|
Problems |
Possible Causes |
Solution |
|
Ammonia Odor |
Excess of nitrogen
or green material - grass clippings can be the culprit here |
Mix in more dry
(high-carbon) materials such as green twigs, wood chips, leaves, straw, shredded
newspaper or plant stems. These will help to create more air voids. Turn pile more
throughly. |
|
Attracts
animals |
Food scraps are
not well covered |
Cover all food
with brown materials such as leaves, wood chips, or finished compost |
|
Attracts
animals |
Meat and other
animal products have been included |
Keep meat and
other animal products out of the pile; enclose pile in 1/4-inch hardware cloth |
|
Bad odor |
Pile too large |
The pile should
not exceed a height greater than 8 feet or width greater than 20 feet. Break into
several smaller piles |
|
Bad odor |
Pile too wet |
Get a handful of
material from inside the pile and squeeze it-if water drips out of it, the pile is too
wet. Turn the pile into another bin adding thin layers of dry straw or shredded
newspaper. |
|
Bad odor |
Too many greens |
Add browns and
mix. Turn pile and top with soil |
|
Bad odor |
Too much moisture. |
Turn the pile. |
|
Bad odor |
Too much
nitrogen-rich material in the pile. |
Do not water as
often and turn the pile to dry out the material. |
|
Clumping or
matted material |
Insufficient
turning causing uneven airflow or contains slowly degradable materials |
Break materials
into smaller chunks and turn more throughly |
|
Decaying is
taking a long time |
Particles too big |
Cut waste
materials into small pieces. Mix in small amounts of topsoil with the materials. Adding
livestock manure and bedding will also activate your pile. |
|
Fire ants |
Pile could be too
dry, not hot enough, or has kitchen scraps too close to the surface. |
Make sure your
pile has a good mix of materials to heat up, and keep it moist enough. |
|
Flies |
Food scraps are
not well covered |
Cover all food
with brown materials such as leaves, wood chips, or finished compost |
|
Flies |
Meat and other
animal products have been included |
Keep meat and
other animal products out of the pile; enclose pile in 1/4-inch hardware cloth |
|
High Pile
Temperature (greater than 140 degrees Fahrenheit) |
Insufficient
ventilation |
Turn pile |
|
High Pile
Temperature (greater than 140 degrees Fahrenheit) |
Pile too large |
The pile should
not exceed a height greater than 8 feet or width greater than 20 feet. Break into
several smaller piles |
|
Insects,
millipedes, slugs, etc. |
Part of the
natural process. |
It is OK to have
these little creatures. This is Not a problem. |
|
Large,
undecomposed items are still in the mix. |
Raw materials
contain large particles and non-degradable or slowly degradable materials |
Break materials
into smaller chunks and turn more throughly -- remember some items, like corn
cobs, decompose more slowly -- consider burying the larger pieces at the bottom of the
pile. |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Cold weather
|
Insulate pile with
straw or other material -- don't be concerned if your compost is not generating heat;
decomposition is still occurring, but at a slower pace) |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Lack of air
circulation |
Pile too big.
