Composting question

[Stina]

Hey, I'm hesitant to put the Thai coconut shells in with my regular compost because I'm concerned they'll take considerably longer to break down. Any feedback?

Also, are worms really necessary for composting?

[lafsalot]

You don't need worms to have a compost - the breakdown of materials can occur on a much smaller level biologically. However, although I don't start out with them, worms always manage to find their way into my compost pile. ~ Cathy

[Glow Worm]

I put young coconut shells in my compost bin and they are still there after ~3 months. The white part will breakdown, but I'm still left with the brown inner shell. I bet they would make nice bowls though!
I have now dedicated a corner to just coconut shells, so that when the day comes I need compost material, I can pull from the other corners where everything has broken down completely.

[Conscious Midwife]

Hey, I'm hesitant to put the Thai coconut shells in with my regular compost because I'm concerned they'll take considerably longer to break down. Any feedback?

If the alternative is trashing them in a lanfill with plasticss that will take even longer to breakdown then my vote is for composting.

I like the bowl idea that was mentioned or maybe consider making small planters from the shell.

[garden granny]

I put them in my compost and I found out they are still trying to compost when everything else is done. But, they get kind of brittle so they're easy to just break up into small pieces. As for worms, just be sure to dig in some of your back yard dirt into your pile. I had worms all through my compost pile last spring/summer, that means you have a really good compost pile once you see the big fat worms.