Can you put bones in compost

It really is a personal preference and depends on what you want to get out of bokashi composting. Bones in or bones out…. Bokashi composting: how to get started. What can I put in my bokashi bucket? I switched to bokashi composting a year ago when I moved up to the Yukon.

One, there are no worms, so it seemed a good idea. The trouble is, my dogs are scent hounds, so forget about a inch dig! After a year, not only have they dug up every bone, but also every coffee filter, avocado peel, corn husk, egg shell, and pretty much anything else still recognizable. But from now on, the bones will go straight to the dogs. Yes, it sounds like an animal-proof soil factory may be the way forward.

Check out this post on how to make a simple soil factory. This is good to know because I also live in the Yukon. However, I was going to use the soil factory method because I find that with our 60 frost free days nothing breaks down very quickly. I am still finding jiffy pots from years ago before I knew better. Seems as though they had so much fun. They must have been excited by the different smells. The only solution 4 me is a barrier. I also detail the steps you should take to properly compost bones and avoid common issues like odors and pests.

Related Can You Compost Meat? Can you compost chicken bones? Yes, but cooked chicken bones are better to compost to deter the spread of harmful bacteria. The best thing about composting chicken bones is that they are relatively slim, so they naturally decompose quicker than other types of bones. Bones from pigs are also compostable but may take much longer to break down since they are thicker than chicken bones.

Most beef bones and other wild game like deer or elk are large and thick, reducing the chances the entire bone will dissolve inside your compost bin or compost tumbler any time soon. Unless you have plenty of space and time to deal with large bones, it may be best to forgo adding them to your composter.

It also helps to bash them a bit to give them a head start. Awesome, thanks for all the input! My compost is in enclosed bins and will be moved to an enclosed tumbler next spring, so I think we'll be fine. I don't mind bones in the dirt-- they'll break down eventually and I've read story after story of trees winding their roots around old skeletons and such, so I'm guessing that whole or otherwise, the garden will benefit.

My pile wouldn't get turned if it weren't for rats. They leave nice little piles of finished compost that I can put in a bucket and take away to the garden. It's a varmint thang I have composted entire dead pigeons by burying them in the top foot or so of the piles. Make sure you have plenty of "browns" and make thin layers of bones. As long as you don't have the bins where they are accessible to rats, dogs, or wildlife such as coyotes, bears and raccoons you should be fine.

After two years of composting, and a certain amount of experience, I started putting small and medium size fish in the core of a hot pile F or higher. They dissolve in less than ten days. The dog took no interest in the pile, and no other pest animals have disturbed things. Some dogs may be more intrusive, and no racoons are in the area. The piles are at least feet in diameter and the usual height is two feet. No bones have ever been found, but the fish range from bluegill to two pound size.

My soil test said I need Phosphorus. I bought some bone meal, but have started saving chicken bones too, because we have a ANCIENT dog who is getting picky, she's 16 years old, so she gets chicken and Barley now and then. I bury the bones under some of my oak trees. Bones, added whole, are difficult for the bacteria that would be converting your material into compost to digest and they might attract unwanted critters.

Grinding them before placing in the compost pile would solve both problems. We bought this property 40 some years ago and I am still finding bones they buried before then. Bone meal may not be the best source of Phosphorus since the form it is in, in the bones, is not something readily available to plants and needs to be converted by the Soil Food Web first, or steamed. The link below may provide some information for those interested. Here is a link that might be useful: About bone meal. I bury chicken and fish in my compost at least a foot down and I haven't had any critter problems.

Any larger bones I bury a foot or two below a tree or perennial plant I'm planting that will be there for awhile. I don't have 'varmints', unless you count the occasional enterprising cat.

My piles are covered in carpet, so they don't generally bother. I actually enjoy seeing things again and again. Btw, this is a purely internal dialogue with my compost, so it's ok, right?

I've heard of people burning and crushing bones too No one here will think you're weird for talking to your compost. Just make sure 'normal' people aren't within earshot. This is because the bones get composted differently from the rest of the food matter.

Do not put the chicken bones in the green bin either. Dairy, meat, and bones should not go into the green bin. The best compost to use for bones is hot compost. Hot composting means putting all the organic matter you need into a heap or a compost bin then add some heat to quicken the process.

The heat acts as a catalyst which quickens the cooking process.