Ewww stinky compost...

Okay I have had my first ordeal with my compost bin today. I decided I wanted to move the bin so I emptied it contents out and peeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!!!! I thought it looked pretty good but it was STINKY. Obviously I haven't been turning it all the way through. At this point in the evening I just spread it out a bit on the grown and forked it a lot. I will let it sit until tomorrow and then put it back in the bin....what a stench! Anyhow I hope now it will get back to normal.

Does your bin let in lots of air? Compost shouldn't stink.

Apparently not LOL. It is just one of those purchased bins from Home Depot so you would think it would have been okay. I think basically it was kept too wet.

What I have heard is that if it is stinky you have too much green and not enough brown. You could add shredded newspapers or junk mail or straw or dried leaves for brown. I think the green is the nitrogen heavy material and the brown is the carbon heavy material and there is an optimum mix.

Dawn, is it a closed bin? My understanding is compost needs lots of air. Soferdig & Joe pyeweed on the soil & compost forum are the people I turn to if I have a question. But, you shouldn't have to live with that smell.
Dave

Well what I did was empty the bin....I scattered it around and mixed it in...there were some very wet gooey spots so I really chopped that up. I let it sit overnight to dry out a bit and then did some more turning in the morning. I then placed it back in the bin...hopefully this will solve the problem. It is a closed in bin that has slots for air. I think it was basically too wet. I will check in out in another few days time to see how it is doing.....