On Sun, 10 Aug 2003 18:47:39 -0600, John DeBoo
wrote:

Just started a compost pile today with a bin I made of oak pallets.
Everyone was very helpful with my wood chip question (I'll add
some but sparingly) for composting. I also got 2 books from the
Library yesterday that will be my evening reading for the next few days.

New question grass clippings. I intend to use some in the
compost bin along with other garden greens & browns etc but as I was
adding them I got to thinking - why not add some directly to the
unused garden area now and mix them with the dirt so they
breakdown(?) and may be ready for next years crop of goodies? Soil
is sand & a lot of clay so it sticks in clumps as hard as concrete.

I also was thinking about adding them as cover to the in-use garden
area now to help hold in moisture (mostly sand). Then in fall I'll
turn the soil so they too are mixed in. Are either of these in
general no-no's? FWIW, I'm in Albuquerque (zone 7) almost no rain
and mid 90's so its hot and VERY dry. Regardless, I still intend to
do the compost pile though.

TIA, again
The action of making compost will produce a biologically superior
product. Congratulations on making the first step in developing a
vastly improved garden.

Here is a helpful link in building a successful thermophilic
(superior) pile.

http://www.gardenplace.com/content/c...lch_calc.html#