The benefits to composting are great:
The magic about composting is the ratio.
"Scientists (yes, there are compost scientists) have determined that the fastest way to produce fertile, sweet-smelling compost is to maintain a C:N ratio somewhere around 25 to 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, or 25-30:1. If the C:N ratio is too high (excess carbon), decomposition slows down. If the C:N ratio is too low (excess nitrogen) you will end up with a stinky pile."
Here is a chart to help you.
Estimated Carbon-to-Nitrogen Ratios | |
| Browns = High Carbon | C:N |
| Ashes, wood | 25:1 |
| Cardboard, shredded | 350:1 |
| Corn stalks | 75:1 |
| Fruit waste | 35:1 |
| Leaves | 60:1 |
| Newspaper, shredded | 175:1 |
| Peanut shells | 35:1 |
| Pine needles | 80:1 |
| Sawdust | 325:1 |
| Straw | 75:1 |
| Wood chips | 400:1 |
| Greens = High Nitrogen | C:N |
| Alfalfa | 12:1 |
| Clover | 23:1 |
| Coffee grounds | 20:1 |
| Food waste | 20:1 |
| Garden waste | 30:1 |
| Grass clippings | 20:1 |
| Hay | 25:1 |
| Manures | 15:1 |
| Seaweed | 19:1 |
| Vegetable scraps | 25:1 |
| Weeds | 30:1 |
Here is a link with the perfect recipe for a compost bin
So what I use in my bin is all "Goopy garbage" (meaning food from the house that you would feed to a pig), and I get a weekly newspaper add that I cut up and put in. During the fall I put leaves in, and in the summer I use grass clippings. Because of the holes in the top, when it rains it gets moisture. You are also supposed to mix the contents weekly and my bin is small enough that I just lift it a give it a good shake, rattle and roll.
Good luck and have fun making dirt!
1 comment:
It's more technicial than I thought. (:
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