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Ohio

I read where dead leaves in a compost pile would be considered a green, and then I read where it would be considered a brown, which one is it really? I always thought it was considered a brown?

10/23/2008 6:48:38 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Dead leaves are brown.

10/23/2008 7:45:35 AM

Ohio

Thanks Croley!

10/23/2008 9:29:15 AM

Boulder County Colorado USA planet Earth

I was told and thought.

Greens are fresh/bendable/still growing until they were picked. they would give off nutrients when composted.

Browns are dead, stiff debree that has been picked/cleaned up. Takes nutrients for it to break down.

But I still think they were dead brownies

10/23/2008 9:42:27 AM

Seattle, WA

You can google "compost calculator" for help in balancing your carbon to nitrogen ratio (brown to green). Leaves can go either way depending on how newly fallen they are (what Captain Cold Weather wrote). Another way to think of it is that green sources tend to feed the bacteria and brown sources, the fungi.

10/23/2008 1:49:46 PM

Upstate S.C.

Tad is right. Brown's or Green'are not the color of the material. Brown has more to do with the carbon content and green is nitrogen. Take for instance fresh grass clippings are very high in nitrogen and dry out clippings become much more rich in carbon like hay. So this is what you have to look at when layering a compost pile. Since most of your pile needs to carbon material, alot of folks have made the mistake of making the bulk of there compost pile from freshly cut crass thinking its a brown and after a week or so the pile becomes slimy and stinky. If they would have dried the clippings for a week or so the finished product would have decomposed more effecitly. Same way with leaves, old leaves should be the bulk of any pile.

10/23/2008 11:01:51 PM

Seattle, WA

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/FACTS/COMPOST.HTM

10/27/2008 2:17:17 PM

Santa Cruz, CA

I'm reading this really fascinating book call Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis. I'd recommend it for anyone who would like to know more about their soils and how to keep them really healthy. They talk about the different types of composts, how to make them and what feeds fungus and what feeds bacteria. They write about making the right balance between carbon and nitrogen. Did you know there are two types of nitrogen produced in the soil depending on what your soil is fed? I didn't know that until I read this book. They also say the aged, brown organic materials support fungi, while fresh green organic materials support bacteria. Another thing I learned is that roots put out a secretion of exudates which attract bacteria and fungi along with all kinds of other soil life. That is why mycorrhizae like roots. In return for exudates from plant roots, Mycorrhizal fungi seek out water and nutrients and then bring them back to the plant. It's all so fun to lean and I feel I am just scratching the surface. Are their any other books like this around that you could recommend? - Creekside

11/6/2008 12:30:52 AM