You could try used coffee grounds, they count as greens. If you don't have enough, many coffee houses are happy to part with their used grounds! Happy Composting!

Tree leaves have a C:N ratio of between 40:1 and 80:1, pretty darn close to the optimal 30:1 many people strive to maintain, so they could be a source of N anyway.

I have a compost pile of my own, and think I have a nice mix of greens and browns. But since the cold weather has hit, my pile has frozen. Isn't it supposed to heat up enough in order to keep decomposing?

Everything breaks down eventually so I would add it, UCGs are good I also like blood meal.

If a compost pile has frozen already, unless you are near the north or south poles, the material was too wet. The average temperature around here is still above freezing (32) so while water standing on the surface may freeze overnight it will thaw during the day. It simply has not been cold enough, long enough, most places for a compost pile to freeze yet.

I have a non-organic solution. I also get tons of leaves and shredded paper this time of year, mix them in the compost pile. (Either left alone will clump, but not if they are mixed together thoroughly.) I'd say I use about 4 times as many leaves (by volume) as shredded paper.
When the pile is about 4' tall (in a 4' x 4' bin) I wet it with hot tap water into which approximately 1 lb of urea fertilizer has been dissolved. This provides the Nitrogen and typically 'kicks off' the pile quite well if air temps are over 40F or so. After adding the urea, throw on another 6"-8" of leaves and cover the top with a tarp to try to retain ammonia gas within the pile.

If you find that you are short of 'browns' in the summer, I'd hang on to some for that. If you didn't need to store them for that purpose, searching for other 'greens' to keep building piles now could be an option.

Lloyd

P.S. Given that my compost is not too wet and some of the bins are frozen, I guess I must be near the North Pole! Does that mean that Santa will be at my house first? WooHoo, nothing but lumps of coal for all you southeners!

LOL Lloyd, I think some of these "southerners" have no idea of temps "north of 49"! We're nowhere near the N pole either but it's been pretty cold recently. Last night it was -24°C which is -11°F and that's quite a bit colder than 32°F. ;-) I don't think we've seen temps above freezing for weeks. I'm not even looking at my compost at these temperatures but I know it's not too wet and it's not steaming. It's shrunk down quite nicely tho and being added to daily. Next spring I'll have a look-see.

Louisianagal, since I mostly use fine wood shavings as my carbon I'm always short of "greens" so use alfalfa pellets, either as tea or just dissolved in water. It has many benefits for the plants besides the nitrogen and altho it's not free it's pretty inexpensive. It's also not 100% organic but more so than nitrogen fertilizer. If you do decide to try it check around for best pricing. I've found there is quite a difference from one feed store to another.

hm... luckygal, I had never thought of using alfalfa pellets. Straw is soo messy, and this may be a good alternative. I know they sell this in the loose form as well. What about seeds though? Do I have to worry about them like I do with hay?

Lloyd, that's funny. My bin is not a solid block. It just tends to crunch a little because of the ice crystals. I will continue adding to it, and hope for the best.

I'm already planning for next year, and I live in Indiana!

-25C/-13F right now, forecasting the low -30's C for the next week or so. Not much snow at all so the compost windrows are going to freeze.

Smaller bins and tumblers that had compost in them are already frozen. The three multi tumbler drums are 1/4 filled with dry, shredded leves and will get the kitchen trimmings again over the winter but the materials will freeze within hours so no 'active' composting will take place til spring.

Winter, the time of year to relax.

Lloyd

Good to know, Lloyd. Thanks.

I FINALLY seemed to have trained my family to save food scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, etc. So now maybe I'll have a fighting chance.

Kim

MY compost pile is frozen. It is not too wet. The temperature was 7 degrees F, when I woke up this morning.

Go for the starbucks and get their used coffee grounds. Just ask the person behind the counter for their grounds. I usually get about two 5-gallon buckets full after my three visits on the way home from work through the week.

I snagged a ton of bagged leaves last fall and mixed in coffee grounds over several weeks... even turning it a bit every so often. The pile cooked nicely all through the winter... nice and steaming.. even if it was frozen out.. i would be sweating by the end of turning the whole pile from the heat coming off. It didn't smell the best... old coffee.. but by the following spring, i was able to get a good amount of compost.

Oh yeah, I actually did go to Starbucks for coffee grounds too. I was expecting a little pile. I got a whole garbage bag full! I could barely carry it! But with those, some straw, and some soil, I think I got off to a nice start.

heirloom
unless your pile was already nice and hot its going to be frozen if as stated in another post the temp is below 32 degrees for a while (:

But that doesn't mean you can't keep adding to it for spring

lloyd my pile has been frozen for a few weeks its been
-15F here for the last 4 nights I better go check and see if it has unthawed(: besides who whats to turn the pile under 4 feet of snow anyways

Right now we are at -22C/-7F with the windchill, -34C/-24F.

On the plus side, only needed the regular strength mosquito spray!

Lloyd

haha. Lloyd, you're hilarious. I don't see how you and jonas do it. I've been whining about Indiana for a long time, but it seems balmy here compared to there. Do you ever go outside? I think I'd cry!

On the plus side, though, I happened to move my compost bin the other day, and lo and behold, there were worms underneath, going in and out of the holes I drilled in the bottom. Maybe it's warmer than I had thought in there...

I have the opposite problem: it's almost impossible for me to get enough browns.
What could happen if you use to much green?
By the way, it is very, very, very cold around here (about 72) so I stopped wearing my bermudas.

hahaha. carlos, very funny! I would LOVE 72 here! As for too much greens, your pile may become slimy and smelly if too many are present. Try cardboard boxes, shredded black and white newspapers, bill you don't feel like paying, straw (cheap at the garden center), or napkins and paper plates. Anything will do, really. Even dryer lint!

OMG! Please soak up some rays in my honor! I am popping the vit D pills to make up for the lack of sun (and warmth!). I sure miss zone 9b, but 10b is even better!
Although I am not knocking my current zone, lots of beauty and color, but too cold in winter for me.
Laurie