Vegetables In Compost Bin - Edible??

Question

Hi all,

The other day when I went to my compost bin to throw away some banana peels and egg shells, I noticed a bunch of green plants ( about 8 or 9 ), growing out of the top of my compost bin, so I dug one up to see what it was, and there were baby potatoes attached to the bottom of the plants!!

A few months ago, I threw a whole bag of potatoes which were starting to rot, away in the compost bin, and now I have potato plants growing in there.

So I guess my question is, if I keep letting them grow, will they be SAFE to eat!? If so, I don't know anything about potato plants. How do you know when the are ready to be picked? And how do you pick them? Do you just rip the whole plant out?

I asked a guy in the Garden Center at "Home Depot", if the I can eat the potatoes growing out of the compost bin, and his response to me was "I wouldn't eat ANYTHING growing from a compost bin".

JB · Accepted Answer

I guess it would depend upon whatever else you've been tossing into the compost bin. If only vegetable matter, grass clippings, leaves, etc. I wouldn't think that there'd be anything to worry about.

MICHELLE H. · Answer

My compost bin is mostly just made up of leafs, some shredded paper, andtable scraps, like spoiled salad, scrap/spoiled fruits and vegetables,tea bags, and egg shells.

MICHELLE H. · Answer

I was thinking of digging them out, and putting them in the ground in some nutrient rich soil, where I had another pile of leaves from last falls leaf raking, sitting on the ground composting.

The reason why I was thinking of doing this, is because #1, there are like 8 or 9 plants growing out of the top of my compost bin and they are taking up alot of space, and because #2 while 4 or 5 of the potato plants are small ( only a couple inches tall ), there are 3 or 4 potato plants that are like 2 feet tall!!!!!!

dgk · Answer

I'd replant them in regular soil. Nothing can grow in my compost binbecause the top prevents enough light from getting in, but I guess thetop of yours is open.

Vegetables In Compost Bin - Edible??

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