Treat them much the same as grass. If you actively manage your compost you will find the citrus goes quite mushy and may need dry material added to it. It does heat up quite nicely in a large balanced compost pile. If you just chuck things in and leave them to break down thats ok too. The citrus will be gone in much the same time as grass.
rob
We've got eleven orange trees and quite a few oranges wind up on the ground throughout the year. We just got a composter, and I was wondering if it's OK to put whole oranges in it? The oranges will have been squished already, or partially eaten by our various squirrels, etc., and we will be putting our kitchen waste and some grass clippings and leaves in there as well. Thanks...
They will compost fine. If you cut them up they will compost faster. This reminds me when I lived in Downy, California--oranges everywhere, rolling in the street gutters and all over the place.
I heard somewhere that citrus isn't such a good thing to put in the compost. Can't remember why - ?worms don't like it or something. I avoid it in mine, just in case.
Jen
There's nothing wrong with oranges in compost. The pulp and juice are high in nitrogen, so keep turning to avoid ammonia. At one time my compost was made up mostly of coffee grounds and orange pulp and rinds. The only problem is the high maintenance--turning nearly every day. It's possible that worms don't like it when fresh, but that's vermiculture, not composting. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7
I recall that being an issue with store-bought fruit, due to pesticides or some other chemical.
Yeah, but that was way back when. Used to be (before I got out here) they said you could drive through Riverside and get high on the smell of orange blossoms...
A studio colleague of mine, years ago when I was at Warner's, was born here in So.Calif; she remembered small planes landing in pastures, and the aforesaid orange groves stretching for miles.
Sounds like Paradise Lost!
Persephone
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