I've been filling my compost bin for about 18 months now, but this year I noticed potatoes sprouting from the skins I've been throwing in. Should I just let them grow and harvest them when they're ready? Or is it better to dig them out? Also, will I have to throw away everything I've composted so far and start over?
2 Answers
Yeah, I agree! Removing the potatoes might be your best bet. If your compost is ready to use, you wouldn’t want to waste it on letting the potatoes grow. Make sure to salvage what compost you can and toss out the rest if it's become too potato-heavy. Better to get your compost back into rotation!
It really depends on what you want to do with the compost. If you let the potatoes grow, you won't be able to use that compost for a while, but you can still harvest the potatoes later. However, I'd recommend trying to lift out the potatoes and get back to using your compost. Since it's been in there for 18 months, it might be just about ready or could really use some turning. At this season, it's probably more beneficial to have a usable compost bin rather than worrying about a couple of potato plants, especially since you don’t know how good the potato harvest will be.