If you have rhubarb in your garden, consider yourself lucky. The stem vegetables are not only very tasty, the large leaves are also ideal for protecting the compost from drying out. That's why rhubarb is very good for compost.
Is rhubarb good for compost?
Rhubarb works well in compost by using the large leaves to cover to prevent drying out. Crushed rhubarb leaves and peels can also be composted without increasing the oxalic acid content.
Use rhubarb to cover the compost
Rhubarb has very large leaves. These are ideal for covering a compost heap in the garden. This will prevent the compost from drying out too much.
- Put rhubarb leaves whole on the compost heap
- alternatively tear into small pieces and mix in
- Rhubarb peel can also be composted.
Rhubarb contains a lot of oxalic acid, especially from summer onwards. However, the acid is mainly found in the stems, which are harvested and consumed until St. John's Day. The content in the leaves is not that high, so the leaves do not acidify the compost too much.
You can of course also compost the rhubarb peel without worry if you peel the rhubarb before cooking.
Shredding rhubarb before composting
If you have harvested a lot of rhubarb so that you cannot use all the leaves for covering, tear the leaves into small pieces. Mix them with preferably dry materials such as ash or shrub cuttings.
As with all other compost materials, with rhubarb you should never add too much of one variety to the compost at the same time. Only good mixing ensures that valuable humus is created and that rotting does not take too long.
If the decomposition period is very long, the compost becomes too moist and then moldy. You can see this particularly well with grass clippings.
Rhubarb in the compost bin
The compost bin has a lid so that it does not require any special shading. If you want to compost rhubarb in the bin, tear the leaves nice and small and mix with other materials.
You should spread large quantities of rhubarb leaves and peels over several days to add them to the compost.
Tip
By the way, planting zucchini in the pile also has a positive effect on the compost. The plant requires a lot of nutrients and therefore thrives particularly well here. On the other hand, the large leaves provide shade for the compost and prevent it from drying out.
