Compost smells like manure?

[NokeStar GreenThumb]

I am brand new to composting but have been enjoying the process and seeing my newly made pile heat up as I hoped it would.

I am not fortunate enough to have all the needed materials to make a full pile at once so I have been adding materials as I get them. I have always been good about adding browns and greens. If I cut my grass and dump a bag or two of clippings on the pile I make sure to go get 4-5 bags of leaves from the woods and dump them on as well. I have also started turning my pile the past 2 weeks but today while turning the pile is when the smell hit me!

It literally smelled like cow manure - is this something that can be fixed? Does this make my compost bad?

We have had storms here lately so the pile is pretty wet. Stirring it up today should help it dry out more but I would love to hear if anyone else has experienced this problem before and how I should go about fixing it.

Thanks!

[cynthia_h]

Cow manure = methane = not enough oxygen. Turning the pile introduces more oxygen, which will *definitely* help.

If all of the ingredients you've put into the pile are the same size, and esp. if they're small, there won't be many air spaces in the pile for oxygen to do its work. In this case, we DO want oxidation. So poking a large stick or branch into the pile every now and then to create multiple holes will help introduce air and stave off this most unpleasant result.

In summer 2008, I deliberately created an anaerobic compost situation in a large, contained bin. Whoa! Stand back! It was something else, and that something wasn't pleasant. I had done it as an experiment; I learned what I wanted to learn about how far to push my regular compost and no further.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[applestar]

Soggy, anaerobic conditions, as Cynthia said. Sign that the pile is needing a complete turnover more often. Turn the pile inside-out: Make a new pile next to it out of the old, putting dryer portions from top and edges in the bottom/inside and wetter portions on the outside, while fluffing up all the ingredients. You're likely to find clumps of matted grass that look like cud.

[soil]

it always helps to turn your piles after it rains to aerate them again. your pile basically ran out of air.

[Joyfirst]

There is one trick that can help to make your pile more aerated - take thick piece of plastic tubing and drill many holes all around. Then wrap it in a landscape fabric or row cover fabric, so the holes won't get clogged with soil. Put it in the middle of your compost pile upright.

[rainbowgardener]

As a lower tech method, I just take a long stick and punch holes down through my pile when I add stuff on top of it. The holes eventually disappear (the pipe is more permanent), but I just do it again the next time.

[planter]

I attack the pile with a six foot piece of sharpened rebar. Lets lots of air in and I don't have to turn as often...

I will however admit to being more of a COLD composter for the most part although the pile gets a pretty good mix of greens and browns with a little seaweed thrown in for good measure.

Too much water does make for a rot issue but I really find the end product pretty much the same. But by the same token I use my compost well before what the average Joe would call it finished. New plants settle in nicely as long as you give them some good dirt/compost close to the roots. Planting in unfinished compost has never caused me any troubles except that the plant can sink below grade as the worms and such do their thing.

Planted poor old Dad's ashes under a Stewartia Koreana and gave the plant a 20 dollar hole and it sunk 2ft!! Needed a major root pruning before a Bobcat with forks came to lift it back to grade. Bonus was I found two gold filling and bought a new Oyama Mag...

[cynthia_h]

My compost always runs to the cool/cold side also, so my advice will work for you as well. Stir, stir, and stir in air. Don't let the pile get dry, but don't over-soak it, either; our cold piles can't deal with excess water as easily as warm/hot piles can.

Sounds like things are improving.

Cynthia

[NokeStar GreenThumb]

Thanks for all the advice!

I have been turning my pile a ton lately. I was doing it about every day when it was drenched and then putting big holes throughout it for air flow. It is starting to dry out so I have stepped back to every 2 or 3 days I'll turn and punch holes. It's amazing to me that even with the constant turning, punching holes, and 90 degree heat and the pile remains wet within.

Unfortunately storms are starting to be back in the forecast and with this 90+ degree heat everyday the storms we've been getting have included heavy downpours which of course put me right back at square one again. This is clearly a battle that is hard to win unless I put on roof on top of my compost bin so when the funds allow me to do this or when I come across a scrap sheet of plywood that is what I'll do.

[cynthia_h]

Unfortunately storms are starting to be back in the forecast and with this 90+ degree heat everyday the storms we've been getting have included heavy downpours which of course put me right back at square one again. This is clearly a battle that is hard to win unless I put on roof on top of my compost bin so when the funds allow me to do this or when I come across a scrap sheet of plywood that is what I'll do.

Do you have a tarp? You could lay it over the top and weight it down with bricks as a make-do rain screen during the storms.

Cynthia