My pile was started in mid April and steaming since March but I haven’t been adding enough browns for how much grass clippings I’ve been adding and it reeks today. I stir my pile before I add clippings and would add saw dust between layers and stir after since it was mostly browns on the bottom but now I’m out of browns do any of you have any suggestions?
What about shredded paper? I don’t have anything string enough to shred cardboard
My friend you are the shredder
What, you mean use my hands like some common serf?
The correct term is peon, ok?
Is a compost pile considered a peon? I'm going to start calling my piles peons.
You misspelled pee on
It’s better to be pissed off than pissed on. Amirite amirite?
You know the difference between a lentil and a chickpea, right?
I'd never pay to have a lentil on my face.
Chickpea vs garbanzo bean is how I’ve always heard it
Wellllllllll.....
This is why it smells like urea
lol I mean peon not serf. Dumb joke. But yeah the microbes in your pile are your peons I guess
Don't peon that.
Happy Cake Day!
Okie dokie.
No! Pee-on is what you do if you want more of that ammonia smell.
No, don't peon it! They said it already smells like urea.
No use a box cutter tool like a mid level tradesperson.
Like that, said the mid level tradesperson.
You are right, shame on I. 😔
Got me through high school.
A razor knife and an old board make it simple. Don’t cut yourself though.
I just soak the board over night and rip it apart
Yeap great way to make it easy and I also soak my cardboard before adding. But in this case I’m not sure you need wet cardboard going into something already that wet
Then just let the shredded cardboard dry in the sun for couple hours lol should be fast
Yupyupyup, also most of the moisture I just squeeze out of the little pieces, literally my anger management
Soak it in piss.
I use sky piss(rain) although I want to try a cardboard and piss only pile and see how it’d do
Humanity is so doomed if industry ever collapses.
When not if. Fossil fuels are depleting as are topsoils, water, and a majority of natural resources
I was actually dumb enough to go out and buy a shredder because of this sub and everyone talking about shredded cardboard. The shredder instructions say not to use cardboard so I pull the cardboard layers apart and then run them through. It works really well, but could have saved myself some money if I just asked here first.
Don’t be so hard on yourself that shredder still will save you time and time is money
That is fair is there anything I should watch out for and not add paper and cardboard wise? Edit: thanks!
I avoid glossy cardboard, I soak my cardboard over night and use my hands or a shovel and a bucket and just go all stabby
Strip it of any tape. Avoid glossy finishes because they often have thin layers of plastic. Brown stuff is generally good - most major shipping firms, including Amazon, use soy based inks and plant starch based glues so you won't get heavy metals.
Avoid glossy finishes because they often have thin layers of plastic.
you can tell if its plastic by ripping it slowly. plastic will stretch before ripping.
I did not know this this, that's good infi
Can help to get it wet before shredding I soak mine. Also wear gloves cardboard destroys hands
The ninja turtles would like to know his location
It takes so long lol. I can't keep up with the grass clippings.
i set out to work with a box cutter and like eight 20x20x25 inch cardboard shipping boxes and if you want them to break down quick the smaller the pieces are, the better.
i soon realized that i was making a mess of it. it was taking a long time and a lot of effort to get small pieces and then it actually kinda took an annoyingly long time and much effort to get all the scraps scooped up and in a bin. i didn’t make it through 2 boxes before i reassessed.
i decided to see if they’d fit in a paper shredder and the actually did! so i just used the box cutter to cut the cardboard into strips 8 inches wide and up to like 3 feet long and the shredder made quick work of them and better still, all the scraps end up in the collection bin.
edited to add if you do this make sure to use shredder lubricant before (and maybe once or twice during the process if you’re doing a lot of boxes) and don’t do too many pieces in a row, it’s a lot work on the shredder and they can overheat if you don’t take breaks
op tear it up by hand like the rest of us lmao
Wet it, throughly. It will then tear like paper.
I use an Amazon basics shredder to shred cardboard boxes, works like a champ. Then occasionally lightly oil a piece of cardboard and send it through to keep everything lubricated. (Food grade oil of course, I use grape seed)
You don't just use your leftover veggies oil?
This.
Just use a regular old office paper shredder. Don't try and shred a crazy amount at once, if it gets a bit hot, take a break, but other than that you'll be fine.
