Troubleshooting your compost shouldn’t take too long and soon you’ll be creating your own garden black gold. Composting isn’t terribly difficult but sometimes you just hit a hiccup; these tips should help you find your issue and correct it. Whether you’re composting in a fancy composter, a pile or a converted garbage can – troubleshooting your compost is pretty much the same.
So find your issue in the list, and the use the solution to get things back on track. I’ve learned these the hard way, I hope you don’t have to!
Troubleshooting Your Compost
Issue One – Stinky Compost
Well the first question I’d ask is what does it smell like?
- Ammonia – this is probably caused by too much nitrogen in your pile. Give your pile a good turning and add more brown material to it.
- Rotten – Your pile need oxygen! Give int a turn. If you use garbage cans, like me, then try using a compost aerator. I personally use a small piece of rebar (like this guy).
- Make sure you aren’t watering your compost too much – damp, not wet.
Issue Two – Dry Compost
This is one of the biggest issues I faced as a new composter. I live in the desert…dry is common here.
- Give your compost water regularly, especially in the warmer months.
- Don’t let it dry out or those beautiful microorganisms will die off and your compost will become glorified garbage. If you get heats like we do in Phoenix, it may need to be watered daily.
Issue Three – Not Breaking Down
- If your pile isn’t too dry or too wet and it still isn’t breaking down then you may have too much brown material and not enough green.
- Try adding some rabbit poo, fresh grass clippings, and your fruit/veggie waste from the kitchen. These will add some nitrogen to the compost.
Issue Four – No Heat
- I’m assuming you’ve looked at all the above issues/fixes and you’re still not getting any heat. Meaning your pile is not too saturated, it has a good balance of greens and browns, and it is getting plenty of air…
- A compost pile needs to about about 135-160 degrees Fahrenheit. You can get a nifty compost thermometer to check that.
- Your issue could be size – a small compost pile just doesn’t have enough material to cook. So add more good stuff and keep it moist.
Issue Five – Maggots, Flies and Other Creepy Critters
Just to have complete honesty here… Someone recently left the lid off one of my compost bins. I put it back on as soon as I discovered it; and didn’t give it a second thought. Well I went to dump my kitchen compost into and was greeted by a swarm of flies. Nasty, but it happens to the best of us.
- Keep your compost covered. Unless you live on a large piece of land and don’t mind creepers getting in there. I have been composting for awhile and I’ve only had 1 roach and that aforementioned fly assault; because my bins are closed.
- Make sure you’re not adding materials that attract the nasty (meat, dairy products).
- If they are coming from below you may need to add some wire mesh to the bottom of your bin.
Issue Six – Too Chunky
- If you let it “cook” enough time, and that’s not the issue then you may simply need to sift your compost. You can buy a handy dandy compost sifter to help with that job. Or if you like a DIY project you could build your own.
- Make sure you are putting big sticks in your compost – they’ll take forever to break down, if they ever do.
Don’t worry, troubleshooting your compost isn’t going to take up all your time. Once you get into the groove, it won’t seem so needy. And there is just nothing better to grow gorgeous tomatoes in!
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This great information. Someday I hope to have land big enough to compost on and I’ll definitely use these tips. For now, I’ll try not to kill my vermicompost. Thanks for sharing!
If you are good at vermicomposting then you’ll be great at traditional composting!
The only food I don’t allow in my compost is potato peels. They can carry a disease that can wipe out your potato or tomato crop if the compost is used on your garden. I imagine if you cooked them, they’d be OK>
Are ants bad to have in compost? I don’t have a bug problem other than them
They shouldn’t be a problem because the pile won’t be appealing them for a nest.
Hi,
I request your advice. Recently i got inspired in balcony gardening. Have few plants now. Along with that i chose a plastic container without holes for kitchen waste (not cooked ones) composting. I kept the pot in my bedroom balcony. Since the bucket was closed Maggots started growing heavily. Need your suggession in two things (1) How to clear the Maggots. (2) How to get rid of the smell
Thanks in advance,
Pramod
First, maggots certainly will not hurt your compost. My first thought because you also say it smells, is that you aren’t adding enough browns like dry leaves, bits of newspaper, even coffee filters (unbleached). If this is your only compost bin you may need a tighter system like the Bokashi Bucket – which will also help with the smell. Make sure you are NOT putting meat or bones in your small compost, which will attract flies even more. If you absolutely want to clear the current maggots you may need to transfer your compost to a larger outdoor bin/pile or bury the contents, clean it out and start over.