recipes for compost

I think my compost tumbler has too much brown and not enough green. I keep asking my yard to grow faster but it has slowed down ... any suggestions on what I should do. The only 'heat' it is getting is from the sun and the stuff inside is just barely damp. I have even added water to it once.

Tammie

You can add occaisional water if your pile is dry... it should be "damp as a wrung out sponge". I'd rather have my compost a tad on the dry side, rather than too wet.

You could pee in it. Urine is a great source of nitorgen and moisture :- )

But for the squeamish, instead of urine, you could add used coffee grounds. They are another great source of nitrogen, they are damp and they are a nice crumbly size for composting. You can get bags of used coffee grounds from starbucks - they give them out to gardeners.

Other sources of greens is kitchen scraps. Like melon rinds, banana peels, carrot peelings, potato skins, any veggie scraps - make a nice addition to compost.

Blood Meal is often a great heater upper. When ever I need nitrogen I just mow the lawn if yours is not growing like a weed use some milorganite fertilizer. It is best used when put on in the spring but no doubt that it would make you mow and irrigate to fill that barrell quickly.

I have fescue grass that is an all year green grass. I grows the least in the hottest times of the year. The draw back is that in the winter I have been known to have to mow the yard when it is freezing outside. My dogs will not go out if the grass is tall. I will have plenty of green in the late fall, winter and early spring. LOL

My kitchen scraps go to my worm bin. Guess I can let them go a little hungry. I will go by Starbucks and see if I can get some grounds.

Thank you,

Tammie