Compost Mantra

"Equal parts of green and brown help to break the compost down,"

is a good guide for creating fast compost. if your compost has an ammonia odor, you need more carbon-rich brown debris. if your compost isn't decomposing fast enough, you can add more nitrogen-rich green debris. Here are a few common sources of green and brown debris:

Green Waste (Nitrogen)

Fruit wastes

Spent annuals

Grass clippings

Manure

Seaweed and kelp

Vegetable peelings

Coffee grounds

Brown Waste (Carbon)

Cornstalks and cobs

Evergreen needles

Paper

Sawdust and wood chips

Straw and hay

Most tree leaves

What NOT to Compost

Disease- and insect-infested plants

Charcoal ashes

Fabric

Grass clippings treated with weed killer

Meat, fish, bones, egg whites or yolks, and fats

Pet, bird and human waste

Weeds gone to seed

Invasive weeds