Shredding with an actual shredder will also give you more surface area than doing it by hand, and it's all about the surface area.
I have a 12 year old shredder from Walmart and it will shredder cardboard. You would be surprised. 😄
6 leaf shredder is capable and it hasn't broken yet. I'm definitely surpassing what it's rated for.
Yes, Euripides cardboard and Eripidose cardboard.
Card board egg cartons work. Your junk mail is good too.
Do you know anyone with chickens because if you can get some of the wood or straw from the coop to throw in your pile it will take off.
All my shredded paper goes in compost. Just make sure it is not "plastic" paper like shiny junk mail and it's free of kid stickers.
Cardboard is just thick paper...
I bought an inexpensive shedder from Big W (Aus chain closest to Walmart) and it said up to 10 sheets of paper at a time. I shred cardboard in there constantly. Like I did tons of boxes from IKEA after buying a bunch of furniture - just did in sessions with breaks so the motor didn’t overheat or wear out. So glad people in this sub said it was possible because otherwise hand shredding is not fun.
you can probably just add it in large chunks. cardboard breaks down pretty fast
A Stanley knife does a good job, or just leave it out in the rain for a week
Try your local buy and sell. I know it’s an added expense but I use my 12 sheet shredder a lot! I use shredder cardboard as mulch and saved a ton of money. I’ll be saving money for years! And this would help your current problem. Or else, if you know anybody who has a rabbit or Guinea pig, they may have some soiled hay for you!
Do you have a bagger for your lawn mower?
Get it wet and let it sit overnight, it rips up easy
Is this one of those wet paper bags/wet cardboard box jokes
You can just rip it into 3-5” pieces. I usually let my cardboard sit out in the rain if I can, but maybe you could set it on top of your pile for a few hours to get some of the moisture to make ripping the cardboard easier. Box cutters work too.
Shredded paper works great!
Brown paper bags are an alternative, but you just tear it into pieces by hand if you’re using cardboard
Brown paper bags are an alternative, but you just tear it into pieces by hand if you’re using cardboard
I get shredded paper from work.
Like shredded printer paper? I wouldn’t count on the laser printer toner on that paper being food safe for a compost pile.
Wet the cardboard. Then easily tear the wet cardboard. Then let it dry before adding to the compost.
Wet it down and tear by hand into big chunks. Layer it with the other stuff. Or mix it up.
It's really 2024 and people forgot they can shred cardboard with their hands
Wet the cardboard. It will rip easily
You can run over it with a lawn mower.
Amazon to the rescue??
Honest question, but why does the cardboard need to be shredded? Is it particularly important in compost heaps?
I am about to make a couple of heaps myself but I was planning to layer my cardboard between piles of greens and wet stuff and then add a layer of cardboard on top every time I fill it with more greens? My only experience so far has been in making lasagne raised beds, where multiple layers of cardboard (with fork holes for drainage) disappear as the beds rot down.
If you have a lot of mass all at once that's probably not a big deal, especially if you're going to do no turn.
Tearing it up helps it break down faster. Particularly in OP's case, it's better to have it more integrated into the pile. It will absorb some of the excess water and help to correct the imbalance.
Cardboard, like paper or grass, can mat. If you're doing layers of cardboard and grass clippings you could end up with a giant thick thatch that just acts as a barrier. If you have a lot of mass with a variety of other greens and browns you'll likely produce a fair amount of heat and the cardboard will breakdown quickly regardless of whether or not it's in pieces.
Ok, wow, thanks for that, I thought it would prevent the grass from matting if I layered it with cardboard. Definitely something to think about.
About that: how exactly do you shred carboard?
Just tear it apart by hand. It doesn't have to be little pieces like a paper shredder. Chunks in the 3"-6" range have always worked well for me.
If you're doing a ton of boxes for some reason a band saw helps.
Box cutter, cardboard saw, or cardboard shears
If you have paper, cardboard, egg cartons and/or brown bags, stir them in to get more browns in your mix. Otherwise, it's not the end of the world. The ammonia from the excess nitrogen will off-gas (and stink) for a few days and the pile may have slimy areas. It is nothing you can't fix.
