Not Banana Peels: The Other Fruit Scrap You Should Add To Compost

Have you ever felt guilty for cutting off the tops of loads of strawberries only to toss them straight into the trash? Well, now you don't have to! While you may have heard of banana peels being a good additive to compost, strawberry tops are another great fruit leftover that can make your compost healthier, more varied, and better at breaking down over time. This is one kitchen scrap your compost will love, so the next time you enjoy some fresh fruit or whip up a smoothie, make sure to reserve those less-than-appetizing bits. 

The green, leafy material that we often cut off of strawberries is great for aerating compost because it helps to create little air pockets within it. This makes the decomposition process quicker and encourages the microorganisms within your pile to work more efficiently. In addition, strawberries are considered a "green" composting material, meaning that they contribute lots of nitrogen. A good compost mixture should have a healthy balance of both green and "brown" materials that have lots of carbon — such as leaves, grass, pine needles, and sawdust. This is because "brown" materials give microorganisms in the compost energy and structure, while the green materials offer moisture and various nutrients. So, if your compost is largely dominated by brown materials high in carbon, adding strawberry tops can help you to achieve the best brown/green ratio to keep things healthy and productive.

Strawberry tops are great for composting because you can simply collect them as you go. Whenever you cut the tops off your strawberries, place them into a closed container in your kitchen. If the strawberries in your kitchen compost container are attracting fruit flies, make sure the lid is sealed properly or move it either outside or into the freezer. You can then take your collected strawberry tops out to your compost heap, stirring them into the mixture to promote microbial activity and improve air circulation. As a good rule of thumb, you will want to make sure to add about three times the amount of brown material as green material. To keep this ratio in check, it's a good idea to collect additional brown materials like leaves or sawdust at the same time as your strawberry tops so  they can all be added in together.

In general, the tops of strawberries are reported to take about 4 to 8 weeks to decompose within compost. You can also speed up the process by cutting the strawberry tops even smaller before adding them in so that they break down faster. Alternatively, you can try insulating the compost heap with hay or straw to increase the heat within it and encourage it to decompose at a quicker rate.