Hi Daniel,

Are you having any particular problem with the pile other than the idea that there are too many greens? I usually compost whatever I have on hand and don't worry about it. When I compost only ice plant, for example, the pile just heats to 160 degrees F. over night, and stays at that temperature for days. It's quick compost without a lot of fuss.

Usually, there are feed stores nearby most everywhere in CA. If you really want to, I suppose you could buy straw.

Terran

Compost is compost. But if you're convinced yours is "too strong" -- it's not -- use smaller amounts.

I don't think it's a matter of the resulting compost being too strong. It's more a matter of the compost stinking while composting.

Shredded paper, sawdust, cardboard are all sources of browns that are often overlooked.

Terran and Jean001, thank you for writing. Yes, I know compost is compost, but last years pile( composed of the same elements) gave me beautiful, lush foliage, but few, if any, flowers. Is is my understanding that this is due to a high nitrogen content..... It is good for my non flowering shrubs, but my flower and vegetable garden is my concern. Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Anionic fertilizers also create vegetative growth. I had that problem when I gardened in Denver, Co; the virgin soil was high calcium and anionic. Tomato plants would grow like everything but hardly produce tomatoes.

If excess nitrogen is the problem and you can't find enough browns to add to the pile to alleviate that situation, the addition of dolomitic limestone will release N. More correctly, the magnesium in that form of limestone effects the release. For every pound of Magnesium, one pound of N is released.

Terran

It was said: "... the addition of dolomitic limestone..."

Please DON'T use limestone of any sort in your garden.

No soil in and around Long Beach, CA, can make use of that stuff. It will push your currently near neutral pH into a disaster zone for your plants.

Jean
who gardened in Long Beach, CA, for 30-some years.

Calcium is the number one nutrient by weight required to grow healthy produce. It seems to me that people are too freaked out about pH especially since the usual materials used to 'correct' the situation are far more deleterious.

Yes. If there is already too much Ca do not add more, but I doubt that is likely even with the addition of eggshells to the compost that was mentioned.

Daniel, I had a thought that the seaweed might be the reason that there is more vegetative growth than flowers, but it is just a thought since it has been awhile since I've done any reading on the subject of seaweed.

Terran

So Danbear when was the last time you had a good, reliable soil test done? Your problme last year may not be as simple as too much Nitrogen as a lack of something else adn the only way to grow strong, healthy plants is with good, healthy soil and a soil test is the only way to know if your soil is close to being nutrient balanced, unless you want to pay a lot more for plant tissue tests.

"Calcium is the number one nutrient by weight required to grow healthy produce."

It's rarely lacking enough to cause an issue. BER, for example is caused by improper watering which leads to a Ca problem in the fruit- and very rarely is it an issue with Ca levels in the soil.

Kimmsr is right if you want to get a better indication of what is happening. What kind of soil test, though?

Please see http://www.aglabs.com/soil_testing.html

The Morgan extract indicates ... "Nutrients that are biologically active. This test closely relates to the visual symptoms plants display. Plants may be grown directly above limestone bed but show a calcium deficiency. The Morgan test picks this up and shows a low reading of biologically (available) calcium even though there is plenty of calcium in the soil."

The bunny images are great Pablo.

So, Daniel were you able to find a source of 'browns'?

Terran

Here is a link that might be useful: Types of soil tests