Creating Balanced Compost

All composting material contain both C and N, however compost scientists have determined that to create optimum compost, the ratio of Carbon to Nitrogen should be between 25:1 and 30:1. This is known as the C:N ratio. So it is important to use the right combination of greens and browns to attract compost producing organisms to grow and break down the materials. Nitrogen is used by the microbes to grow, breed, and multiply and they use carbon as energy and food needed by the microbes to break down the materials. If the carbon to nitrogen ratio is too high (excess carbon ), decomposition slows down and if it is too low ( excess nitrogen ), then the pile will start to smell.

 

Now, with all of this scientific mumbo jumbo said, don't stress about getting the "perfect" C:N ratios. There are many theories as to what the correct ratios are and it also depends upon what you'll be using the compost for as to what is considered "perfect". Just follow the general guidelines and tweak as you go. Believe me, the general guidelines will result in precious compost that will grow your veggies just fine. So unless you're a gardening geek and enjoy delving into the fine details, you don't need to worry about ratios too much. Just mix it up with your greens and browns so that your compost turns out a dark, barely moist, earthy smelling soil. Another easy guiding option is to use a balance of "two parts brown to one part green".