"madgardener" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:29:47 GMT, (dstvns) wrote:

Hi,

As of this month I've been composting kitchen scraps and brown paper
products for roughly 4 years. At an average of 500 lbs per year I've
saved over one ton of trash from being wasted in the landfill I
hope everyone else is having as much success.

Dan
That IS a milestone!!! So how has your shredding brown paper products
been incorporated into the kitchen scraps worked out for brown
material for the layering? Has it broken down adequately? And when
do you have finished compost for your garden to use?

I just turned my compost heap from mid-September which had nothing but
green to start with. So, I used the leaf bags themselves and torn newspaper
for brown and they are completely broken down. I was expecting paper bits
and I didn't shred; just soaked them in water and wadded them up.
I just "collected" a couple dozen bags of leaves, so I didn't need any
brown and used soaked rabbit food for green. Then, I happened upon a
friendly neighbour who was mowing a grassy lot and got a dozen bags of
mulch-mowed grass clippings. It was perfect timing. The heap is 10 ft. round
and 5 ft. deep and already steaming. Now I wish I would have thrown the leaf
bags in, as well. But, I'll never hesitate to do so in the future.