Help! How can I control compost smell?

[nittanyxi]

The weather has started to get warmer here (PA) and I cleaned out the run of the chicken coop. I have a compost pile behind the fence in my back yard. It didn't really smell that bad when it was in the run but I guess having it all in a pile creates more of a smell, plus the fact that the weather was warmer today. I'm worried about the neighbors complaining about the smell. Is there anything I can do to reduce it?

 

[msbee]

mix it up a lot and water it a lot - that helps it decay faster.

 

[bantyshanty]

A couple things you could do: first, buy a bag of lime & mix the lime with it. This won't help speed up the composting process. Second, dk how big your yard is, but you could get a bag of fall leaves & mix them in, and a second bag to cover the pile. That should help smell & decomposition. Do you have a lot of chicken waste with pine shavings in the pile as well as food?

Btw, I'm in the Burgh too (Shaler Twp) and I've got lots of free leaves Howdy Yinz!

 

[nittanyxi]

It's mostly chicken waste and pine shaving. no food. don't really have any leaves left to mix in. I though about mixing it with some peat moss. Today I put a tarp over it so the wind doesn't carry the smell as much.

 

[msbee]

Oh yes, I second the lime and leaves and other vegetable matter as well. I mix lime and DE into the bedding all along the way, so it doesn't smell much at all. This winter I used hay for insulation, and we're gonna have a big lime/DE/composting party as soon as it really quits snowing in this darn state - hay smells much more than pine shavings! (MN)

 

[nittanyxi]

doesn't lime inhibit the composting process? I'd like to speed it up so I can convert the pile to dirt and mulch. I did use Sweet DPZ over the winter in the coop but not in the run.

 

[lulumammato2]

COVER (thats the key) it with newspapers then dirt or potting soil and water well. I also agree with the lime we used it when we had to bury our dog she was 60 lbs. and haven't had a problem with any smell. So to recap lime,newspapers, dirt

 

[kenh2010]

A lot of times if the smell is something like ammonia the cause is too much nitrogen in the pile. Carbon materials like your pine shavings generally help with the odor. Is there an excess of manure compared to pine shavings. That might be the cause. Turning the pile and adding more carbon materials may help. That's what I do.

 

[elmo]

It's a nasty job, but turn the pile. Aeration helps control odor.

http://www.ecocycle.org/compost/index.cfm

 

[Fred's Hens]

Trench composting is another option. It may not be available to you, but here in the country, we use our tractor and plow a trench in the garden or field and deposit the manure and litter into the trench in the soil. Cover. Decomposition occurs below and no smells.

Agree with adding lime and turning above ground compost piles.