My compost smells bad and I
turned it yesterday, what can I do?
- Add bulky browns/carbon rich material.
- Add greens/nitrogen rich material.
- Add water.
You are correct! The answer is "a. Add bulky browns/carbon
rich material."
Most odor problems often result from either too much
moisture, which causes the compost to compact and loose oxygen flow or too much
green/nitrogen rich material which off-gas smelly odors (or both). Adding bulky
brown/carbon rich material will help absorb the excess moisture and nitrogen rich gasses.
You can just add the browns to the top of the compost bin, but if odors persist, you may
have to mix the browns in throughout the pile, where the bulky material will help keep the
pile oxygenated.
For more information on why your pile may have
odors, see "Troubleshooting - Odor". |