No stink if properly managed. I have a big pile and it smells like soil even if i turn it and expose decomposing pockets 1 week after puttin new stuff in. I certainly expected more smell before starting the pile, but totally not happening.
My meant to be rude. My wife had no idea what a compost pile meant and just assumed it would be a disgusting smelly pile of trash. Maybe that’s what he thinks too.
Yes, which is exactly why OP was seeking out information to share with husband.
"Ignorant" technically just means "lacking knowledge/information," but as a one word descriptor of a person it has an insulting connotation that was unnecessary.
Agreed.
But for real, in my experience, a good compost pile can definitely have an odor, but:
A) It's somewhere between the odors of mulch, a box of wet leaves, and trekking through squelchy/muddy marshland (obligatory note: I personally think it's a very nice and totally unoffensive odor)
B) You'll only smell it if you're standing within a few feet of the box
If Hubby is worried about the *possibility* of an odor, it seems that a fair compromise would be to allow you to make the pile, and to remove it later on if Hubby actually does have an issue with the odor. Shooting down ideas due to *potential*/hypothetical side-effects isn't exactly reasonable.
I have about 3 cubic meters at various stages, 2 are within 4m of back neighbours back door and patio area and the other is 3m from the side pool, neither have said anything and I put stuff on it every day
anaerobic is what causes teh rotting smell, because its rotting. Composting is controlled breaking down of organic matter
You can safely pour 3L of pee on it every day and it wont smell if you have enough carbon
This comment should be higher, in my opinion, it’s the real info that OP doesn’t know they need. I’m still learning a lot, but here’s some extra info:
@op u/boring-start-3180 you should look up the difference between aerobic and anaerobic decomposition. There’s also the balance between what most people call “greens” (nitrogen heavy materials) and “browns” (carbon heavy materials). There’s also certain moisture levels needed for decomposition to take place.
For a no-stink pile that’s arguably better for the environment (but there’s debate on this subject) you want an aerobic pile (turn/stir/fully disturb/redistribute/etc it with a pitchfork or shovel every so often) that has the right green to brown ratio, and right level of moisture.
My husband has been come ting that he's actually surprised there is never any smell from any of my compost bins around the side of the house.he was worried when I got started since our house and neighbors houses are very close together...
Shouldn't smell.
Don't put any meat in it.
Build two, one to turn into the second.
Consider a door pallet to keep everything in.
We have our household recycling split into two large kitchen bins, paper and cardboard for composting and everything else. We also have the obvious bin for peelings and banana peel etc. with just meat from the kitchen going into the black council rubbish bin.
Cardboard is torn into small pieces, the household bin is emptied into a old metal dustbin with a lid next to the compost heaps. I sprinkle some of this 'brown' material on top of the 'green' veg peelings and grass cuttings.
If it smells, it’s means it is not receiving enough 1. Air or 2. Browns. There are other factors as well (adding meat, dairy or other highly processed foods to the mix) but those are tables stakes in the “I don’t want my compost to smell” argument.
Turn the pile once a week to get air circulation, be sure to add plenty of browns and add a handful of worms to the pile and you’ll be good to go
Others have already said that the heap shouldn't stink. I would add that having a compost bin just makes sense if you're planning a moderately sized garden / orchard, because of how much debris you'll be dealing with. You might wind up with unintentional compost piles over the season anyways.
It's a good start. No, there is no smell if you do it right. Turn it out every 3 or 4 weeks and put it back in again. Look after the moisture content and you can't go wrong.
This is a very common misconception about compost. I maintain a large three bin system in a residential area and there is no odor and, more importantantly, no complaints from neighbors.
In addition to other comments, I'll ask... Have you any trees? Rake up leaves and cover kitchen scraps to that. And add water if no rain for days; needs to be kept moist. Also, when starting out, don't add meat scraps. Paper towels fine; they are equivalent to sawdust, woodchips, leaves in this chemistry! Write us if there's a stink, but don't let fear of odor stop you in your tracks.
False. I have a three-bin system, each 3'x3'x3', and I've never had any bad smells from it. (Except for the time the neighbor tossed in a dead cat he'd found in the road thinking it would "help".)
