Smelly Compost

She plugged her nose and said, "It stinks."

I recently read an article about schoolchildren who were putting their lunch scraps in compost. Bravo! However, the reporter seemed to think emphasizing the smell added a light hearted touch to the article, so lots of kids talked about how the compost pile smelled.

Compost does not smell when done correctly.

Perhaps the compost has too much wet material, so stirring in some dry material (such as leaves or straw) may help. Perhaps the children are adding more than just the fruit and veggies scraps. Perhaps the pile isn't "piled," meaning that a compost heap needs to get tall and wide before it really heats up.

On a cold afternoon, I stepped outside and added some scraps to my compost pile. It radiated warmth, warmer than the air temperature, so I knew that it was working. For the best compost, alternate brown and green materials, pile it high, and stir it once in a while. Sometimes adding a handful of dirt can help the process get started. If the compost doesn't break down at all and seems especially dry, watering can help.

Compost holds living organisms, so I try to make things comfortable for them--not too wet or too dry, plenty of food choices, and some air for breathing. And then I get some black gold.