Composting Brown Materials - Carbon-Rich Material
by John Yazo
Brown compost material is the carbon that
you need in your compost pile. Carbon-rich materials are things like
dead leaves, egg shells, straw or newspaper. Having too much carbon
materials will slow down the process of decompostion in a compost pile.
This is why the relationship between carbon and nitrogen, C:N Ratio,is
very important in a compost operation.
The decomposition of organic matter is
affected by the presence of carbon and nitrogen. This C:N ratio
represents the relative proportion of the two elements. For example, a
material, having 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen is said to have a
C:N ratio of 30:1.Organisms that decompose organic material use carbon
as an energy source and nitrogen for building cell structure,
they need more carbon than nitrogen.
Using organic matter with excessive amounts of carbon can create problems in garden soil. To complete the nitrogen cycle and continue the decomposition process, the microbial cells will draw any available nitrogen from the soil in the proper proportion and make use of available carbon. This is known as robbing the soil of nitrogen, and it delays availability of nitrogen as a fertilizer for plant growth.
The following are a few of the most common carbon materials found around the yard or in a home:
Leaves - They are in most the largest percentage of yard waste. It is best to shred, grind or even mow over the leaves to a smaller size before you put them in the compost pile. This will help the decompose better. Whole leaves tend to mat and are harder to compost. In the fall when leaves are plentiful, there is usually a limited amount of nitrogen yard waste availible for composting, you can add nitrogen in the form of organic fertilizer.
Paper - Newspaper, junk mail, paper towels, and cardboard. It is best to shred or tear into strips any papers before composting so they wont mat down. Cardboard can be soaked and turned into a slurry before composting.
Egg Shells - A source of calcium. They do not breakdown very fast and are best hen crushed before composting. Do not put whole eggs in the compost. Just shells.
Wood Ash - For the home gardener, however, wood ash can be a valuable source of lime, potassium and trace elements.When wood is being burnt, nitrogen and sulfur are lost as gases, and calcium, potassium, magnesium and trace element compounds remain. The carbonates and oxides remaining in the wood ash are valuable liming agents, raising pH, and help to neutralize acid soils.
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