting?
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