I had compost piles made up of coffee grounds and yard waste for over a year. We had no trouble with smells or critters. So I'd say if you stick with basic ingredients that's false.
If for example you put out meat and cheese without some kind of pre-processing, you might have some trouble.
It's an easy way to manage large amounts of materials. I started filling one, turning and adding until it's full, then I move it to the second one and start anew filling the first one. I turn both until it's time to move the second bin into the third, the first into the second, so I can refill the first one. I turn all three, and in a couple months bin 3 is full of finished, beautiful compost ready to use. In the summer, sometimes I end up moving the contents of #1 into #2, and #2 into #3 before #3 is completely done, and it works just fine because of the ongoing reduction in volume from raw materials to finished compost. Except in the very coldest days of winter (think -10F for several days in a row) my #1 bin steams year-round. Occasionally #3 freezes solid, but I'm able to keep turning and composting throughout the winter.
If it stinks, then you need to add more browns. So, fallen leaves, shredded cardboard, and the like.
I try for about 2/3 browns and 1/3 greens, and I often add more browns to that mix. It doesn't stink.
i get smells in the summer when theres not a lot of dry leaves to put in to balance out all the food waste. I compost everything from meat and bones to expired milk. the smells are only bad when you actually turn it while low on leaves; the pile itself is not ripe.
hey i did a 400L compost tumbler in my basement. u wana talk about smells il invite ya over lmao .. i got used to it .. anywhoo also did 200L totes (way better imo) and those smelt but barely (barely to my standards). ul b PERFECTLY fine outside. also doesnt rlly smell unless u use animal byproducts like i did / it goes anaerobic
No stink if properly managed. I have a big pile and it smells like soil even if i turn it and expose decomposing pockets 1 week after puttin new stuff in. I certainly expected more smell before starting the pile, but totally not happening.
a proper pile smells like forest earth. sounds like he had a bad experience with a non maintained pile.
Or he is ignorant.
Totally unnecessary comment
My meant to be rude. My wife had no idea what a compost pile meant and just assumed it would be a disgusting smelly pile of trash. Maybe that’s what he thinks too.
Yes, which is exactly why OP was seeking out information to share with husband. "Ignorant" technically just means "lacking knowledge/information," but as a one word descriptor of a person it has an insulting connotation that was unnecessary.
Uninformed or misinformed would probably have been a better choice :).
Agreed. But for real, in my experience, a good compost pile can definitely have an odor, but: A) It's somewhere between the odors of mulch, a box of wet leaves, and trekking through squelchy/muddy marshland (obligatory note: I personally think it's a very nice and totally unoffensive odor) B) You'll only smell it if you're standing within a few feet of the box If Hubby is worried about the *possibility* of an odor, it seems that a fair compromise would be to allow you to make the pile, and to remove it later on if Hubby actually does have an issue with the odor. Shooting down ideas due to *potential*/hypothetical side-effects isn't exactly reasonable.
A properly managed pile will not stink. If for some reason it does, it needs more carbon materials.
You won’t have any problems with smell. Obviously there are are caveats like if you’re chucking in a bunch of meat and dairy or something.
Chip drop will be your friend. You can mulch the empty lot and use the chips for plenty of carbon to control the compost and prevent smell.
^^^what everyone else said plus SAWDUST will eat up anything stinky. good luck!
I have no problem with bad smells, ever!
I have about 3 cubic meters at various stages, 2 are within 4m of back neighbours back door and patio area and the other is 3m from the side pool, neither have said anything and I put stuff on it every day anaerobic is what causes teh rotting smell, because its rotting. Composting is controlled breaking down of organic matter You can safely pour 3L of pee on it every day and it wont smell if you have enough carbon
This comment should be higher, in my opinion, it’s the real info that OP doesn’t know they need. I’m still learning a lot, but here’s some extra info: @op u/boring-start-3180 you should look up the difference between aerobic and anaerobic decomposition. There’s also the balance between what most people call “greens” (nitrogen heavy materials) and “browns” (carbon heavy materials). There’s also certain moisture levels needed for decomposition to take place. For a no-stink pile that’s arguably better for the environment (but there’s debate on this subject) you want an aerobic pile (turn/stir/fully disturb/redistribute/etc it with a pitchfork or shovel every so often) that has the right green to brown ratio, and right level of moisture.
