Slurries of manures from sheep, dairy cows and poultry and their composts with peat moss, and composts made from fish and crab scraps with peat moss or brown peat, were characterized for the distribution of different N forms. The total-N in the composts varied from 1.09 to 3.72%, with the fish scrap composts being the richest. The mature composts contained 13 to 44% of the total N as NH4−and NO−3+ions, immediately available to plants. The crab scrap composts were richest in mineral N.