this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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Gardening

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I have learned a lot about how it's needed, in particular for short growing seasons and to prevent some pests. Still, you would think I'm killing puppies or separating twins.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I struggle with that too. It makes me feel a little better that they're going straight into the compost pile to become nutrients though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Using the compost does make it a little better. I also try to think of the clump as a single plant that I'm pruning, which to be fair I also do very hesitantly.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Never use diseased plants for compost. You only help propagate the disease.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

isn't the compost pile supposed to be hot enough to kill any disease?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It needs to get very hot to kill the pathogens. It’s possible, yes, but maybe not in a small bin at home

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Good to think about though. I read somewhere that the compost should be at least 1 cubic meter to have any chance of reaching a high enough temperature; my garden compost is at least that big. But I do still refrain from adding diseased things, or invasive plants.

When I thin my plants it tends to be because I've planted too many seeds at once for example. A lot of the times I separate them instead, but I don't need that many plants to risk separation.