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> We have a lot of carbons in the pile (mostly leaves) so adding the nitrogen helps it all break down faster I know that nitrogen/carbon ratio is being brought

> We have a lot of carbons in the pile (mostly leaves) so adding the nitrogen helps it all break down faster I know that nitrogen/carbon ratio is being brought a lot in compost discussions, but AFAIK most of the time people bring that up they are actually talking about bringing water, not nitrogen, to their compost. And regarding this particular comment of yours about “nitrogen helping it break down” I suspect this is another instance of it. Dry leaves aren't a favorable environment for fungi and bacteria to grow, so adding water will definitely speed up the process a lot, while I'm not convinced adding nitrogen would have any effect in that regard. Peeing on a compost pile is still good because it ads nitrogen to the compost itself, part of which will end up in the plant you give it, but it's probably less effective at it than peeing on the plants directly, because some of it will evaporate over time.

diggan 2y ago
> Dry leaves aren't a favorable environment for fungi and bacteria to grow, so adding water will definitely speed up the process a lot Nor is an environment without sufficient nitrogen, IIRC, especially since dry leaves are really carbon-rich. I'm guessing it would be easy for parent to test if it's the water, the nitrogen or both that helps the most. Science your way to an answer, as long as you're logging metrics should be easy enough :)
- anticorporate 2y ago
  Since there were a couple of comments asking about water content, yes, we also keep our compost moist through adding water when needed (I also live in a rather moist region of the US). The previous owners of our property "gifted" us an above-ground pool that makes for a lousy swimming spot but a great water collection tank. We rarely have to use municipal water for anything garden-related.
krunck 2y ago
No, nitrogen is very important. The carbon to nitrogen ratios is crucial for optimal composting.[1] Yes, compost must be moist to decompose. And peeing on the compost adds required moisture and nitrogen. Don't pee on your plants. It can chemically burn some of them. Not to mention peeing on your lettuce is just gross. My compost is for dealing with kitchen waste: veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds etc. It it so nitrogen rich that I need to add leaves to it regularly to keep the C/N ratio where it needs to be or it goes "sour". [1] https://compost.css.cornell.edu/chemistry.html https://compost.css.cornell.edu/chemistry.html
- knowitnone 2y ago
  I pee on my compost and I don't see any difference to the speed of composting between a good rain vs a gallon of pee.
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  Nitrogen is important, but you're misunderstanding the table you link to: unless you're composting saw dust, paper or pure bark, you're not going to need to add nitrogen to have a well-functioning compost. > Don't pee on your plants. It can chemically burn some of them. Not to mention peeing on your lettuce is just gross. Come on, I'm obviously not advising peeing on the leaves directly, but you shouldn't water the leaves directly either. > My compost is for dealing with kitchen waste: veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds etc. It it so nitrogen rich that I need to add leaves to it regularly to keep the C/N ratio where it needs to be or it goes "sour". And this is exactly why I say people obsess with C/N ratio too much when 90% of the issues people face is caused by a poor water/Oxygen ratio instead, compost “going sour” is almost always due lack of oxygen (which is very common when you put stuff that's very moist and you don't shuffle your compost often enough). Adding leaves is indeed a good solution to this problem, but as it's not carbon-related it can be solved by other means (just by oxygenating the compost).

diggan 2y ago

> Dry leaves aren't a favorable environment for fungi and bacteria to grow, so adding water will definitely speed up the process a lot Nor is an environment without sufficient nitrogen, IIRC, especially since dry leaves are really carbon-rich. I'm guessing it would be easy for parent to test if it's the water, the nitrogen or both that helps the most. Science your way to an answer, as long as you're logging metrics should be easy enough :)

anticorporate 2y ago
Since there were a couple of comments asking about water content, yes, we also keep our compost moist through adding water when needed (I also live in a rather moist region of the US). The previous owners of our property "gifted" us an above-ground pool that makes for a lousy swimming spot but a great water collection tank. We rarely have to use municipal water for anything garden-related.

krunck 2y ago

No, nitrogen is very important. The carbon to nitrogen ratios is crucial for optimal composting.[1] Yes, compost must be moist to decompose. And peeing on the compost adds required moisture and nitrogen. Don't pee on your plants. It can chemically burn some of them. Not to mention peeing on your lettuce is just gross. My compost is for dealing with kitchen waste: veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds etc. It it so nitrogen rich that I need to add leaves to it regularly to keep the C/N ratio where it needs to be or it goes "sour". [1] https://compost.css.cornell.edu/chemistry.html https://compost.css.cornell.edu/chemistry.html

knowitnone 2y ago
I pee on my compost and I don't see any difference to the speed of composting between a good rain vs a gallon of pee.
littlestymaar 2y ago
Nitrogen is important, but you're misunderstanding the table you link to: unless you're composting saw dust, paper or pure bark, you're not going to need to add nitrogen to have a well-functioning compost. > Don't pee on your plants. It can chemically burn some of them. Not to mention peeing on your lettuce is just gross. Come on, I'm obviously not advising peeing on the leaves directly, but you shouldn't water the leaves directly either. > My compost is for dealing with kitchen waste: veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds etc. It it so nitrogen rich that I need to add leaves to it regularly to keep the C/N ratio where it needs to be or it goes "sour". And this is exactly why I say people obsess with C/N ratio too much when 90% of the issues people face is caused by a poor water/Oxygen ratio instead, compost “going sour” is almost always due lack of oxygen (which is very common when you put stuff that's very moist and you don't shuffle your compost often enough). Adding leaves is indeed a good solution to this problem, but as it's not carbon-related it can be solved by other means (just by oxygenating the compost).