My compost bin in the backyard turned into a stinky mess this spring

I followed a guide online and started a compost pile with just kitchen scraps and leaves. After about two months, it smelled SO bad and was full of flies. My neighbor, who's a gardener, came over and said I needed way more 'brown' stuff like cardboard or dry leaves to balance it out. I added a whole bag of shredded paper and turned it, and the smell was gone in a week. I learned that getting the green and brown mix right is the most important part. Has anyone else had a compost disaster they fixed by changing the mix?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry_martin5616d ago

Glad you got the smell under control... that's the worst. Just a small thing, but shredded paper can be tricky as a brown. If it's glossy junk mail or has inks, it might not break down well or could add stuff you don't want in your garden soil. Plain cardboard or dry leaves are safer bets. I learned that the hard way too... ended up picking little bits of shiny paper out of my finished compost for ages.

samramirez16d ago

Yeah, @henry_martin56 is totally right about the glossy paper. I stick to plain newsprint or cardboard now. Those little plastic bits never really go away.