Carbon/Nitrogen (CN) Ratio
Posted by Eugene on Sunday, June 5, 2011
Under: Article
Back when I've just started, I was so extremely delighted with my very first vermicompost. It wasn't so bad with the waiting. Every other day I'd go and have a peek at my bins. Yep there they are. Those lovely football-shaped castings lying in a neat pile.I was so very proud until a friend of mine ask me what's the CN ratio of my pile of casting.
Feeding your vermi is crucial when the quality of casting is a consideration. It's not just throwing in whatever organic material you can lay your hands on. Below is a table of CN ratio of the materials that you feed to your vermi.
Cabbage 12:1
Tobacco 13:1
Cow manure 20:1
Leaves 40-80:1
Corn stalks/stover 55-60:1
Soybean stover 32:1
Peanut straw 20:1
Sugar cane trash 116:1
Oat straw 74:1
Wheat straw 80-105:1
Paper 150-200:1
Sawdust 100-500:1
Grass clippings 12-25:1
Coffee grounds 20:1
Rice straw 50-105:1
Rice hull 91:1
Sesbania 18:1
Water hyacinth 18:1
Bark 100-200:1
Fruit wastes 35:1
Poultry manure (fresh) 10:1
Poultry manure (old) 6.7:1
Horse manure 25:1
Swine manure 8.4-13:1
Cattle manure 16:1
Sheep manure 29:1
Human manure 8:1
Sewage sludge 8.7:1
Newspaper 50-200:1
Pine needles 60-110:1
Rotted manure 20:1
Thanks to Joel Adorada (vermicompost_owner mailling list)
In : Article