Nitrogen List

Cassava Plant

When composting or vermicomposting (worm farming), you need a good combination of high nitrogen organics and high carbon organics. Unfortunately for new worm farmers, the feed used to create a high quality worm cast is strictly guarded. Its the only thing that separates one worm farmer from another.

Traditional composting will use 20 times as much carbon rich material than nitrogen rich material. This creates good heating and quick reduction, which is not the goal for worm farmers. Worms will reduce mater quickly and need an even temperature. 100% nitrogen rich feeds can be used, however will not make the best castings because your worms will not be as healthy and there will not be as many micro-nutrients such as calcium, zinc, iron, sulfur, etc in single feeds.

This is a list of different feeds that will increase your nitrogen levels of your castings which is most useful in spring and summer. Fall time castings will need to have less nitrogen because plants are rooting and not actively growing leaves, flowers and fruits. It is important to remember everything takes time to become worm castings, so plan ahead. Winter will produce castings for spring and summer, spring and summer will produce castings for fall. Change your feeding if possible during these times.

Most homeowners will have plenty of grass to feed their worms during spring and summer which is high in nitrogen and is not the best feed for fall castings. There are a couple ways to avoid high nitrogen levels during this time. First is to bag your grass and set aside for wintertime feeding. This is the best way to use grass because it will heat up very quickly in your worm bins making heating of your worms cost effective. Many of us do not have a location to store grass, and don't like the smell of old grass when adding to a worm bin. Your other option is to add chipped wood to your worm bin. The micro organisms responsible for reducing wood need a large amount of nitrogen to do this, which effectively reduces the amount of nitrogen in your castings. Only add wood once a year, after you have collected castings for spring and summer. This allows plenty of time for the wood to be softened and eaten by the worms, then used in fall, and you start the process over again in fall and winter.

White Clover

This list includes organics that are more than 4% nitrogen at time of cutting during spring or summer when actively growing. Nitrogen is a very lite element and easily evaporated. The sooner you get these feeds into your worm bin after harvesting, the better. The list starts with the highest nitrogen content (over 5%) to the least (right at 4%).

Cassava leaves, snap bean leaves, onion tops, tobacco leaves (not the smokable processed tobacco), creeping bent grass, field cucumber leaves, Irish potato leaves, babies breath leaves, European cucumber leaves, fababeans blades, Boston lettuce leaves, watercress leaves

Wax leaf begonia leaves, chrysanthemum leaves, poinsettia leaves, asparagus leaves, Chinese cabbage leaves, cantaloupe-muskmelon leaves, honeydew leaves, eggplant leaves, English pea leaves, spinach leaves, squash leaves, field tomato leaves

Soy bean leaves, begonia leaves, statice leaves, alfalfa tops, clover leaves, white clover leaves, perennial rye grass, table beet leaves, garlic leaves, sugar beat leaves, alstromeria leaves, endive leaves, rye (above ground) African violet leaves, Bermuda grass, collards leaves, kohlrabi leaves, Boston lettuce wrapper leaves, black eyed pea leaves, radish leaves, watermelon leaves, snapdragon leaves, spathiphyllum leaves, broccoli leaves, yellow birch seedlings, brussel sprouts leaves, kale leaves, tea leaves, corn tops, gladiolus leaves, hydrangea leaves, philodendron leaves, birds-foot trefoil leaves, sweet corn leaves, bell pepper leaves, carnation leaves, geranium leaves, easter lily leaves.

Cotton stem, peanut leaves, gloxinia leaf, Day lily leaves, philodendron pertusum leaves, rose leaves, breenleaf desmodium leaves, banana leaves, cabbage wrapper leaves.