After a second visit to The Gardener’s Supply (is that snickering I hear?), we drove through a bit more of the Intervale area and saw a few organic vegetable garden plots. Next, we turned into the large composting facility and were met with a noticeable, but not overpowering, sour-sweet odor. Every website I have read about composting claims that a well-managed compost pile either does not smell or has a pleasant odor. I suppose this is to encourage novices like me to start a pile, and while it may be true regarding finished compost, it is certainly hogwash when it comes to the process. A composting pile smells like what it is, decaying organic matter. It is not the permeating methane smell of dairy farm waste, but it certainly does smell. The good news is the smell was not noticeable just outside the facility, even downwind.
The even better news is that what would have otherwise become landfill waste (and would have smelled much worse there) is converted into a very valuable garden resource. Compost improves our clay soil physically by improving drainage, allowing the oxygen plants need to be better accessible to their roots. Compost also improves the soil chemically by providing plants with nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and other nutrients essential to growth. Finally, compost improves the soil biologically with its many microorganisms that assist plants in obtaining the nutrients they need from the soil.
In sum, composting is probably the most beneficial activity an organic gardener concerned about the environment can undertake. It reduces landfill waste and provides considerable benefits to the soil. However, compost can smell like rotting vegetables, so it is best to site the pile away from the neighbors. It looks like it is time for me to find a new location for my own pile of future “black gold.” Even if I don’t have an odor problem, the compost pile is mostly neglected in its current location. I hope that I will give the pile more attention once it is moved to a less hidden location.
3 comments:
We toss our vegetable scraps and yard waste into a rotating barrel and give it a spin every couple of days or so. When we forget to spin, the smell reminds us. The scent of well-aerated compost is actually quite tolerable. Or maybe we're just getting used to it. :-)
If your compost bin smells like vegetables decomposing then you probably need more "browns". Remember that the "green" to "brown" ratio is 1:25-30. Add some hay or shredded newspapers and you're neighbors won't even know you have a bin.
Anthony, thanks for this advice.
For readers who do not know, Anthony loves compost so much he sprinkles it on his ice cream. Check out his "Compost Bin" blog to see what is decomposing.
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