Q: Can I compost my cat litter?
A: Composting pet waste is possible, but doing so safely at home is complicated and time-consuming, said Fred Michel, an associate professor of biosystems engineering and a composting specialist.
Cat and dog waste contain pathogens that can harm humans - in dogs, large roundworms; in cats, the organism that causes toxoplasmosis, a disease linked to birth defects. In a typical home compost pile, it can take up to a year of active decomposition to kill those pathogens, Michel said. And that doesn't include winter, when composition slows or even stops.
To make sure those pathogens are eliminated, you can't add any fresh animal waste to the compost pile during that decomposition time, Michel said.
That means you'd need to maintain multiple piles, one that you add to regularly and another one or more piles that are maturing.
You also need to be careful about the kind of cat litter you choose. Most litters are made of clay, sand or crystalline-based materials, which can't be used in compost piles, he said. Only litters made from biodegradable sources can be composted.
Michel said another complication is that animal waste by itself will compost poorly, with a bad odour and a poor structure. He said animal waste should make up no more than 10 per cent of the compost pile, with the rest comprising other organic matter such as leaves, food waste, brush and finished compost.
Even with all those precautions, he suggested using compost containing pet waste only on ornamental plants or grass, not on food crops.
Q: When my husband dug up a sweet potato vine, he discovered a tuber. Is it a real sweet potato, and is it edible?
A: An ornamental sweet potato vine tuber is indeed a real sweet potato. The Alabama Co-operative Extension Service says the tubers are edible, but you probably don't want to eat them. Many people think they taste unpleasant or bitter. Besides, the plant may have been exposed to pesticides applied by you or the greenhouse that grew it, the extension service notes.
You're probably better off saving the potato in a cool, dark, dry place and planting it next spring. You can also try rooting it in a glass of water, the way many of us did when we were kids.
Q: I would like your advice on a metal polish I saw advertised in the paper, which I'm considering using on my silver plate. I have tried other products that were highly touted in advertising, only to be disappointed in their performance.
This one claims it will clean and restore my silverware, metal sink, pots and pans, and keep them shining!
A: Jeffrey Herman, executive director of the Society of American Silversmiths, advises against using any product to clean or polish silver that has "metal polish" in its name.
Products that are too harsh or abrasive can damage silver and especially silver plate, which is just a thin coating of silver over another metal. Particularly harsh are silver dips and electrochemical methods, including home remedies using aluminum foil and baking soda.
Herman rates silver polishes and provides silver-care advice on his website, hermansilver.com.
Probably your best bet is to polish your silver-plated items using the mildest product that will work and then store them with anti-tarnish strips or packets of silica gel.
