Good items for compost to bring home from woods???

What are some good items to bring home from a field or the woods for your compost? I already know that grass clippings can be used from the field. Moss and leaves could be used from the woods, right? Does anyone else have any fresh ideas?


Thanks much

Pretty much anything found in the woods that is 'organic and natural' (ie- leaves, moss, bark) and which can decompose (not rocks or large tree trunks, which would take a very long time). These would be considered your 'browns'.

leaves, dead tall grass, bark umm thats all i can think of sorry

watch out with the grass clipping put those on a lil at a time cause a big mound of grass heats up way to high

That's good though isn't it? Wouldn't that help the compost break down quicker? What if you put a pound of grass into your compost? Would it explode in a fiery goo-ball of compost and hot magma?=) No seriously, keep thinking. How long does bark take to break down?

well, its just like having wet grass/hay in a barn, it combusts and can start a fire hes right be very careful with large amounts of grass or youll have ashes instead of compost

boo yah ...lol jk

fish bodies/carcasses - fresh water or salt water doesnt matter. when fish decomposes it is very high in nitrogen. i burried a 36 inch striped bass carcass with head, skeleton, guts and fins in my garden in april of last year and planted in may. in july the plants where the fish was burried were almost twice as big as the rest of the garden.

if there is a pond nearby your compost pile or near where you will be planting, just get a dozen night crawlers and catch some small sun patties/blue gills. cut em up and put them at the bottom of your compost pile (so they dont stink) or bury the pieces in the exaxt spot you are going to plant.

i compost all my table scraps too - except for dairy products and meat products (these will stink and attract critters). anything you get from the woods that is or was once alive will make good compost. the smaller the pieces are the faster it will decompose.

but what no1s mentioned is carbon. to make a perfect compost you need more carbon than nitrogen. paper is the best form of carbon as it also speeds up the the process. also if you turn over your compost everyday, it increases airflow which bring in more micro organisms which break down compost. all in all, if you have a perfect mix, and turn it everyday, you can have perfect compost in ten weeks. the best wat to make a compost pile is to make it in layers of carbon, nitrogen,carbon nitrogen,etc etc etc.

oh, just on the side as well, a perfect compost shouldnt smell or attract flies. if it is attracting insects, then it means theres too much nirogen, and it needs more paper.

lozak is right on with saying that making layers to build up your pile is the ideal and quickest way to make good compost. I start with a 3" layer of sticks on the bottom(not broken up) to create a nice base that allows air to flow into the pile. Then I layer with 2" of carbon material(i.e. dead, brown stuff like paper, dry grass, dry leaves), followed by 2" of nitrogen material(i.e. live stuff like veggie scraps, green plant material, fresh leaves, animal manures). On top of this I put a really fine layer of soil(just enough to cover everything, ~1/4"). Add a little bit of water to each layer(moisten, not soak) and keep building up layer after layer(the sticks are only for the bottom row). I find that building my piles in igloo/dome shapes works the best both architectually. Now if you did all that correctly, your pile should heat up in 24 hours to a few days. An easy way to tell if your pile is heating in the middle is take a long smooth stick and insert it into the middle and leave it for a few minutes, pull it out and touch the tip, just a cheapie thermometer. If your pile cools down, then it needs one of 3 things, AIR(turn the pile and mix it up some), H20(just add some), or Nitrogen(mix in fresh green stuff or i like to use diluted urine). Hope that helps, happy composting!

Oh yeah, as far as some good materials to bring back from the forest...... Leaves are awesome, dead and live grasses, mosses. I would stay away from anything wood as they require fungus to break down, not bacteria like what is doing all the action in your compost pile. The wood will eventually break down, it can just take a long long time. Also I would bring back a bucket or two of really rich forest top soil. Throw a little bit in every few layers in your pile to supercharge the amount of microorganisms that are going to go to town eating up your pile and making nice soil for you. In general for ingredients I would say that diversity is the best, grab a bit of many things and you will be sure to have well balanced compost. Also, a quick word on heat. Really hot piles do break down faster, you can make them specifically that way by adjusting your carbon:nitrogen ratios when building your pile. Hot and fast compost has the advantage of being ready to use faster and with quicker releasing nutrients, however compost that was slower in creating has more nutrients and they release slower.

Great tips, agent....+rep

try layering with straw as it breaks down it will produce humic acid and humates and it is much richer in these than many other plants.