posted 4 years ago
Fish has a tradition of being excellent compost material, and I've seen others compost/bury various types of roadkill, chickens, and so forth with excellent results.
I was giving this some further thought, and I was wondering: are there any animals that would have a negative effect or be very inconvenient to compost?
One example that came to mind was turtles, and while I've never tried composting a turtle (and I hope I would never have to), I would imagine that the shell would take a long time to break down and also provide a barrier that roots could not penetrate through.
Some categories that might spark discussion/ideas, even if some of these might not have anything that fits them:
1. Animals that are too tough to reasonably compost. (turtles?)
2. Animals that have a tendency to bloat up with gas when composting and may unbury themselves as a result. (?)
3. Animals that carry some type of bacteria that can out-compete the soil life and cause issues. (?)
4. Animals with a large amount of fat. (whales?)
5. Animals that accumulate chemicals or other harmful to soil life materials in their environments. (?)
It's never too late to start gardening, and even the smallest project is worthwhile.