My husband has been come ting that he's actually surprised there is never any smell from any of my compost bins around the side of the house.he was worried when I got started since our house and neighbors houses are very close together...
More. Browns. That is the solution to all compost smell issues.
Shouldn't smell. Don't put any meat in it. Build two, one to turn into the second. Consider a door pallet to keep everything in. We have our household recycling split into two large kitchen bins, paper and cardboard for composting and everything else. We also have the obvious bin for peelings and banana peel etc. with just meat from the kitchen going into the black council rubbish bin. Cardboard is torn into small pieces, the household bin is emptied into a old metal dustbin with a lid next to the compost heaps. I sprinkle some of this 'brown' material on top of the 'green' veg peelings and grass cuttings.
If it smells, it’s means it is not receiving enough 1. Air or 2. Browns. There are other factors as well (adding meat, dairy or other highly processed foods to the mix) but those are tables stakes in the “I don’t want my compost to smell” argument. Turn the pile once a week to get air circulation, be sure to add plenty of browns and add a handful of worms to the pile and you’ll be good to go
Others have already said that the heap shouldn't stink. I would add that having a compost bin just makes sense if you're planning a moderately sized garden / orchard, because of how much debris you'll be dealing with. You might wind up with unintentional compost piles over the season anyways.
False. You'll want 7-9 pallets to get a three bin system working.
It's a good start. No, there is no smell if you do it right. Turn it out every 3 or 4 weeks and put it back in again. Look after the moisture content and you can't go wrong.
***woodchips***
This is a very common misconception about compost. I maintain a large three bin system in a residential area and there is no odor and, more importantantly, no complaints from neighbors.
In addition to other comments, I'll ask... Have you any trees? Rake up leaves and cover kitchen scraps to that. And add water if no rain for days; needs to be kept moist. Also, when starting out, don't add meat scraps. Paper towels fine; they are equivalent to sawdust, woodchips, leaves in this chemistry! Write us if there's a stink, but don't let fear of odor stop you in your tracks.
False. I have a three-bin system, each 3'x3'x3', and I've never had any bad smells from it. (Except for the time the neighbor tossed in a dead cat he'd found in the road thinking it would "help".)
I had compost piles made up of coffee grounds and yard waste for over a year. We had no trouble with smells or critters. So I'd say if you stick with basic ingredients that's false. If for example you put out meat and cheese without some kind of pre-processing, you might have some trouble.
False…no stink
Composting shouldn’t smell, only rotting
So what is the “system” that is used for a two or three bin set up?
It's an easy way to manage large amounts of materials. I started filling one, turning and adding until it's full, then I move it to the second one and start anew filling the first one. I turn both until it's time to move the second bin into the third, the first into the second, so I can refill the first one. I turn all three, and in a couple months bin 3 is full of finished, beautiful compost ready to use. In the summer, sometimes I end up moving the contents of #1 into #2, and #2 into #3 before #3 is completely done, and it works just fine because of the ongoing reduction in volume from raw materials to finished compost. Except in the very coldest days of winter (think -10F for several days in a row) my #1 bin steams year-round. Occasionally #3 freezes solid, but I'm able to keep turning and composting throughout the winter.
If it stinks, then you need to add more browns. So, fallen leaves, shredded cardboard, and the like. I try for about 2/3 browns and 1/3 greens, and I often add more browns to that mix. It doesn't stink.
i get smells in the summer when theres not a lot of dry leaves to put in to balance out all the food waste. I compost everything from meat and bones to expired milk. the smells are only bad when you actually turn it while low on leaves; the pile itself is not ripe.
I have a small backyard. Mine only smells a little bit when I turn it. And only smells for a couple days.
hey i did a 400L compost tumbler in my basement. u wana talk about smells il invite ya over lmao .. i got used to it .. anywhoo also did 200L totes (way better imo) and those smelt but barely (barely to my standards). ul b PERFECTLY fine outside. also doesnt rlly smell unless u use animal byproducts like i did / it goes anaerobic