Way to wet...is paper really a bad thing?

Greeley, CO(Zone 5b)

That's a good one Nuts!

SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

Puddle,
How much bloodmeal should go in that hole? And, remind me again, are decomping leaves carbons or greens? My current compost pile is made up of layered shredder paper, coffee grinds, veggie peel slush and leaves. No grass. Lemme know soonest, cause I need it to start a breakdown by the end of the month when I'm adding it to my RB veggie garden to start the cabbages and other brassicas in.

Thanks!

Linda

No Central, AZ(Zone 7b)

Brown/dry leaves are carbon.

SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

Thanks, QG.

Algonquin, IL(Zone 5a)

As a newbie composter I encounter new experiences constantly & don't know whether they're good or bad (or don't matter one way or another).

Most of the time I can find answers in old threads, but I've been having trouble finding info on one - Shortly after it rains my compost (enclosed bin) starts growing mushrooms on the top.

I know it means it's too wet, but I don't know if it's harmful (or a blessing in disguise). I've just been turning them into the pile & trying to add some dry ingredients, but I am curious about this. Is it a common occurrence??

I know I should have taken some pictures, but I forgot to before stirring it all in again - maybe next time.

Thanks in advance to all you incredibly knowledgeable gardeners out there!!

Indianapolis, IN(Zone 4b)

Fungi are all part of the decomposition process.

Algonquin, IL(Zone 5a)

THANKS PUDDLE!!

Bay City, MI(Zone 6a)

Nutsabout - Mushrooms are just the fruiting bodies of some of the thousands of species of fungi that might have set up residence in your compost pile (or even in your container soil). That these fungi DO fruit, is no indication that the soil is too wet or too dry, only that conditions are right and the fungi in a state that enables them to fruit. Plants coexist with thousands of species of fungi, most harmless, contributing their work to the soil web. Some are extra helpful, with plants forming beneficial (symbiotic) relationships with them, and a few are potentially harmful, though it's unlikely the evidence of the presence of fungi you're seeing is anything to be concerned about.

Al

Algonquin, IL(Zone 5a)

WOW!! - Thanks for the great & fascinating info, Al.
It really helps a me lot.

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