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How to Make Compost, a Composting Guide http://www.compostguide.com/ <br />Learn about making compost tea on this page. <br />Troubleshootin <br />g <br />Making compost is really quite easy, but having too much of a certain material or letting the compost get too wet or <br />too dry can cause problems. <br />Troubleshooting Composting Problems <br />r~ <br />• <br />8of10 <br />Problems Possible Causes Solution <br />Dam and warm <br />p Pile could be too <br />small <br />or cold weather <br />If you are only composting in piles, <br />only in the middle <br />of the ile <br />p , <br />might have slowed make sure your pile is at least 3 feet <br />. composting high and 3 feet wide. With a bin, the <br /> pile doesn't need to be so large. <br /> 1. Make sure you have enough <br /> nitrogen rich sources like manure, <br /> 1. Not enough nitrogen grass clippings or food scraps. <br />Nothing is 2. Not enough oxygen 2. Mix up the pile so it can breathe. <br />happening.Pile 3. Not enough 3. Mix up the pile and water it with <br />doesn't seem to be moisture the hose so that there is some <br />heating up at all. 4. Cold weather? moisture in the pile. A completely dry <br /> 5. Compost is finished. pile doesn't compost. <br /> 4. Wait for spring, cover the pile, or <br /> use a bin. <br />Avoid thick layers of just one <br />material. Too much of something like <br />Matted leaves or poor aeration or lack leaves, paper or grass clippings don't <br />grass clippings break down well. Break up the layers <br />aren't decom osin of moisture. <br />P g• and mix up the pile so that there is a <br />good mix of materials. Shred any big <br />material that isn't breaking down well. <br /> Mix up the pile so that it gets some <br />Stinks like rancid Not enough oxygen, or aeration and can breathe. Add course <br />butter, vinegar or the pile is too wet, or dry materials like straw, hay or leaves <br />rotten eggs. compacted. to soak up excess moisture. If smell is <br /> too bad, add dry materials on top and <br /> wait until it dries out a bit before you <br /> mix the pile. <br />Odor like Not enough carbon. Add brown materials like leaves, <br />ammonia. straw, hay, shredded newspaper, etc. <br /> <br />Attracts rodents, Inappropriate materials <br />(like meat, oil, bones), Bury kitchen scraps near the center of <br />flies, or other or the food-like the pile. Don't add inappropriate <br />animals. material is too close to materials to compost. Switch to a <br /> the surface of the pile. rodent-proof closed bin. <br />Attracts insects, This is normal <br />millipedes, slugs, composting, and part Not a problem. <br />4/19/2007 2:47 PM <br />