If your main input is mowed grass, you may want to let it dry for a few days before putting it in the compost, which will reduce both the nitrogen and moisture.
Okay awesome looks like I’ll be saving a lot more things for my like from now on, next week I’ll get stock piled on the nasty hay my uncles horses don’t eat so I hopefully don’t run into this again! Thanks!!
You've got this! Your compost is going to be awesome.
Thank you I’m excited it’s my first time composting!
You can just mix it more and aerate it better. The ammonia will gas off and oxidize into nitrite/Nitrate faster so. Ammonia persists only in anaerobic and reducing conditions.
Also, if some of your trees need trimming, that's been my source of browns. Leave the branches to dry and chop into compost when it looks a little too greensy
I buy eggs in those rough cardboard trays and as I use them the shells go back in and it all goes in the compost heap, I then till the compost before using it. I am also lucky in that moose winter on my property so if I'm fast enough I get concentrated brown pellets.
Moose! Holy shit. Yup, holy shit!
Can't ask for better wood product for the garden.
I haven’t tested this out, but I’m thinking of taking some pages from a newspaper and running it under my mower to add carbon to the fresh, green clippings.
Grass clippings will do that. You truly have no browns? Used tissue, any paper at all. Sawdust/woodchips? Hay/straw? There's a garden center near me that sells straw for like $12 a bale. Leaves, even green ones? I have no trees on my property but I take my neighbor's yard waste when he rakes.
Maybe add some dirt to it when you mix it up again. I don't think it will smell better but it will continue to break down. Maybe cover it with something to keep the smell down.
I have some paper that was shredded but it has ink? Is that fine as long as it’s not the hard shiny paper or cardboard?
And I just used the last of the saw dust 3 days ago yesterday I picked pinecones ran them over with the mower and added that.
I could trim some trees for leaves it’s fine if they are green? Next week I’ll be able to go to my uncles and grab the gross hay
Edit: thanks for the reply!
Most ink is soy anyway, so it should be chill as long as it isn’t plasti-coated
Okay great to know cause I have a big black garbage bag full of shredded paper we use for fire starter but this is more important! Thanks!
Make sure there’s no thermal receipt paper in there, though, as it’s coated with harmful chemicals like BPA. Everything else should be fine.
Huh very good to know about the receipts! Thank you!
Where I live you can goto the landfill transfer station and get shredded wood for little to nothing Edit: they shred the tree/brush waste that’s dumped
Huh I never thought about that I’m pretty sure there is one not far from my place! Should I be worried about any diseased trees from there?
No, you shouldn’t be worried about any tree diseases in wood chips.
Herbicides would be what I would be worried about for composting but chances someone sprayed the trees before cutting them up is probably rare I would just run it
The shiny on shiny paper is clay, it's no problem. There is so little of it anyway.
Where I live we have really sandy soil that is hard to keep wet, a little clay is a good thing.
If you're going to buy something for browns, you could consider a package of those lawn and leaf bags from one of the big box stores. You can shred those and add them--they're meant to decompose along with the fall leaves collected in them. Plus, you don't introduce hay seeds.
I would just ask neighbors or family for some of their recent shipping boxes or the brown paper packing stuff
$12 a bale
Literally guffawing.
idk but its the middle of the city so maybe thats why its... bad? haha. I've never bought it but its available
Should we all pool our brown paper and send it in the mail to this brownless composter? OP, if you desire envelopes of brown paper delivered to your house, just say the word.
We would need to figure out a way to shred it first tho
✨Boom✨
mail them a paper shredder wrapped in a hundred layers of brown paper
Sorted 👉🏻😎👉🏻
You can also stir it up as much as possible and make it as "fluffy" as you can. It needs some airflow to dry out a little. Nothing is harmed, just something that happens with too much grass clippings. When we first started we used way too many clippings (1980s, pre internet) and it would get like layers of green, smelly slime. It's nasty, but it's not gonna harm anything.
Try to find some dead leaves or brush and add that. Rake under your shrubs lightly.
If you need another project, chickens make great compost stirrers.
When we run out of fall leaves for the chicken run, we get some from the woods at a local park. Just watch out for snakes!
Seriously? Just drive by basically any dumpster and grab some cardboard out of it.
Don’t pee on it
The only time anyone in this sub has suggested this.
