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  • From: "robscott@freeshell.org" <robscott@freeshell.org>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Re: What is inadequacy in typical compost?
  • Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 06:08:23 +0000 (UTC)


Charlie,

In preparing compost, people generally aim for a 20:1 carbon to nitrogen ratio to supply N to crops, and if you've got vegetable scraps in it you've probably got lots of other elements too (K, P, Ca, trace nutrients, etc.) Hardwood leaves can have high C:N ratio, e.g. 40:1 which will tie up N as the microbes use the abundant C and scavenge all the N, making the N unavailable to plants. Food scraps and manures tend to be on the low side, say 15:1, which means the N either mineralizes or is lost as N2 gas, but the N is plant-available and so the compost functions more like a fertilizer. The below webpage introduces the C:N balancing concept and gives a list of C:N ratios for common mulch and compost materials at the bottom.

Compost Fundamentals: Compost Needs - Carbon Nitrogen Relationships
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/fundamentals/needs_carbon_nitrogen.htm

I compost food waste (no meat), chicken manure, hay, and leaves at about 1:1:1:1 ratio. My point is that the mixing ratio determines the results.

Rob Scott
Urbana Permaculture Project
zone 5 Urbana, IL



  • [NAFEX] Re: What is inadequacy in typical compost?, robscott@freeshell.org, 03/15/2005

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