We love to get reader questions. Laura asks us the following:
“hi, thanks. I wonder about beans….are they like meat? i cook beans for two and inevitably have left over, can i compost? will they attract rats etc I live in the city…up til now i only am using raw fruit and veggie and grass leaves ….thanks (ex: pea soup, no oil, lental soup etc no oil). thank you”
Great question, Laura. The answer is: beans should be fine for composting. Here’s some rules of thumb though: it’s a good idea to bury kitchen scraps and food further down the pile and then put the leaves/grass clippings over them. You might want to follow this tact when composting your beans as well. This will ensure that they will have less of a chance of being subject to rodents and pests.
All in all, you should be fine. Thanks for your question, and hope this helps!
can you please tell me your favorite compost bin?
thankyou, theresa
It depends on which type of compost bin.
For compost tumblers, I like the Tumbleweed.
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/patdesaustum.html
For standard compost bins, I like the Soilsaver or the Shepherd Bin — depending on how many leaves I have and whether or not I want to keep the contents covered up.
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/compostbin.html
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/wirecompostbin.html
Standard compost bins usually have a bigger capacity than tumblers, but tumblers can work faster if you load them and use them correctly.