Difference Between Brown and Green Composting Materials

To have a successful compost pile you will need a balance of brown and green materials to layer within your bin or pile. 

Brown Materials: 

Brown is the carbon energy the compost microbes need to thrive. Without it, your pile of green kitchen scraps will become smelly and slimy. This is because your greens will decompose too quickly, rapidly fermenting nitrogen into the rotten egg smell of ammonia. If your compost smells rotten, it needs more brown materials to be stirred in. Brown materials are stocky and coarse, they include:

• dry yellow or brown leaves and grass
• paper and wood products (sawdust, shredded up twigs, etc.)
• dryer lint
• straw

Green Materials: 

Nitrogen is the protein the munching microbes need to thrive. Green materials are nitrogen rich. Too little nitrogen, and your pile will decay into compost a lot more slowly. The microbes will be fewer and weaker, so it could take a year or two in a mainly brown compost pile to turn into rich compost. A well-balanced compost will be hot, due to all those microscopic bodies busily multiplying and creating rich compost. Green materials include:

• Kitchen scraps (vegetables, melon rinds, etc)
• Coffee grounds

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