RyanVolle Posted November 29, 2011 First: I have some brown material in my compost. I noticed that they didn't break down well, so I added more soil over the un-decayed compost. How do I know that they have been broken down? and do I need to add more greens? I have a few teabags in there, and some tea leaves (from teabags, I removed the bag) over the new soil. Second: Yeah, I mentioned that I have unbroken brown material. Is it safe to plant on them? I planted a rubber tree cutting an it's pretty young. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted November 29, 2011 Safe? That kinda depends on what the brown stuff is. I hope its not poo (j/k) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H.E. Pennypacker Posted November 29, 2011 Mix the brown parts with more greens and mix it thoroughly, good source of greens is simply grass clippings. Chop the bigger pieces up as finely as possible to speed things up. Don't add soil to the compost, it really doesn't add a purpose (unless there's heaps of worms in that soil), it only bogs the mixture down, it needs to be aerated as much as possible. Water it and keep it moist and covered up, not wet, as I said, it needs to be aerated. You will gradually see it change whenever you turn over the heap, which needs to be done every once in a while. As to your second question, it depends on how much the brown parts have broken down. A little bit here and there is nothing to worry about, but if it's too much, then sifting would be in order. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted November 29, 2011 What he said about the compost ^ I reckon you could plant a rubber tree in a 50/50 mix of industrial waste/topsoil and it would still grow OK. In your location that thing could really get out of hand. I hope you've planted it somewhere where it can't do any damage with its rootsystem. I've seen them spread their roots well over 50 feet and break up concrete slabs. Once established they are very hard to get rid of too. They're like a phoenix that just keeps coming back to life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RyanVolle Posted November 30, 2011 What he said about the compost ^ I reckon you could plant a rubber tree in a 50/50 mix of industrial waste/topsoil and it would still grow OK. In your location that thing could really get out of hand. I hope you've planted it somewhere where it can't do any damage with its rootsystem. I've seen them spread their roots well over 50 feet and break up concrete slabs. Once established they are very hard to get rid of too. They're like a phoenix that just keeps coming back to life. Nahh. No worries it's in a plastic pot. It's small. about 6 inches tall, and about 5 inches diameter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zaka Posted November 30, 2011 Irie, I sift my compost, returning hard stick & so back into the heap Nahh. No worries it's in a plastic pot. It's small. about 6 inches tall, and about 5 inches diameter. That's what they all say! A crazy destructive plant, but really easy to grow!!! Respect, Z Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted November 30, 2011 http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=29460 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
