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Old 05-04-09, 10:23 AM   #4
Sandcruiser
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but "too much" is open to a lot of interpretation
It is all about balance. If you have a lot of green stuff (N rich stuff), then add some brown to balance it out--- dead leaves that are dry, newspaper, wood chips, palm fronds*, manure**, shredded cardboard, sawdust, etc

Also- turning the pile frequently will add oxygen and allow the N-rich stuff to break down more quickly.

Note: *palm fronds take forever to decompose. A looong time. Be sure to chip them.
**manure is actually pretty "green" and not so "brown" but it is less "green" than ... lawn clippings, for example, and can help balance out the high nitrogen content of the clippings. You would still want to add more "brown" to a pile of grass and manure, but the grass/manure pile will decompose better than a pile of grass alone.

also: if you spread out grass clippings and allow them to dry, they are much less "hot" in decomposition and act more "brown" than "green"
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