Alleged smelly compost container

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Permalink Reply by Kate E on June 11, 2009 at 12:14pm

LOL Which came first, the compost pile or the house? My compost pile rarely smells, I just keep it covered vith a very liberal layer of leaves. Sometimes one of the cats will dig around in it and I just add more leaves. Me being myself, I would probably bite a hole in my tounge to keep from telling him to get bent and where to shove his terrace. And then I would stir the pile when they were sitting outside.

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on June 11, 2009 at 2:29pm

Unless you started it with lots of manure it shouldn't smell and unless you have put a lot of grass in there or animal products it probably won't smell.
he's probably smelling nature.
tell him to hang those formaldehyde filled new car air freshners round his deck...
or a clothspeg for his nose


Does it smell to you?

John

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Permalink Reply by Gillian on June 11, 2009 at 4:29pm

Do you add lime? A light sprinkling of lime is supposed to 'sweeten the mix" . I cant imagine anyone being bothered by the smell though - to me it smells just like walking through the woods, amongst the natural compost! I think if you just say you are doing something he might appreciate the gesture, and who knows he might eventually start one of his own once he sees how well your garden is doing :)

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Permalink Reply by Martha Hill on June 11, 2009 at 5:10pm

Tell him you would be happy to move it and put the pigs there !! They need a change of scenery !!

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Permalink Reply by Letti on June 11, 2009 at 6:09pm

Richard,
whenever my inside worm bin has a slight smell, which is not often, I add some coffee grounds to it. Immediately the kitchen smells of home brewed coffee. You can get used coffee grounds at Starbucks. I keep them around to use when necessary. As was mentioned before, he does not know what nature smells like. Mix lots of leaves with your vegetable scraps along with some dirt and coffee grounds that should take care of the smell. Trying turning it a bit more, I would do it when he is not outside though. Good luck, I would handle him with kids gloves.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia Jones on June 11, 2009 at 7:09pm

The only time mine smells is when I turn it and then the smell is a woodsy smell. He doesn't seem to understand what you are doing, maybe you can explain it to him and show him what its all about and maybe get him started making his own.

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Permalink Reply by Martha Hill on June 11, 2009 at 7:12pm

Unless manure is green it doesn`t smell !! Chances are the compost doesn`t smell but he just knows its there and imagines it does !!

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Permalink Reply by Tamra on June 12, 2009 at 9:40pm

Once I composted in a trash can that did not have good enough drainage, and my compost smelled. If yours truly does smell, is it too wet?

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Permalink Reply by Clarence on June 14, 2009 at 5:54am

If your neighbor says he can smell your compost heap, or thinks he can smell your heap... he can. We who garden, and love compost, have a tolerence for the smell of compost the same as horse folks do not find horse manure smelly.

Try adding more ''browns'' to the mix and, as Kate E has said, keep a liberal layer of leaves (or staw) on top. If he can still smell it you may have to move your composting operation to another area of your yard.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia Cooke on June 15, 2009 at 5:37am

If you only put vegetable matter into the compost bin and turn it frequently, there should not be an odor. You might speed up the process by putting redworms into the bin. There are products that can be purchased from Gardens Alive (gardensalive.com) which also serve the purpose, but you can also go fishing with the redworms.

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Permalink Reply by Glenn Fletcher on June 15, 2009 at 7:01am

You only get smells during anerobic decomposition. If the heap is too wet & with insufficient brown material it may smell. It may need turning to add more air. It might be a good idea, if space allows, to move the heap away from his terrace. The two elements are not ideal when placed next to each other. Even if your heap was there first.

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Permalink Reply by Tamra on June 15, 2009 at 7:37am

Glenn and Clarence make good points about moving the pile. As far a neighborhood relationships go, I find it is best to go the extra mile to keep the peace. You don't want the neighbor getting so upset over this, that he goes to the city and gets the codes changed, so that compost is not allowed at all.

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