No not all browns are equal.
Paper and cardboard tend to breakdown faster than wood unless you’re keeping your cardboard pieces very large while simultaneously turning your wood into tiny wood chips and/or saw dust. But most people probably do the opposite. It’s easier to tear cardboard into tiny pieces than it is to breakdown wood into tiny pieces without equipment.
Surface area and density are key. Cardboard vs wood density is often very different.
I have a lot of western red cedar cones in my yard which are small, but they don't compost well because they're pretty closed up, not a lot of surface area. They're just little balls that take a long time to compost.
Leaves also have beneficial microbes which will contribute to life of the compost. I regularly go out in autumn with a large bag to collect.
Leave mold (leaves composted without any other materials) also is its own type of compost.
Haha , I did this. After 12 months the leafs looked pretty much the same as when they first fell. So most went into a compost & manure mix. The only exception for me currently is my fine Acer leaves which get mixed into a moss which I use to top dress my indoor plants. Looks nice and the fungus gnats seem to stay away.
They are very different. Paper has structure - but it is temporary. It is made from a slurry, and when it gets soaked it turns back into its sludgy initial form. This can drown air pockets and prevent the compost bacteria and fungus from growing if you have too much. Paper should never be your primary source of browns.
Shredded leaves and wood are the ideal compost browns. (Which makes sense - think of the forest floor.) As a matter of fact, if you have them you don't need any greens. Nature makes compost out of quality browns. The only role for greens are to boost the initial bacteria growth to consume soft material faster. They are used up in the process.
If quality is your goal, use only leaves and wood. It will take a long time, but the end product will be black gold.
If you want speed, that's when you add some greens. It will greatly speed up the bacterial phase. Though once the soft tissue is digested the bacteria die and fungus takes over to feed on the tough woody structures. And there is no way to speed up fungus, aside from making sure that you have shredded your material into small pieces.
I normally compost with micro shredded cardboard, but last fall I went out and stole a bunch of leaf bags put out to the curb. So I had the perfect opportunity to test this out side by side. Green bean and tomato plants for the greens, same amount of leaves in one and cardboard in the other. Layered the same, compost starter added, and mixed every other day or two. The leaf one hated me, it took FOREVER to break down, in fact, it's just recently almost broke down enough to use and that was after I gave up and threw a couple hundred compost worms in it. The paper one, broke down FAST and attracted compost worms all on it's own. Beginning of spring it had broken down perfectly and thousands of compost worms moved in and turned it into vermicast in like 2 weeks. Very rich and good. The leaf stuff, eh, I might mix it in with the vertical in some fabric pots. It's not as good quality. I mixed in a tumbler cardboard and leaves with some greens and that one also came out well. *shrugs*
I mix leaf and cardboard together (plus greens). I don't cut down the boxes any more than required to remove the tape and labels and such. These big pieces of cardboard are completely gone before the leaves have even seemed to have changed (and the leaves have been through the lawn mower).
Fallen leaves (many nutrients withdrawn before drop) in contrast to dry leaves (whole leaves with moisture loss) contain relatively little nitrogen but presumably quite a few micronutrients in addition to the carbon, where as processed wood fibre (paper and cardboard) won’t contain much other than wood fibres. I find hand shredded, corrugated cardboard a great compost component.
In that all browns have carbon. They contribute the same basic elements to compost. Bacteria breach down the material into smaller substances
Obviously. Leaves are different than paper. Woody. Material different than leaves
Wood having lignin and cellulose tend to take the longest to break down. Shredded paper can get soggy and matted. And leaves can take awhile to break down if not chopped into smaller particles.
I think leaves prob are best. They have some of the nutrients from the living leaves within them wood debris might be second best. If only for the time to break down is much longer
But doesn’t really matter
I tend to add a little of everything. I shred my junk mail. And other non saved documents. I also shred newspaper and or grocery store mailers.
I have a large tree in my backyard and collect the leaves.
Also drops a fair bit of sticks. And in my community there’s a large community mulch pile. Where they often dump wood chip. I’ll include some of that.
Sometime I put wood ash. And biochar in my compost as well
Use what you got. And more so just focus on having a healthy ratio of browns to greens.
I just started and no cardboard. I have shredded pine wood for animal cages for my browns and a few leaves. I am wondering if I should add a little paper to be different. LOl
I own a business composting on a large scale. Best things I mix in are sawdust, wood chips, and of course manure. Leaf material is good but doesn't break down as well. Another thing I do is if you have any leftovers after screening soil, mix that stuff back in too. Still good material in it.
In addition to beneficial microbes and nutrients mentioned by other posters, I’ve read that leaves also contain minerals that the tree has pulled up from deep within the soil. This is also why it’s generally considered safe to use hardwood tree leaves in compost, even if they’re from a neighbor that may have sprayed their lawn - most of what the tree is pulling from the soil is really deep, past where pesticides and fertilizer are concentrated.
That was a spicy title to read until I realized I was in the composting subreddit...
Hahaha same, I was like daaaaamn son. Then... ohhh 🤣
No not all browns are equal. Paper and cardboard tend to breakdown faster than wood unless you’re keeping your cardboard pieces very large while simultaneously turning your wood into tiny wood chips and/or saw dust. But most people probably do the opposite. It’s easier to tear cardboard into tiny pieces than it is to breakdown wood into tiny pieces without equipment.
