As you say, Mother Nature does it well. No easy way. If you plan to use straw which is carbon heavy (often called brown) to get the right C:N, then you’ll want to eye-ball and decide how much straw you need to make a similar sized ‘part’ as a 5-gallon bucket. These tend to have lots of moisture, break down quickly, and provide a quick burst of heat to your pile. Question: I’m impossibly short on carbon-rich browns. You’re my “go-to-first” site to check. The rule is not to amend the hole when planting. If I put only fresh grass cuttings in will I end up with finished compost high in nitrogen but low in p and k, for example. I did not invent the 30:1 ratio – it is what everyone uses. 3. It would be better to use the terms high nitrogen ingredient, and low nitrogen ingredient. Brown matter, such as dry fallen leaves and chopped straw or hay, is carbon-rich. it is how I do all my composting now. The right amount of carbon and nitrogen makes the microbes happy, and they grow fast. I’ve been composting for quite a number of years. Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Who has extra space in their gardens these days? Very well said – ‘The reality of composting’; why some people are trying to make basic, simple processes look so complicated? I have removable slats in the front of the bins, so it’s quick work to transfer, and the material becomes well mixed and aerated – speeding up the process. In a compost pile browns absorb odors and function to keep the pile from getting too wet. From start to spreading is 12 months and then another six months before we plant in it. Composting takes longer and takes place at lower temperatures. See this link for a chart … The best combination would be a mixture of GREEN sources, as shown on the left of the chart below and a BROWN source such as leaves (notice that leaves have a fairly low C:N ratio compared to other carbonaceous materials shown on the right of the chart. Adding new material extended the process. However the terms are not always correct. Green materials for composting consists mostly of wet or recently growing materials. The author does not understand the term C:N ratio. In general, it’s best to err on the side of too … Will compost burn roots? I should have stated that I suppose Keep one thing in mind – mother nature does just fine in the woods with none of this knowledge or a 3 bin system. Sign up for our newsletter. If you don’t have browns – maybe you should stop composting. It may take a year or longer to generate finished … Or do you want the cut& drop method to act as a mulch & not break down quickly? Dried vegetable peels (cucumber, carrot or potato) are they considered as greens or browns? Why is this ratio so important for composting? Greens are – you guessed it- green. You had a bacteria explosion and once the food source was gone they died. Use 6 inches browns to 2 inches of greens. I remembered reading your piece on C/N rations and I thought that even though the proportions of un-mulched leaves to mulched was dramatically less, the C portion had to be the same. Bone meal adds phosphate and calcium, and soil rarely needs those added. I believe that is true, but I think few back yard compost piles get hot enough to kill seeds. Bury in compost pile. So if I want to keep my composting C/N rations proportionately acceptable, I’ll have to reduce the “volume” of mulched leaves significantly. It is not a ratio of browns to greens. Every ingredient has it’s own C:N ratio. How to Compost – the C:N Ratio. Both of these recipes are simple to understand and simple to follow. Thanks! Great article! If Mel spreads the greens over the soil to decompose, will this deplete any nutrients from the soil & have an adverse effect growing in the soil in that area? While doing this, I was again reminded that original volume of un-mulched leaves was reduced dramatically to much less than 1/4. key composting principals. Organic matter high in carbon — what composters commonly call browns — provides energy for decomposer organisms as they consume and break down the contents of your … ... stems, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust pellets, shredded brown paper bags, corn stalks, coffee filters, coffee grounds, conifer needles, egg shells, straw, peat moss, wood ash) gives compost … If you find that your compost pile is not heating up, than you may need to add more green material to the compost. If you find that your compost pile is not heating up, then you may need to add more green … Nitrogen-rich or green materials offer basic materials that create enzymes. Thanks a lot. That to me would make much better sense than the 30:1 when those numbers mean nothing to me and down right confusing until reading and researching the subject. With 25 mature trees in the yard I never suffer from lack of browns each fall. If you find that your compost pile is starting to smell, you may need to add more browns. 30:1, airy. Here is a great chart provided by Planet Natural Research Center which provides different compostable materials and their estimated carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. The carbon to nitrogen ratio in the compost pile should be 30:1, not the ratio of browns to greens. Thank you. There are two ways to build a compost pile: Green leaves have high levels of nitrogen, but as they go brown in fall, the nitrogen levels drop. Other ingredients are also confusing. In my simple mind the 30:1 is a misnomer and the 2″ layer to 6″ layer makes more sense just for the simple reason that it seems to speak in “volumes” of C to N. Why not just simplify and come up with a chart of sorts of the various different materials that are available to most home gardens. Would adding sugar (white, brown, molasses): a. hasten the composting process (soil-based) Composting is a great way to add nutrients and organic material to your garden while reducing the amount of garbage we send to the landfills. What is the rush? Browns are any plant material that is brown, and includes fall leaves, dried grass, wood products, paper and straw. This does require some imagination because kitchen scraps are heavy and moist. I knew enough to add greens and browns + egg shells and coffee grinds but then worried about the right ph as I was ready to feed shrubs and flowers this spring–my only reason for composting actually–I won’t worry so much now. "Greens" are the N-rich additions to your compost pile. Provided it gets into solution, it is fine, but a a dry pellet it will slowly evaporate. Also the other day I wanted to post a question about Long Stem planting, but cannot find where to click to start a new question on your website, would be grateful if you could let me know how to post a new question? It spreads out on the veggie garden to about two inches deep. No. I did some research and learned the basics of how organic material decomposes and how a well-tended compost pile can make the composting process go much faster. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps. When leaves fall in fall they compost all on their own – no one sifts the stuff. A 30:1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is considered to be a good number when it comes to green-to-brown ratio. Download the Printable PDF. I just love your common sense approach and advice. But your compost needs both to thrive! Carbon comes from brown material, such … What to add and how much is key to reaching the perfect balance of brown and green materials in your compost bin or pile. May 4, 2014 - Printable for what to compost & what not to compost - I was surprised about a couple of items in the "no" list:paper towels and cardboard. It is a ratio of carbon to nitrogen. However, composting … Compost Maker. Table 1 shows the estimated C:N ratio for some common brown materials. You do not need the right C:N ratio to make compost. Just spread the greens over the soil and they will decompose. The problem with too much browns is that the there is not enough nitrogen for all of the carbon. How to Compost – Carbon to Nitrogen Ratios: https://www.gardenmyths.com/composting-the-cut-and-drop-method/. BTW, do I need to sift the compost material (I also inherited a screen which I assume means I should consider sifting the compost before using !). Compost is just so useful, so I’d like to speed things up a bit, so I can use it quicker. Brown layers Green layers Space A minimum volume of 1 cubic yard (3’ x 3’ x 3’) is required for a pile to become sufficiently self-insulating to retain heat. The site and container. Using Finished CompostU. A ratio of 2:1 Nitrogen to Carbon is a really good … Alfalfa hay is ‘brown’ in color, but is considered to be a green since it contains a lot of nitrogen. It is important that the site is not subjected to extremes … Type of Material: Use it? When you have a question look to mother nature – or this site:). A proprietary blend of microorganisms used to break down kitchen and yard waste. Dry grass does have less nitrogen than green grass. Now I start a new bin, and unload and spread the first bin when the timing is right. If you happen to have a surplus of green … I collect the leaves using my rear-bagger lawn tractor, dump them on my lawn, then finely mulch them with my lawn mower, collect them again with my lawn tractor bagger and finally, dump them in my compost bin. 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