Browns & Greens — Printable 18×24 Wall Chart, The Composting Ratio and What Goes In

 The composting chart for the shed wall. One ratio, two lists, and a troubleshooting table that tells you what your pile is complaining about.

Roughly two to three parts browns to one part greens, by volume — shown as a balance scale so the proportion registers before you have read a word. Then the lists: browns, from dry leaves (the best one) through straw, cardboard, untreated sawdust, pine needles and wood ash; greens, from grass clippings and kitchen scraps through coffee grounds, aged herbivore manure, feathers and rinsed seaweed.

A KEEP OUT list, because the things that ruin a pile are specific — meat, fish, dairy, fats, dog and cat waste, treated or painted wood, coal ash, glossy printed paper, and in a cold pile, diseased plants and any weed carrying seed.

And the part you will use most: what each failure smells like. Rotten eggs means too wet and airless — turn it and add browns. Ammonia means too much nitrogen — add browns. Doing nothing at all means too small, too dry, or short of greens. Soggy and slimy means add browns, turn, and cover it against the rain.

A single sheet, 18 × 24 inches. Print it at any copy shop, office store or online print service — ask for 18 × 24 on matte or satin paper. You get a print-ready PDF and a PNG.

Adapted from public-domain US government and extension service material, redrawn and set fresh. Not an official publication and not endorsed by any agency. Instant download — print it as many times as you like.