My camellia tree is my new composting challenge. It drops about 5 gallons of flowers and leaves a day. I was leaving them on the ground to dry and then I would throw them in my compost bin. I have now learned that even dry they are most likely all "greens." Unfortunately, now my bin is a big stinky wet mess of 80% camellia flowers.
Will no amount of drying turn flowers into "brown"? I would rather compost them myself than put them in the city compost bin, but I can't keep up.
by wisterieae
3 Comments
Brown vs Green has to do with nitrogen content, not the actual color or dryness. Even dried plant matter still has a high nitrogen content for a while. Similarly, dried coffee grounds are a “green” even though they are very much brown in color.
Do you have any cardboard you can shred up? Leftover fall leaves?
Camellias are juicy, but you can still balance with cardboard or leaves. I would throw them all in and figure out the balance as they break down.
Adding browns (shredded cardboard, wood chips, paper, etc will cure your problems.