Potatoes on the compost heap - yes or no?

Once spread on the garden if we have a warm summer I have lots of avocado trees sprouting all over the place.


Apparently rats like compost heaps because they are nice and warm and usually undisturbed.

Ii think it is how often you do it. I never peel potatoes so rarely put any potato based product on the compost heap. A couple of times a year a few potatoes get on it. Hardly worth a rat nesting for.

I keep a container with rat poison, permanently, down beside my compost heap and 100 feet away in my garden shed, nothing to tempt the rats there. I replace the poison in the shed far more often than I do that by the compost heap. If you live in the country, rats are a day to day fact of life. You get used to them.

We once found some snake's eggs and baby snakes in ours.

Oh I've always put potatoes and their peelings in the compost bin, but don't think I will anymore after reading about the rats

Well, that's settled it Anno Domini! A timely warning which means that the spuds will go in the rubbish bin not in the heap. Shudder! Thanks to all who have replied. I particularly like the idea of the avacado plants springing up Esspee.

I once spotted a very large rat in the vicinity of our compost heap. When the pest control man came, he found that rats had a nest in the neighbours' heap and advised us not to put potatoes or peelings into the compost as the rats thrived on them.

The only thing that doesn't rot down in my compost heap is avocado seeds. Once spread on the garden if we have a warm summer I have lots of avocado trees sprouting all over the place.

I never had a problem with peelings, but have had whole potato sprout in a compost heap.

My potato peelings sprouted in the flower borders despite having been in the compost bin for nearly two years. The resulting white flowers were very pretty and the potatoes made great salads. I've never repeated that and I certainly would worry about the resulting smell if whole potatoes were composted. Hope this helps answer your query.

All my potato peelings go into the compost bins, as long as they are left long enough to rot down properly there are no problems.

DH won't put potato peelings or potatoes on the compost heap as he says they sprout and grow wherever the compost is used.
I just do as he asks as it's not worth an argument.

I used to put them on the compost heap, and many of them sprouted and grew again later. Edible too.

I put anything on my compost heap including potatoes. They rot down like everything else. I have certainly never had any start growing anywhere else in the garden, except in my potato patch.