Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?

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Dan78

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Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« on: January 26, 2010, 11:45 »
Im getting quite a lot of 'green' stuff for my compost heap... Loads of fruit and veg scraps and lots of nice coffee grounds from the machines at work! Lots of goodness!!!

I've read that I should be adding more browns than greens into my heap but havent been putting much browns in other than a few brown leaves here and there and some ripped up egg boxes and toilet roll tubes.

What is a good source of browns to compliment what I am currently adding ? I was wondering about newspapers but not sure about the ink ?

Thanks :)

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granjan

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2010, 12:01 »
I think newspaper is fine.  I tend to put some in just scrunched up because it form air pockets.  If I put a lot in, I tear it up and dunk it in a bucket of water first.

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Aidy

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2010, 12:03 »
Shredded cardboard, hay, straw. Don't worry about the ink, nowadays it is low on the nasty stuff. I normally aim for a 50/50 mix of greens and browns. Make sure the bin gets full sun in summer.
Punk isn't dead...it's underground where it belongs. If it comes to the surface it's no longer punk...it's Green Day!

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JayG

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2010, 12:06 »
Ripped-up cardboard and shredded personal documents are also widely used and perfectly acceptable, as is straw and hay.

When it comes to printing inks, have a look here. You might want to consider using only predominantly black newsprint, although the amounts of heavy metal and organic contaminants overall are tiny; the former might even be considered to help add trace elements to your finished compost.
Sow your seeds, plant your plants. What's the difference? A couple of weeks or more when answering possible queries!

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Ivor Backache

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2010, 12:08 »
All my newspapers go to the allotment leave in the rain then ripped into strips, other paper is shredded, cardboad, sawdust.

This calculator will show what proportions to use.

 http://www.klickitatcounty.org/SolidWaste/fileshtml/organics/compostCalc.htm
 

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Dan78

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2010, 12:18 »
Thankyou all thats really helpful! Now I just need to construct a couple of pallet heaps at the allotment to go with my green dome in the garden  8)

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Aidy

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2010, 12:26 »
Just an after thought, I also chuck in some pelleted chicken manure every so often too!

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RichardA

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Re: Compost.. Good 'browns' to use ?
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2010, 12:28 »
Cardboard and shredded paper etc is good BUT BUT BUT please avoid cardboard that is "glazed" -- not sure of a better word -- the stuff that is glossy such as the wrappers around multipacks of yoghourt or shampoo boxes etc and is almost waterproof as opposed to coarse old fashioned cardboard taht is not waterproof.
The reason I say this is simple -- my experience is the glossy stuff does not rot down but the coarser stuff does. So guess what you have to pick back out of the compost when you sporead it.
When shredding paper take great care to avoid envelopes with plastic windows and never let the office junior shred credit cards, CDs etc in the same batch -- they will haunt your compost for ever.
Enough said.
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