What is the C/N, Carbon – Nitrogen ratio about?
The organic material that goes into compost is mostly a blend of carbohydrate-like material which is high in carbon and protein-like material which is high in nitrogen. The soil microorganisms use the carbohydrate-like material as their source for calories or energy. They use the protein-like material essentially as “building blocks” recognizing that they are single-celled organisms. The soil micro-organisms do best when their diet is about 20-25 parts of carbon to 1 part nitrogen and will work at maintaining this ratio. In practice, this most often means a volumn of “green” material such as grass clippings balanced with an equal volumn of “brown” material such as twiggy growth. • C.03.02: • C.03.
