C/N 30:1 ????

**jimmy cee** 3/28/2013, 3:43 pm

I think I have (had) a misconception as to what C:N ratio30:1 means.
I was under the impression from reading compost info, that.
lets look at buckets..
30 buckets of leaves
1 bucket of lettuce, coffee grounds,, etc etc would constitute what I would need to get a pile going...
30:1 C/N ratio ???

Now I am thinking an individual leaf (1 leaf) that itself has 30 parts carbon + 1 part nitrogen.
If leaves are placed in a compost pile, maintaining that ratio
it would heat and compost itself ???
As the leaves age the carbon increases, and adding material hi in nitrogen & low in carbon will help the pile...??
Then if I have a pile of leave's only from last fall, I better put some (green) tossed veggies from a market in order for the pile to cook..
If this is true then my mind misinterpreted what I read...
It does that quite often....

southern gardener 3/28/2013, 5:09 pm

http://www.klickitatcounty.org/SolidWaste/fileshtml/organics/compostCalc.htm If you go to the link, and click on the "down arrow" under material, it gives you a ratio of what different items are. I like this little program, and sort of gives you a good idea of what browns and greens really are Smile

Good luck!!

**camprn** 3/28/2013, 5:26 pm

This article explains it pretty well too!

"Don't Make This Mistake: This ratio describes the chemical composition of a material and does not mean that you need a volume of brown materials that is thirty times greater than the amount of green matter! Don't make this mistake!"

http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/carbonnitrogenratio.html

GreenGene 3/28/2013, 7:56 pm

Good series of articles. TY for posting.

Lillyz 3/29/2013, 9:25 am

camprn wrote:This article explains it pretty well too!

"Don't Make This Mistake: This ratio describes the chemical composition of a material and does not mean that you need a volume of brown materials that is thirty times greater than the amount of green matter! Don't make this mistake!"

http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/carbonnitrogenratio.html

Thanks for posting this. I just started my compost pile and put lots of twigs/plant stalks on the bottom and then threw in a bucket full of kitchen scraps. OK, we got snow and I kinda forgot about it. Then a couple of days ago I was working out in the garden and was going to add some more stuff to it. Peuwwwy. Im gonna bookmark the page, cause I think Im gonna be more of a compost as you go kinda person. Im sure my next door neighbor will be happier too, especially when we start getting 100F weather here.

**RoOsTeR** 3/29/2013, 9:31 am

Here is are some excellent compost threads:

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t9365-are-you-a-hottie

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1738-compost-101

Those two threads are packed with tons of useful compost information. Wink

yolos 3/29/2013, 10:28 am

camprn - That was a great article. That is the best one I have seen about the volume of each type of material. Thanks.

I started out using 1 part green grass cuttings to 2 parts shredded leaves. It heated up but not enough. The next batch I used 1 part grass cuttings to 1 part shredded leaves and some coffee grounds. That got up to 160*. The green sources get used up real quick but the leaves take forever. So after it gets through cooking and turning a few times. I add a whole bunch more greens. I keep doing this until the leaves finally get decomposed. But you gotta mix up the greens real well with the leaves or the greens grass cuttings get clumped together and stinky.

**jimmy cee** 3/29/2013, 10:52 am

Thanks everyone, my son is home for Easter, he is a chemical guy and trying to teach this old mind a few things.he is showing me all kinds of formulas, break downs etc.
It really is quite interesting, I love to learn new subjects, whether or not I'll completely understand is another matter, however I'm sure gonna give it a try..

Coelli 3/29/2013, 12:32 pm

This e-book is free on Amazon and seems to have been written by the guy who started the Territorial Seed company. I'm maybe 25% of the way through it and have already learned a ton - he has a great writing style and explains things really well.

Organic Gardener's Composting
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TS8ZFG/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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C/N 30:1 ????

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