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Sharon Marie
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- Location: Jeffersonville, IN
Sunflower Stems
How long will the stems take to rot? I have them in a pile with other things from the previous owner of this home I think they take a long time, because no matter how much grass clippings I've put on them this year or last, they still look hard as a rock. Should I have them hauled away (a landscaping service has offered to take my pile of yard waste)
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The Helpful Gardener
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...because they will chip it and compost it...
Certain plants store a lot of carbon and silica, especially bruisers in need of heavy stems. These break down a lot slower than green leaves that store more nitrogen. Compost is all about greens and browns; you just have a very stubborn brown. I'd break them up some more and try more grass if you want the compost, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth...DW would love to have someone haul off my "treasure". I am trying to convince her we need a small garden chipper for composting...
HG
Certain plants store a lot of carbon and silica, especially bruisers in need of heavy stems. These break down a lot slower than green leaves that store more nitrogen. Compost is all about greens and browns; you just have a very stubborn brown. I'd break them up some more and try more grass if you want the compost, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth...DW would love to have someone haul off my "treasure". I am trying to convince her we need a small garden chipper for composting...
HG
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applestar
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This is encouraging (to me). I saved some of the sunflower stalks from last year in the shed because they grew so tall and straight, thinking they might be used for stakes. Was looking at them the other day wondering if they'll just flop down as soon as they got wet. Sounds like not. Hmm, those pole peas are starting to come up.... 
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The Helpful Gardener
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Sharon Marie
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- Location: Jeffersonville, IN
Ok, I will have to dig them out. Mine are larger around than my fore arm, so I actually had to buy a special pair of clippers to cut them down. They were giant!!! I have the patience to wait for them to compost, but they do stick out lots. The idea to make them smaller seems like a good thing to do. I'm not scared to get my hands dirty. lol. I love to garden. It's been raining for the past 2 days here. So, hopefully they will "soften" up some. 
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RJ-Hythloday
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Sharon Marie
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- Posts: 167
- Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:25 pm
- Location: Jeffersonville, IN