I toss my cardboard to the puppy who loves to shred it up!
Couples things.
Everyone has a different process.
Mine 1. I collect cardboard from work and LIQUOR STORES.
You can also find some at like Sam’s and Costco big box stores (the stuff food is transported in)
What I have noticed (and I could be wrong here) is after a while the smell subsides and the anaerobic process completes itself. It’s broken down and has settled. I keep it moving to keep oxygen in there but I don’t think anaerobic is bad it just stinks and takes a little longer.
BUT when I’m anaerobic BSF go CRAZY and I have a ton of them in there eating stuff up.
Yeah I think I’ll be doing the cardboard trick and shredding all the junk mail and what not, and yeah mine must be anaerobic but I think if I save all the cardboard and paper plus getting the nasty hay(the stuff the horses don’t eat) from my uncle that should hold me off till fall. Thanks for your reply since I’ve added the shredded paper and pitch forked it 3 times the stink has gone down a bit!
I hope you see this because I had the same problem for years until I found the best source of browns ON EARTH!!!
40 Lb bag of All natural Pine pellet bedding, available from basically any farm/ranch/feed store.
You simply can't beat $6 bucks for all the yummy browns you can handle! Its safe, no chemicals, smells great and breaks down fast! I put in a scoop any time I add greens. Game changing!
Yeah I think I’m gonna do that the Lowe’s near me normally has water damaged bags for half off thanks for the idea!
Nice! Trust me, it's just so much easier than trying to break down cardboard and paper and hoping to God there isn't lead-based ink in it.
Non glossy paper should be fine. Doesn't have to be shredded fine either. You can tear a box up by hand.
When I had a lot of boxes from deliveries around Christmas I would break the boxes down flat and cut them into 4x4 squares on the band saw or table saw. Other than that I would just tear them up by hand and they work fine.
Remove staples/tape/labels first.
Okay awesome that’s what I’m gonna do I have a bag of shredded paper we normally use as fire starter that just saved the day! Thanks!
Mix it well and don't water. Like grass clippings, shredded paper can form mats if it's too wet.
In the future let grass clippings sit in the lawn for a few hours and go back to collect them with the mower.
Sometimes I'll keep a can of clippings and yard waste separate from leaves/cardboard/paper until I have enough mass that I know it'll produce heat, then mix.
Ah smart idea I’ve never really thought about drying the clippings before but I have the space! And I mixed a bunch when adding the paper ill probably go out Sunday or Monday and give it another mixing I normally have a 45 gallon barrel of browns but I’ve went through 2 since I started mowing!!
I toss my cardboard to the puppy who loves to shred it up!
My only idea is either pull the pile out with a rake give it a good mix top to bottom and pile it back up again?
Turning it with a pitchfork will introduce oxygen and dry it out a little.
If you have space for it get a chip drop, you will never run out of browns again
I want to get a chip drop so bad, but I'm afraid I'll get the whole 20 yards and I don't have room for that.
Thais is a great solution. So many uses for wood chips. Just be ready for lots of green wood and leaves this time of year. Ours got smelly and moldy before we could move it all out of the driveway.
You can go to Tractor Depot and get 40# bags of pine bedding pellets for $7.00, it works amazing for turning around a pile that is too wet or green.
Paper shredder. All mail, ripping out any plastic.
buy a bail of straw or a bag of softwood pellets. Great source of browns on demand and cheap cheap
in this case id advise to halt pissing
This is a sad day rip piss pile 😂
Take your neighbors recycled Amazon boxes or brown packing paper, or ask your grocery store or liquor store, maybe a book store for boxes… any retailer that gets their goods shipped in boxes! They’ll gladly give them to you for free. Avoid glossy material and obviously remove any tape.
Or wood chips. Some cities offer free wood chips from municipal lawn maintenance. Or your neighbors lawn trimmings.
Dry brown lawn clippings, wood shavings. Newspaper, if that exists anymore. (Hashtag support local news)
Oh and avoid sawdust from treated lumber.
Check if your community has free mulch. Both an arborist and the county have free mulch (ground up yard waste) available. That will give you some browns.
Bro get yourself a pitch fork. Turn it. I consider a pitchfork as essential as a bin. Even all greens will break down and be soil again.
