Composting invasive seed pods

[MiddleNameGrace]

I am starting a new compost pile but the browns that I have are full of Lead Tree seed pods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucaena_leucocephala Is there a way to still use the browns without promoting the growth of the tree? If the seeds have been in the pile for more than six month and haven't grown yet, are they dead? Is there any way to use the browns without going through and sorting out all the seed pods? Help! Thank you!

[applestar]

I'm assuming these would be like big beans, right? I imagine the pods in the compost already broke down and there are loose beans/seeds in there. In situations like this, if you could GET them to sprout, then you could turn/mix up the pile and kill them. Or if the beans are big, then you could sift them out by passing the finished compost through a wire screen like hardware cloth.

In the future, you may want to dry the pods, then (put them in a sac and) step on them to extract the beans, t hen just put the pods in. The beans themselves, if you can soak and sprout them first, then kill them by drying out, etc. (You could do this all together and not bother to extract from pods also) These bean-type tree seed pods are highly nutritious for the compost pile so it would be good to come up with a way to use them.

[MiddleNameGrace]

I had no idea the pods themselves would be so good for the compost. The pods and the beans are all very dry, but the beans are still inside the pods (for some reason they don't open unless they're on the tree). I am going to try starting the pile with them and then just killing what comes up. Thank you!

[tomc]

Grace is there anything that eats those seeds? Um, chicken or goats comes to mind. If yes, feed them to them and use their poop in your compost. I looked over your wiki link. Maybe not for fodder.

If all else fails tank them. Put them in with something moist like kitchen waste in a water tight barrel with a lid. They will break down into slime. Put that slime in your compost. It'll be all done as far as germinating goes.

[toxcrusadr]

Hmm, according to that Wiki article the pods are edible when young, so you could just eat them next time and then you won't have to worry about them sprouting.

[MiddleNameGrace]

Tomcat, we don't have goats or chickens in our part of the island so that one is a no go but I'm definitely going to try sliding them. With the heat down here it should turn to goo in no time!

Tox, I doubt I'll have many volunteers for chowing down on these things but I might get desperate enough to try!