GardenTalk

Anne Morrow Lindbergh on White Dogwood

"After all, I don't see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood."
-- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Red Peppers and an Eggplant with a nose

Composting newspapers

I was happy to read that I can compost my newspapers!

There is absolutely no concerns today in modern hot composting processes when using any kind of newspapers. All newspapers today use totally 100% biodegradable inks. mostly soy based inks. Even some heavy metals in papers, is no big deal for composting microbes. (NOTE: There are heavy metals in healthy carnivorous manures like chicken poop!) Only the old organic books used to discourage newspapers in composting. Also it is safe to use more shredded, moistirized, cardboards in a hot pile, if you run out of browns. I only use paper or 100% cotton rags in my piles, when I'm really low on leaves or straw.

The main ingredients in paper products that aerobic microbes love is of course the carbon. Many papers have decomposed cellulose in it. The carbons, carbohydrates, starches, fats, and cellulose from "browns" (high carbon sources) are all important in the manufacturing of humus in the soil. The "greens" don't do this. The "greens" (high nitrogen sources) normally supply the protein/ammonium nitrogen, aerobic microbes, most plant nutrients, and the internal heating and reproduction foods as the microbes digest, grow, and multiply in the organic matter.