What are some good items to bring home from a field or the woods for your compost? I already know that grass clippings can be used from the field. Moss and leaves could be used from the woods, right? Does anyone else have any fresh ideas?


Thanks much

__________________
so i chopped my first ever plant down last night...it was like killing a child - plugsmustard

Pretty much anything found in the woods that is 'organic and natural' (ie- leaves, moss, bark) and which can decompose (not rocks or large tree trunks, which would take a very long time). These would be considered your 'browns'.

__________________
Resistance is Fertile.

leaves, dead tall grass, bark umm thats all i can think of sorry

watch out with the grass clipping put those on a lil at a time cause a big mound of grass heats up way to high

That's good though isn't it? Wouldn't that help the compost break down quicker? What if you put a pound of grass into your compost? Would it explode in a fiery goo-ball of compost and hot magma?=) No seriously, keep thinking. How long does bark take to break down?

__________________
so i chopped my first ever plant down last night...it was like killing a child - plugsmustard

well, its just like having wet grass/hay in a barn, it combusts and can start a fire hes right be very careful with large amounts of grass or youll have ashes instead of compost

boo yah ...lol jk

fish bodies/carcasses - fresh water or salt water doesnt matter. when fish decomposes it is very high in nitrogen. i burried a 36 inch striped bass carcass with head, skeleton, guts and fins in my garden in april of last year and planted in may. in july the plants where the fish was burried were almost twice as big as the rest of the garden.

if there is a pond nearby your compost pile or near where you will be planting, just get a dozen night crawlers and catch some small sun patties/blue gills. cut em up and put them at the bottom of your compost pile (so they dont stink) or bury the pieces in the exaxt spot you are going to plant.

i compost all my table scraps too - except for dairy products and meat products (these will stink and attract critters). anything you get from the woods that is or was once alive will make good compost. the smaller the pieces are the faster it will decompose.

but what no1s mentioned is carbon. to make a perfect compost you need more carbon than nitrogen. paper is the best form of carbon as it also speeds up the the process. also if you turn over your compost everyday, it increases airflow which bring in more micro organisms which break down compost. all in all, if you have a perfect mix, and turn it everyday, you can have perfect compost in ten weeks. the best wat to make a compost pile is to make it in layers of carbon, nitrogen,carbon nitrogen,etc etc etc.

oh, just on the side as well, a perfect compost shouldnt smell or attract flies. if it is attracting insects, then it means theres too much nirogen, and it needs more paper.

__________________
uk grower's thread: http://www.rollitup.org/general-mari...rs-thread.html
if only there was a capital question mark