Yeah I do have a pitchfork I’ve actually been turning it every second day and after every addition to the pile, all food scraps and coffee grounds get layered in the middle as well.
Wow. That's a surprise to me. Well done. I don't add newsprint or cardboard to my pile because of the glue/ink issues. The local duck shooting gun club had a practice range just out of town. It was only a few years before the milking cows got sick with lead poisoning. Now it's plastic shot only. Hmmmm.
Yeah I’ve been mixing it often cause it gets so much hotter when I stir literally half the pile is finished compost and started April 22nd! I think I’ll be trying to get the moldy hay from my uncle as a steady brown source the paper is just a little unpredictable imo. And lmao it’s surprising how much damage humans can do before realizing they are the issue.
Well that sounds great. That's what is meant to happen. Do you mix the "finished" compost through the heap when you turn it. I would. This depends a bit on composition but when I turn my compost I have a hose with a spray nozzle on it and I wet it as much as possible through the whole turn. It pumps up the temperature really fast and high. You cannot put your hand in there and hold it in. So moisture is a double edge sword. Good luck with solving your anaerobic problem. ps I have put untreated sawdust in my pile. Spread as I would a heavy layer of salt on my food. I never see it again.
Yeah I try to dig up from the bottom and put fresh greens/grass clippings in holes leaving active compost on the top and give it a good stir. Every few weeks I take the front off rake the pile out mix it up and re stack it and if I have greens I add in layers as I re pile! And I honestly have only had to add maybe 4 gallons of water (lots of pee) I keep cardboard on top so I can control how much moisture goes in cause we’ve had 120 mm of rain since April! My moisture level is like a damp sponge
There doesn't seem to be a single thing that you do that I wouldn't consider best practice. It so surprising you are having an anaerobic problem. It's never happened to me. I suppose I do cheat. And always have I guess. Since I know I'm removing so much produce from the garden and my compost is the only source of fertilizer that I use. I gather all my materials and save them up. Then I go to the local riding school and collect a trailer or two of horse poo. That is what I layer my compost with. Imported horse manure. It's brilliant. Not everyone has this option available. Do you?
Yeah I’ve been following this sub for a year and really learned a lot from others before I even started, and I don’t think that’s cheating at all just being smart and outsourcing! And my uncle actually has horses I was gonna pick up some moldy hay from I guess I’ll fill a 35 gallon barrel with some dried horse manure too!
Highly recommended. Fresh is best.
In a lot of areas you can get free wood chips from the dump/transfer station. I would get some and add those. It'll help with drainage too.
I save my Amazon boxes and tear them up by hand and throw them into my compost bin. Tearing them up by hand is a good stress buster for me 😂 Also, I add these: brown paper bags at home from food delivery, empty toilet paper rolls, any kind of brown paper in any delivery items, dried twigs and sticks from my backyard, dried plants from my raised beds that I pull out if I have too many plants of the same variety that’s just suffocating other plants.
Treat yourself to a hard copy of your daily newspaper every day for as long as necessary.
you want be to subscribe to NYTimes so my compost pile will have more browns?
Local newspaper, please keep it alive
I said what I said
Take some garbage bags into the woods and collect some leaves. You can shred them up with your lawnmower if you want.
If you live in a community with a woodchip pile, you can mix in your pile. They are also to put on top of your pile as well
Get some cardboard boxes from the local supermarket
If you soak cardboard for an hour in a sink full of water or a bucket it comes apart dead easy
Needs more oxygen. When did you turn it last?
Sounds like you have been peeing on it, good to hear.
ABC stores give away free cardboard boxes if you ask. Not all of them can be composted because of the glossy stuff, but most can
you can also grab cardboard from the cages at wholesalers like sam’s club and costco or your local aldi and then wet n hand shred.
Cardboard, burlap, dead leaves, mulch and wood chips…All stuff that most people hate to have around. Go find a neighbor and fill a garbage can
From now on when you go to the store you ask for paper instead of plastic. You save EVERY BAG, you buy yourself a $45 shredder off Amazon the ones that chip the paper up and you start filling trash bags year round, between that and the leaves you rake AND SAVE in the fall you can handle grass and all your home scraps. I know that doesn’t help you right this second but that’s what you need to do going forward so you always have browns or carbon on hand. For now go to Home Depot or tractor supply or rural king and get a bale of straw or hay you could also get some bags of mulch. Don’t add to much but it should be around 50/50 more carbon is better for stank but not to much more
Buy a bale of hay and mix well
Let it dry and mix it. Everytime before mixing, let the top layer dry completely so that it will act as browns.