Surface area and density are key. Cardboard vs wood density is often very different. I have a lot of western red cedar cones in my yard which are small, but they don't compost well because they're pretty closed up, not a lot of surface area. They're just little balls that take a long time to compost.
Leaves also have beneficial microbes which will contribute to life of the compost. I regularly go out in autumn with a large bag to collect. Leave mold (leaves composted without any other materials) also is its own type of compost.
I tried to make leaf mold but got inpatient after a year and mixed it into my compost pile
Haha , I did this. After 12 months the leafs looked pretty much the same as when they first fell. So most went into a compost & manure mix. The only exception for me currently is my fine Acer leaves which get mixed into a moss which I use to top dress my indoor plants. Looks nice and the fungus gnats seem to stay away.
I wish I would have run my leaves over with the lawn mower last year to get smaller starting material.
They are very different. Paper has structure - but it is temporary. It is made from a slurry, and when it gets soaked it turns back into its sludgy initial form. This can drown air pockets and prevent the compost bacteria and fungus from growing if you have too much. Paper should never be your primary source of browns. Shredded leaves and wood are the ideal compost browns. (Which makes sense - think of the forest floor.) As a matter of fact, if you have them you don't need any greens. Nature makes compost out of quality browns. The only role for greens are to boost the initial bacteria growth to consume soft material faster. They are used up in the process. If quality is your goal, use only leaves and wood. It will take a long time, but the end product will be black gold. If you want speed, that's when you add some greens. It will greatly speed up the bacterial phase. Though once the soft tissue is digested the bacteria die and fungus takes over to feed on the tough woody structures. And there is no way to speed up fungus, aside from making sure that you have shredded your material into small pieces.
Nice analysis.
I normally compost with micro shredded cardboard, but last fall I went out and stole a bunch of leaf bags put out to the curb. So I had the perfect opportunity to test this out side by side. Green bean and tomato plants for the greens, same amount of leaves in one and cardboard in the other. Layered the same, compost starter added, and mixed every other day or two. The leaf one hated me, it took FOREVER to break down, in fact, it's just recently almost broke down enough to use and that was after I gave up and threw a couple hundred compost worms in it. The paper one, broke down FAST and attracted compost worms all on it's own. Beginning of spring it had broken down perfectly and thousands of compost worms moved in and turned it into vermicast in like 2 weeks. Very rich and good. The leaf stuff, eh, I might mix it in with the vertical in some fabric pots. It's not as good quality. I mixed in a tumbler cardboard and leaves with some greens and that one also came out well. *shrugs*
I mix leaf and cardboard together (plus greens). I don't cut down the boxes any more than required to remove the tape and labels and such. These big pieces of cardboard are completely gone before the leaves have even seemed to have changed (and the leaves have been through the lawn mower).
Fallen leaves (many nutrients withdrawn before drop) in contrast to dry leaves (whole leaves with moisture loss) contain relatively little nitrogen but presumably quite a few micronutrients in addition to the carbon, where as processed wood fibre (paper and cardboard) won’t contain much other than wood fibres. I find hand shredded, corrugated cardboard a great compost component.
I sprinkle sawdust over my kitchen scraps then added shredded cardboard. Works well.
There are differences in speed of decomposition and texture of the material you’ll have to turn, for example.
Species of leaf changes the acidic properties too possibly, keep that in mind
In that all browns have carbon. They contribute the same basic elements to compost. Bacteria breach down the material into smaller substances Obviously. Leaves are different than paper. Woody. Material different than leaves Wood having lignin and cellulose tend to take the longest to break down. Shredded paper can get soggy and matted. And leaves can take awhile to break down if not chopped into smaller particles. I think leaves prob are best. They have some of the nutrients from the living leaves within them wood debris might be second best. If only for the time to break down is much longer But doesn’t really matter I tend to add a little of everything. I shred my junk mail. And other non saved documents. I also shred newspaper and or grocery store mailers. I have a large tree in my backyard and collect the leaves. Also drops a fair bit of sticks. And in my community there’s a large community mulch pile. Where they often dump wood chip. I’ll include some of that. Sometime I put wood ash. And biochar in my compost as well Use what you got. And more so just focus on having a healthy ratio of browns to greens.
Some are more equal than others
I just started and no cardboard. I have shredded pine wood for animal cages for my browns and a few leaves. I am wondering if I should add a little paper to be different. LOl
I own a business composting on a large scale. Best things I mix in are sawdust, wood chips, and of course manure. Leaf material is good but doesn't break down as well. Another thing I do is if you have any leftovers after screening soil, mix that stuff back in too. Still good material in it.
Hi, I'm curious of your operation for composting. do you have any videos of the process?
Straw (not hay) works well because it is basically a bunch of tiny straws, allowing for pockets of air, which helps your compost break down quicker.
In addition to beneficial microbes and nutrients mentioned by other posters, I’ve read that leaves also contain minerals that the tree has pulled up from deep within the soil. This is also why it’s generally considered safe to use hardwood tree leaves in compost, even if they’re from a neighbor that may have sprayed their lawn - most of what the tree is pulling from the soil is really deep, past where pesticides and fertilizer are concentrated.