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Sun, Mar 18, 12 at 20:41
| Hi. I'm new to composting. During the recent winter cleanup in our yard, I've gotten a lot of browns (chopped leaves and wood chips)but really no greens. I want to get this compost going. If I added pond water (from our three acre pond) plus some black strap molasses to the mix would that be enough green? Thanks for any advice! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The water itself may not be ideal, but the green things growing in it may be. What you need is a source of nitrogen, and water, while it is a vehicle for nitrogen sources, is not one itself. You also risk creating a pile that is too wet, which will slow things down. If your pond has a lot of vegetation, or algae, that would certainly be good to add. |
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| As bi11me stated the algae and pond weeds would be a good addition while only enough of the water from the pond to slightly moisten the rest of the material would be of help. Too much water dispaces the air the bacteria that digest the high carbon material need to work. They also need Nitrogen (protein) to function, but only just enough of that also, 30 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen, or close to that. This composting tutorial may be of some help. The leaves could be 40 to 80 parts C to 1 part N and the wood chips could be 400 to 600 to 1. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Composting Tutorial
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- Posted by ChickenCoupe 7a (My Page) on Thu, Mar 22, 12 at 4:30
| Run off to Walmart and buy some stupid alfalfa rabbit pellets. Toss them into a coffee or herb blender until powdered. Throw some of those with regular greens into the compost as well as the molasses. I've had to do this on occasion just because it needed to get to burning before the critters found it. |
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