Took me 3 Saturdays to figure out why my compost bin smelled like death

I started composting in April and couldn't figure out why my bin had this rotten egg stink that was attracting flies. I kept adding more browns and turning it but nothing helped. After like 3 weekends of frustration I finally dug down to the bottom and found a solid layer of wet cardboard that was blocking all drainage. Turns out I was layering stuff wrong from day one and had basically created a swamp. The fix was just dumping the whole thing out and starting over with smaller pieces mixed in better. Has anyone else dealt with a compost bin that just refuses to break down?

2 comments

2 Comments

dianal9412d ago

Oh man, the dead cardboard layer. I did the exact same thing last year with my first bin. I finally dumped everything into a tarp and spent like an hour breaking up clumps with my hands. What worked for me was mixing the greens and browns in smaller batches before adding them to the bin, like actually tossing them together in a bucket first. Also I started watering it way less. I was drenching it every time I added stuff thinking it needed moisture but it just turned into a mud pit. Now I only add water if the pile feels dry when I squeeze a handful, and I chop everything into thumb sized pieces with pruning shears. No more swamp smell and way less flies.

christopher_wells412d ago

The wet cardboard layer got you. Classic mistake. I did the same thing my first time. Needed a pitchfork to break it all apart. Just gotta mix everything smaller and keep it loose.