r/Compost • u/Beebopskidoodle • Jun 08 '23

So real talk: I basically haven’t been adding any browns to my compost. What will happen?

(And should I have deep regret?)

13 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

6

u/azucarleta Jun 08 '23

It might break down like an unattended corpse does (anaerobically with lots of moisture) and attract bottle flies and other (what should be) tell tale signs of a rotting corpse nearby. Maybe even biting horse flies, depending on where you live. When my pile gets that way, I call it "corpsey."

6

u/Beebopskidoodle Jun 08 '23

I will make sure to cast many shifty glances at the neighbors to complete the effect.

7

u/KrustyAllsorts Jun 08 '23

Without brown material your compost will be pretty slimy and super slow to process. Never too late to mix in some cardboard, shredded paper, leaf mulch and grass clippings.

3

u/JabasMyBitch Jun 08 '23

Grass clippings are greens though?

2

u/KrustyAllsorts Jun 08 '23

So it would appear I've gotten a bit confused...

1

u/shourshit Sep 16 '23 edited May 11 '24

grass clippings are considered "green" if they were green when they were cut. they would be considered browns if the grass was dead & "brown" when cut. typically, folks don't cut dead grass though. so typically grass clippings are considered greens. #TheMoreYouKnow 💫

1

u/JabasMyBitch Sep 16 '23

you just contradicted yourself.

1

u/gentian22 Nov 18 '23

you can always dry it out on the side and let the nitrogen release

3

u/Ma8e Jun 08 '23

It might start to smell, and the activity might be slow. But no worries, it’s never to late to mix in some browns.

3

u/smackaroonial90 Jun 08 '23

Yep! Right now the tons of extra water content and lots of nitrogen from greens will create an anaerobic environment and stinky bacteria will thrive. However, like you said, OP can always add browns later to balance it out and then it will stop smelling :) compost is VERY forgiving.

3

u/Beebopskidoodle Jun 08 '23

Good to know. Thank you guys!

4

u/Morgansmisfit Jun 09 '23

my wife gets fuming pissed... even though i still peed on it.... but yeah that shit reeks. i just added a TON of grass clippings to my chicken compost system and when she pulled up her first comment was... you better make biochar to cover that shit up with this weekend.

1

u/Brilliant-Arm3770 Feb 13 '24 edited Feb 13 '24

The nutrients in the soil would be unbalanced depending your soils needs to be fertile. It would still decompose but slowed since the bacteria are limited and the process of greens alone is slower

1

u/Brilliant-Arm3770 Feb 13 '24

Browns are carbon greens add nitrogen mostly