The compost purest will tell you that each of these materials has a specific C:N ratio that you need to consider. However, like my rusted-out island cruiser, I got to work just like my boss in his fancy rust-free BMW. Caveat, this is the KISS method, a compost purist may scoff at the simplification. Another suggests as 3:2 ratio, or for every three gallons of C, add two gallons of N. Some suggest a 1:1 ratio, or equal volume of C and N. Sources vary on how much C and N is needed to establish the correct ratio. Grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, manure (no cat or dog waste) Twigs, branches, plant stems, dry leaves, paper, straw, cardboard Gather equal volumes of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) materials: a pail of brown stuff (C) and a pail of green stuff (N). Well, duh, unless you paid attention in Algebra class, how do you determine this ratio? Simple, use KISS. This is where the literature forgets KISS, but I won’t.Īll sources agree that there should be a specific ratio of carbon to nitrogen. To successfully compost quickly, there needs to be an appropriate ratio of carbon rich material to nitrogen rich material. What does make a difference is the size of the material you put into the pile. There is not a shortage of these in Hawaiʻi. However, my garden needs the compost now! Like I told the nice policeman the other day, “At my age it isn’t speeding, it’s time management.”Ĭomposting requires four basic components: carbon, nitrogen, water and air. Fast, three to four weeks, will not be as rich in nutrients as a slower method. Hopefully, I blend complexity with simplicity to give you the right information to build a Goldilocks’ compost pile.Ĭomposting can take weeks or years. Then there is the flip side that makes it so simple that it is stupid. That is the trouble with much of the composting literature: it just ain’t simple. My mother would swat me on the back of the head and say, “Keep It Simple, Stupid!,” also known as KISS. Composts involve several layers with four components: nitrogen, carbon, water and air.
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