Book 29, Question 101
What are "greens" and "browns" in a compost pile?
Compost needs two kinds of ingredients.
Greens are wet and rich in nitrogen, like fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and fresh grass clippings. Browns are dry and rich in carbon, like fallen leaves, shredded cardboard, and straw. A good mix is about two or three parts browns to one part greens. Too many greens make a smelly, slimy pile.
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Quick answers
What are "greens" and "browns" in a compost pile?
Brown materials supply carbon, while green materials supply nitrogen.
Source: University of Illinois
More fun facts
- The microorganisms in compost use carbon for energy and nitrogen for protein synthesis.
- A ratio of about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen is the ideal proportion of these two elements for bacterial growth.
- Think in terms of half high carbon and half low carbon material when building a compost pile.
- Compost in a well-maintained pile will be finished and ready for use in about three to five months.
- Compost piles with too much water may switch from aerobic to anaerobic composition, and require the addition of more carbon materials followed by turning of the pile to stop the activity of the anaerobic bacteria.
Sources: University of Nebraska, U.S. EPA