A 1-cubic-yard pile (3 x 3 x 3 feet) is fine, and will be easier to turn. Also be sure
to add lots of coarse materials to help air circulation, or aerate your pile by turning
or mixing it periodically. |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Lack of nitrogen |
Add material high
in nitrogen, such as food scraps or grass clippings |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Lacks moisture,
it's too dry |
Check the moisture
level of the pile. It should be about as moist as a well- wrung sponge. |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Pile too small |
Increase pile size
(space permitting), try insulating sides |
|
Low Pile
Temperature |
Poor aeration |
Turn more
thoroughly - avoid thick layers of just one material because too many leaves, paper or
grass clippings won't break down well. Remember to shred larger pieces of organic
material. |
|
Matted leaves
or grass clippings aren't decomposing. |
Poor aeration, or
lack of moisture. |
|
|
Mosquito
problems |
Too wet materials
- encouraging breeding |
Wet raw materials
stored on site more than four days |
|
Odor - Ammonia
|
Excess of nitrogen
or green material - grass clippings can be the culprit here |
Mix in more dry
(high-carbon) materials such as green twigs, wood chips, leaves, straw, shredded
newspaper or plant stems. These will help to create more air voids. Turn pile more
throughly. |
|
Odor - Bad |
Pile too large |
The pile should
not exceed a height greater than 8 feet or width greater than 20 feet. Break into
several smaller piles. A cubic yard ( 3' x 3' x 3 x 3' is a good size. |
|
Odor - Bad |
Pile too wet |
Get a handful of
material from inside the pile and squeeze it-if water drips out of it, the pile is too
wet. Turn the pile into another bin adding thin layers of dry straw or shredded
newspaper. |
|
Odor - Bad |
Too many greens |
Add browns and
mix. Turn pile and top with soil |
|
Odor - Rotten
Egg Smell |
Excess moisture
(anaerobic) |
Turn pile
frequently; add dry material such as autumn leaves, woodchips, or straw; make sure bin
has drainage; leave lid off to allow more air to flow |
|
Pile does not
heat up |
Cold weather |
Increase pile
size, or insulate pile with an extra layer of material such as straw |
|
Pile does not
heat up |
Lacks moisture,
it's too dry |
Check the moisture
level of the pile. It should be about as moist as a well- wrung sponge. |
|
Pile does not
heat up |
Lacks nitrogen
|
Add high nitrogen
materials, such as fresh grass clippings or vegetable scraps. |
|
Pile does not
heat up |
Pile too small |
Make pile bigger
or insulate sides |
|
Pile does not
heat up |
Poor aeration |
Turn pile more
frequently |
|
Putrid odor |
Compaction |
Turn pile to add oxygen |
|
Putrid odor |
Lacks oxygen |
Mix up the pile so
that it gets some aeration and can breathe. Add course dry materials like straw, hay or
leaves to soak up excess moisture. If smell is too bad, add dry materials on top and
wait until it dries out a bit before you mix the pile. |
|
Putrid odor |
Pile too wet |
Spread out materials to dry or mix in dry browns such as leaves or straw. |
|
Remains cold |
Cold weather |
Composting slows
down when the mercury drops near or below freezing. Have patience-give the pile a turn
in the spring and it should heat right up. |
|
Remains cold |
Composting nearing
completion |
No action
required. |
|
Remains cold |
Lacks moisture,
it's too dry |
Check the moisture
level of the pile. It should be about as moist as a well- wrung sponge. Composting
does not happened in completely dry conditions. |
|
Remains cold |
Lacks nitrogen
|
Add high nitrogen
materials, such as fresh grass clippings or vegetable scraps. |
|
Remains cold |
Not enough
nitrogen-rich materials in the pile. |
Mix in fresh
nitrogen-rich materials, such as grass or fruit and vegetable trimmings. |
|
Remains cold |
Pile is too small. |
Your pile should
be at least about 3 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet. If it is smaller than this, add more
materials. |
|
Rodents |
Animal products in
pile (meat, fat, eggs) |
Don't put meat,
fat, cheese, bones, etc in your pile. Remove these items. Line and cover
your bin with hardware cloth to keep out pests. |
|
Rotten Egg Odor |
Compaction - not
enough air (anaerobic) |
Turn the pile so
that it can breathe. Add top soil to top of pile |
|
Slow composting |
Materials compacted |
Mix small particles with larger pieces |
|
Slow composting |
Particles too large |
Reduce particle size to improve heat retention in pile |
|
Slow composting |
Pile lacks nitrogen |
Mix in green materials such as grass clippings, kitchen scraps, manure |
|
Slow composting |
Pile lacks oxygen |
Turn to aerate |
|
Slow composting |
Pile too dry |
Water more frequently until a squeezed handful feels like a wet damp sponge. |
|
Slow composting |
Pile too small |
Build larger, balanced, aerated pile |
|
Too Wet |
Poor drainage, too
much rain, or a lack of air. |
Move the pile to a
location where there is proper drainage. Add dry leaves. Turn the pile to circulate air
and remove the lid to allow evaporation. |
|
Warm only in
the middle of the pile. |
Cold weather might
have slowed composting |
The pile naturally
slows down during cold weather. It will heat up again in warmer weather. |
|
Warm only in
the middle of the pile. |
Pile is too small. |
If you are only
composting in piles, make sure your pile is at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. With a
bin, the pile doesn't need to be so large. |
