Oscar Daniels wrote:Welcome Kate!! I had a question.
If I cut some green grass to use in my compost pile and it turns brown while I am collecting all my materials to put in the pile. Maybe months pass. Is it still a "green" because I cut it when it was green or is it now a "brown"?
Hi Oscar,
Thanks for your question.
Freshly cut or pulled herbaceous plants, weeds or grass clippings are high in nitrogen and moisture. If you leave these plant materials to dry out, the amount of nitrogen in them will significantly decrease. This is because nitrogen is not stable, and it can be leached away or released as gas into the atmosphere. So, if you have an abundance of grass clippings that will make your compost unbalanced if you added them all at once, then dry some out to reduce their level of nitrogen before composting them.
However, having said this even when the grass clippings turn brown they can't be used as a "brown" in your compost as the amount of
carbon in them is very low.
Here's an edited extract from my book with some more information on composting grass clippings
"Grass clippings are the quintessential compost ingredient, but you do need to proceed with caution. Fresh grass clippings pack a nitrogen punch and help to heat up your pile when composted correctly. However, if added in large amounts to your compost, they’ll compact into an oxygen-free layer and quickly turn into smelly and anaerobic green slime.
Before composting grass clippings, premix them with a similar-sized carbon input (such as mowed brown leaves). Simply place whole leaves on your grass, and mow over them to cut them to size and mix them with the grass. You can then add the premixed grass to your compost in thin layers, and aerate to mix the grass with other organic matter. This will allow the grass to break down quickly without turning into a putrefied, stinky mess. "
Hope this helps.
Kate
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