I deliberately make slimy green compost from wet grass clippings (smells
really bad when you dig it out. Once the heat has gone out of it, I bury it
in the garden (as opposed to digging it through) - the worms absolutely love
it. By the time the crop planted over it is finished, there is just a nice
layer of worm caste left to be dug over ready for the next batch of slime to
be buried. Interestingly I don't often need to add lime to balance the soil.

I also run a bottomless worm farm, to which I add shredded paper when it
starts to get a but wet or smelly. I also have the traditional slow -
everything-in compost.

Geoff


"0tterbot" wrote in message
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"Staycalm" wrote in message
u...
Is it useful to put shredded paper in compost bins? My compost is too
green and wet. I need to add more into it but don't have sawdust. What
else could I use?

shredded paper is good. dried-out plants/trimmings are good too - i leave
mine lying around on the ground (out of the way, naturally) until they're
all dried out & then break them up a bit (if necessary) & put them in in a
layer in the bin. you can also use dried-out leaves (esp in autumn!)
and/or dried-out grass clippings, etc. any dried-out plant material you
trust not to be weedy & isn't too big, basically.

my compost was like yours, a bit smelly & rank & i used to need to lime it
quite a bit, but with adding layers of torn paper or dried out garden
trimmings interspersed with the layers of "soft" composting material, i
find i am not needing to lime any more & it's just breaking down quicker &
more nicely. apparently the dried-out materials will add carbon for better
balance, as well as breaking up the continual addition of "soft" layers,
so there's better aeration as well, which aids the process. i squirt a bit
of water on if it's very dry, to get it going.
kylie