One more tip. Next time you mow the lawn, leave the piles on the ground for couple of days before adding to the pile. That works too.
Shredded cardboard/paper or sawdust/wood shavings will work fine. Be sure to keep it covered too so if it rains the problem doesn’t get worse.
Not sure if you're looking for solutions for generating too much grass clippings, but if you aren't already using a mulching blade, consider that option. I mow my lawn every 10-14 days with a push mower with a mulching blade and don't bag anything and it still looks pretty good except for clumps here and there.
Pretty common browns. Shredded paper. (Newspaper and brown paper bags are fairly good sources beyond just shredding junk mail) Card board. Wood chips. Saw dust.
Oddball things like coconut husk. Nut shells. Corn cobs. Might also serve as browns
Go buy a bale of straw and mix it in there.
Do you not stock up on leaves in the fall? Neighbors just put 'em out for free.
Have you tried peeing on it? Jk
Try peeing on it
I keep a couple bales of straw around, and mix some in when adding kitchen scraps. The heat kills off any seeds. Pizza boxes are good too, as the grease spots make them unrecyclable .
I collect all the teeny tiny little twigs and stick...I break the bigger sticks into smaller pieces or slice them thinner if need be. These slivers and twigs can be used to create a barrier between your layers for oxygen to get through there more efficiently. I tend to not spend too much time splitting sticks as a year in the pile will soften it up enough to chop up with your shovel with you turn it in a few months and add more layers. My pile smells when I add my buckets of compostable material from the house but I cover it with a stick layer and a heavy grass/ leaf layer and some dirt and it dissipates in a couple days. No problem.
I get brown paper bags from the grocery store. I bought a shredder specifically for shredding them. I used to cut them up into tiny pieces by hand
I pissed on mine about a week and it smelled bad but i just added some potash to bring the ph down and it doesn't smell anymore
A little push mower does good things to cardboard!!
If you have brown paper bags around, I'd shred those and add to the pile. Or cardboard. Or both.
I like to leave some clippings out to dry out and act as some browns to even things out when I'm running low on cardboard. I use leaves and small twigs and things too but they need breaking down more first before adding
Go to Starbucks and ask for bags of used grounds. They will send you home with a ton.
Turn it once a week to introduce oxygen, which might help
Turn it.
Always turn it.
Too much nitrogen. Get some shredded newspaper, or get a bale of straw.
Could try shredded newspaper. Most presses use soy based non toxic ink so it's safe to add to compost and can go through a paper shredder
Have you peed on it already?
Does your county or city offer free mulch? That might be a good source of brown or whole driving try to find places that might need a racking and gather some materials
I throw in egg cartons every few weeks.
I just had this problem I added lactobacillus bacteria and completely solved it quickly
When I composed I alway tossed in a cup of garden lime to keep the smell down.
Got no leaves? Dry grass? Mulch? Cardboard? Newspaper? Used paper towels? Junk mail? Bummer not sure how to help. Go get some
I buy a truck bed full of inexpensive sawdust and layer that for carbon. You can also use DRY leaves or pine needles, or get a bale of straw.
Throw that cardboard in there there is some compostable browns
Get a rake and go get some browns
Rice hulls are a cheap and easy filler
You need to aerate it. Take it out and turn it,
I love how the comments just fall into nonsense. It made me smile. Thank you all.
Hit it with powdered lime.
Spread it out for a couple of days.
Lime
Forgive me for not knowing but what are browns?
Browns are carbon rich organic matter like cardboard, wood chips, dried leaves from fall. In composting you need 50/50 browns to greens or like most people say more browns then greens are. Green grass clippings, tree trimmings, coffee grounds and organic food waste excluding meat and dairy are greens. Hope you start composting it’s a ton of fun!
Shred some cardboard boxes and mix in well. Let it dry out for a few days. Mix again and make sure it's evening or before you add any water.