Hair in compost

[Shellyann36]

Very interesting. Not that I am going to run out an buy a bunch of rabbits or anything, but it's cause for pause. It's good that they don't shear the rabbits like with sheep. Poor things would probably be completely freaked out by that. Brushing is almost like petting.

I did see some video's off to the side that did show shearing but I don't like the idea. The brushing method is less stressful on the rabbits. Rabbit fiber is very popular and very warm. I read somewhere that it was actually warmer than wool.

 

[elysebpink8686]

Wow this is very interesting. I'm definitely going to try this. I'll use some of my puppy's hair after he gets it cut during grooming.

 

[Shellyann36]

Wow this is very interesting. I'm definitely going to try this. I'll use some of my puppy's hair after he gets it cut during grooming.

I hope this works for you.

 

[MindyT]

My sister-in-law is a beautician. From time to time, I get several bags full of hair to put in my garden. This helps to keep the rabbits and moles out of my garden.

 

[justusforus]

That is a new one on me. Hair in the compost. Now to hear it can deter moles and such...I am all for it then.

 

[ChanellG]

I tried using hair to deter snails - totally forgot I had put the clippings out there until reading Mindy's post above. Not sure if it worked or not because I haven't monitored closely, but at least I know the plants are getting a boost of nitrogen as it breaks down. I've started saving the hair off the brush and now I have a nice sized clump of it that I need to wash (I use an oil-based moisturizer) so it can go in the compost. It's a small thing but...

 

[Cheerio]

That is interesting. I never much thought about hair in the compost before. Doesn't it take a really long time to break down?

 

[MindyT]

Sometimes it does need awhile to break down. I have very thin, fine hair. I assume if the hair is thicker or longer it needs more time to break down. Also, if you get a lot of rain the scent wears off quicker. Just apply a fresh pile after awhile or lots of rain.

 

[ChanellG]

It takes a long time to break down, but so do egg shells and other things. I've learned you can compost natural wine corks, something I'd never thought about. They are basically a wood product (tree bark) so they can take a while also. You just have to shred slow to compost stuff so it can break down easier. Clipped hair mixed in with the soil wouldn't even be noticeable to the naked eye.

 

[Pat]

Using hair around the garden to ward off certain animals is not new to me but I didn't know to use dog hair. We use to have a Chow that had so much hair all over the house. Had I known we could put in the compost I would not have been so upset about the mess. My daughter is also a hair stylist, I will have to ask her if I can get some hair from her school to put in the yard where I have seen holes in the ground.

 

[Cheerio]

Oh! I had no idea! My Golden Retriever is a shedding machine! Seriously, there are dog hair tumbleweeds that roll across the floor in the spring.

I learned a lot of new stuff in this thread that I never really thought about before but it all makes sense since it is an organic material. Thank you, ladies.

 

[ChanellG]

Using hair around the garden to ward off certain animals is not new to me but I didn't know to use dog hair. We use to have a Chow that had so much hair all over the house. Had I known we could put in the compost I would not have been so upset about the mess. My daughter is also a hair stylist, I will have to ask her if I can get some hair from her school to put in the yard where I have seen holes in the ground.

Just be sure it's not chemically treated hair, Pat. Many years ago I was working on a temp assignment and one of the women in the office had a relative who was a barber. He would use clippings from his customers on his plants and apparently they did very well. I seem to recall an ivy in particular that she described. It was the first I'd heard of using hair, but I looked it up and found out about the nitrogen.

 

[Annetteb]

I didn't know you could use hair for compost. I never thought about using my hair. I will have to change my opinionn about what to do with all the hair I just throw away.

 

[ChanellG]

I didn't know you could use hair for compost. I never thought about using my hair. I will have to change my opinionn about what to do with all the hair I just throw away.

There are a lot of things you might not think about that can be used in compost like dryer lint, but I don't want certain things in my soil I don't use anything that isn't plant based with the exception of eggshells. I was hesitant to do that, but they are supposed to be really good for combating certain garden issues like blossom end rot.

 

[Annetteb]

Yeah I heard a lot about how you can use eggshells in a garden. I never knew about some of them, but I like to research and I am always finding new uses for a lot of things I never considered before.