Read a thing that said coffee grounds are 20 to 1 on the carbon-to-nitrogen scale

I was looking up what to add to my worm bin and found that fact on a university extension site. I always thought coffee grounds were 'green' material because they're wet and from food. Turns out they're actually a 'brown' for composting, which is super high in carbon. I've been adding them like crazy thinking I needed more greens, no wonder my pile was so dry and slow. Has anyone else had to totally flip how they sort their kitchen scraps after learning this?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.tessa13h ago

Well that explains my sad, slow compost heap.

murray.abby11h ago

Read somewhere that a compost pile needs a good mix of greens and browns to really get going. Too much of one thing just makes a wet, slow mess or a dry pile that does nothing. Getting that balance right is the tricky part for sure.