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| I tagged onto another first time composter thread but have a few more questions if anyone is willing to share.
I moved into a new house in August that has a pretty big lawn my urban standards. I mowed rye throughout the winter and stockpiled it in an unused dog run we have. Question 1 would be can this dried grass be considered a brown? Someone mentioned it might always be a green despite it obvious "browness" My pile 3Lx4Wx2H heated up quickly but decomposition seems to have stalled. I did have some bermuda grass and bermuda roots in the original pile and those seem to be the main hanger ons. I am hoping bermuda grass works well as a green since we are entering the summer months here in AZ. If I use paper as a brown does it need to be shredded or torn by hand? Basically how small should the pieces be? I'm really limited on browns since most my tress are green year round. Do most of you start a pile then let it complete before starting another? My original pile has been added to every 2 weeks or so but I wonder if by adding to it I am preventing it from completing the cycle. I was using a 2:1 brown to green ratio (by volume) I have read some posters take that as high as 9:1. Cheers |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Bermuda works fine in mine I shred the paper but you don't need to shred it. Smaller os better but large pieces will breakdown (just slower than shredding) If you keep adding to a pile it will never COMPLETELY finish but that doesn't stop you from screening it and tossing the unfinished stuff onto the pile to finish |
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| If the Rye was cut before producing seed heads and cured and stored properly then it should still have a fairly high protein level and it would be a green. When to start a new pile depends. Do you have only 1 bin, or are there more? A 1 bin system means that you need to wait until what is in that bin to finish before starting a new batch. a 2 or 3 bin system allows the partially finished compost from bin 1 to be repiled into bin 2 to finish, start anew in bin 1 and eventually pile more into bin 3 (if you have one) to kind of hold and wait until yuou are ready to distribute that finsihed compost. |
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| Thanks for the info all. The rye was cut at 2" and stored in a pile. I hope it qualifies as a brown since I have a lot. Examining the pile. it looks like the majority of undecomposed are the roots/runners of bermuda. I had to de-thatch in October and it seemed a shame to throw that stuff out so I kept it. I think my problem was I started with a pile that wasn't sufficient in size and just kept adding to it. I like the idea of screening the pile. I added another 2 cubic feet last week so I will turn it and try to accelerate the process. Looking forward to using it on something. Thanks for the replies. I realize I am probably the 1000th person to ask this stuff. I did try to read to find my answers but the circumstances were always a little different and wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Another pro and con of the internet I guess, instant feedback. Instead of trying my own piles over time and developing a system I ask for all the answers. It appears I will need at least one more pile so I'm glad the weekend is around the corner. |
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- Posted by blazeaglory 9b/10 Z22 OC Ca (My Page) on Thu, Apr 12, 12 at 23:00
| Yeah Ive decided to add another pile as well. Kinda ONE LONG pile that I will turn and screen in sections...hehehe |
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| 1. No question asked is an unnecessary, or dumb, question becasue that is how we learn. 2. Sometimes searching the FAQs can take way too much time. Never be afraid to ask questions. |
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