How to compost corn cobbs

[fryman]

Can corn cobbs be composted?

Do they disintegrate as rapidly as other, less "hard" plant materials?

Does it make any difference if the cobbs are cut into smaller pieces?

[Robert Chambers]

[Doug Kanter]

They decompose just fine, but like all other vegetable matter, they'll break down faster if you cut them into smaller chunks. Just use your regular chef's knife to chop them up. They'll be slippery, though, so be careful. This is a good time to REALLY sharpen your chef's knife, if you've been putting it off for 19 years.

[Warren]

Personally, I wouldn't use my good chef's knives to cut corn cobs any more than I'd use them to prune a tree.

I have a 6hp chipper/shredder, and even it slows when a corn cob hits the blades. But figure on four or five years for the cob to break down to the point that you have to think about what that chunk in the compost is if you don't shred it.

If you don't have a chipper/shredder, it's easier to just throw them in the garbage, and let the archeologists dig them up next century.

[VMWOOD]

Back, more than 50 years ago, when we lived on a farm we used ground corn cobs as mulch around tomato plants. They helped retain moisture and did eventually decompose.

If you have a chipper shredder th> Can corn cobbs be composted?

[Pat Kiewicz]

Yes.

In a hot, active pile, yes, or nearly so.

(The only things that don't disintegrate until after many, many cycles through the pile are pinecones, big chunks or wood and the stems of mature squash and pumpkins. I'm not sure that squash stems ever break down...)

Maybe a little. I never do more than snap them in half, and don't always do that.

[Doug Kanter]

Why? I use mine to slice through whole chickens, and after a touch-up with the steel, it's ready to go again. It's a Wusthoff classic. If yours are bothered (much) by corn cobs, is it possible you're putting too fine an edge on it? And edge more appropriate to a filet knife than a general purpose chef's knife?

[Andrew Ostrander]

I agree with Pat Kiewicz. Corn cobs disappear just fine in my compost pile, and I do not chop them up first. Actually after only a short time in the pile they soften up, and you realize that despite their initial firmness, there isn't really much to them.

Andrew

[simy1]

... and chestnut shells. Pound per pound, they survive longer than large hardwood chips and pinecones. Sterilized corn cobs, by the way, are a great substrate for mushroom growing, what with having brown and green components in just one package, a large surface, and high resistance to bacterial decomposition.

[Compostman]