Summer is here, and it's the ideal time to get outdoors in your backyard and enjoy the weather. However, foul odors coming from your composting bin can quickly ruin that outdoor enjoyment. This is especially true if you plan to host Fourth of July festivities.
Learning how to make compost at home is an eco-friendly and cost-effective way to transform organic waste into valuable nutrients for our gardens and lawn care. But if your compost bin is starting to smell rancid in the heat, you could be making one of these composting mistakes.
Whether it's throwing the wrong waste into the bin, not turning it over enough, or excess moisture, these can all contribute to your compost smelling bad. Luckily, this can be resolved with a few quick fixes that won’t take much time.
So if you want to quickly get rid of horrid compost smells this summer, try these top tips.
1. Sprinkle baking soda to absorb odors
Baking soda may be a pantry staple, but it’s also known for its natural deodorizing properties. In fact, I have a bowl in my fridge to eliminate lingering odors, and there are many ways to use baking soda in your yard.
Simply sprinkle baking soda over your compost heap once you detect a whiff. This should help absorb lingering odors and prevent them from causing a stench.
Bear in mind to apply this remedy with a light hand, as overdoing it can actually stifle beneficial microbial activity and heavily stall the breakdown process.
2. Regularly turn over your compost
Typically, materials high in nitrogen content are the worst culprits when it comes to making a stench. Not only do you need the correct 3:1 ratio of brown to green materials by volume, but you also need to turn it over periodically.
Just like growing plants, compost also needs oxygen and water to produce top-quality, healthy soil.
As it’s decomposing, the middle of your heap can easily become deprived of oxygen, requiring a bit of aeration. Thoroughly mixing the mixture helps it break down much faster while preventing organic waste from compacting and creating a rancid stench.
You can easily introduce oxygen throughout the heap by using a garden fork or spade to mix it well. Just be careful not to overfill the bin; otherwise, you won't have adequate space to turn the contents over without making a mess.
In fact, compost tumblers are super easy to use. These feature chambers for adding and removing compost, and aeration holes that allow air in each time you turn it. This is especially useful since composting involves turning it over now and again to allow air to all parts.
3. Throw in more brown materials
Another reason for smelly compost could be that your pile is too wet from overwatering (or even underwatering).
While keeping your heap damp with a light misting is fine, avoid giving too much or too little water. Excessive moisture can quickly drown your pile, suffocating the beneficial microbes that break down the waste. This common composting mistake creates a foul odor, causing the materials to rot rather than break down properly.
One solution is to add in some dry brown materials (like garden waste or cardboard) to absorb the excess liquid, or give it a good turn with a garden fork to increase aeration. On the other hand, if your compost looks completely dry and brittle, simply add more fresh green waste and sprinkle it with a bit of water to restore moisture.
Furthermore, the benefits of composting extend beyond just enriching our yards.
