|
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. |
