Compost Smells, & Other Composting Myths

Composting is a natural and simple process and yet it has been complicated by machines, fallacies, misinformation, myths, and misunderstandings. Some of these misinformed facts have been passed around so many times that the general perception has become accepted fact. An example would be the idea that all compost smells bad. But before we go into that, let’s discuss some other composting myths first.

Myth: Composting requires a lot of work

Natural decomposition of a compost pile. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Truth: Composting is a natural process which involves the elements of nature doing the majority of the job for you. All you need is to gather all the materials, lay it on, and let nature do her job. Composting is a low maintenance activity as well. You only need to turn the compost pile every once in a while to keep the air flowing to quicken the decomposition process and that’s it. (You really don't even have to do this - it just speeds up the process.) You practically sit and wait for the the compost to finish.

Myth: Composting is limited to farms and wide open spaces

Truth: On the contrary, people living in urban areas who have even a very small space can create their own composting bin from a trash can. How much space would that take up? If you don't want to build your own, there are also many small-sized compost tumblers available for purchase at farm stores and over the internet. Also, there is another technique which you can use, called vermicomposting, which involves the use of red worms in a contained bin where you feed them table scraps. You can even do this indoors!

Myth: Composting needs precise measurements

Truth: Even though composting ideally would be best achieved with the right combination of greens and browns elements, having the exact measurements is not that necessary. Estimates work just fine. And those neatly piled up layers of composting piles you see in commercials, books, pamphlets and brochures of composting products - those are all for show. You don’t need to copy those, composting works the same way even if you pile them up haphazardly.

Myth: You need specially formulated chemicals as starters or activators

Truth: Despite the claims of commercially available products that applying them to the compost pile will speed up the process of decomposition, buying them is not really necessary. It is good practice to just throw in some finished compost (if you have it) into the newly formed compost pile and that itself will serve as the activator to get things started. But there’s no need to buy that expensive stuff.

Myth: Adding yeast will boost the compost’s performance

Truth: This is not true at all. What you’re doing is just wasting your money by adding yeast to the compost pile. Yeast does not do anything to the compost pile and neither does it affect the performance or quality of the compost.

Garden materials in a compost bin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Myth: Animals are attracted to compost piles

Truth: This is true to some degree. Composting piles do attract the occasional cat, dog or raccoon - especially if you have a totally open pile that is not protected or enclosed. Small critters will likely go for open compost piles and for piles that have kitchen scraps like meat, fat, dairy products, bones and pet manure added to them. Therefore, it is usually best to avoid adding these items to the compost pile - especially if you live in an urban area - and these can also cause your compost pile to smell - which brings us to our final myth.

Myth: Compost smells bad

Truth: Compost should not have a bad smell. If you find bad smelling compost, then the maker did a poor job picking the materials for the compost pile. If your compost includes only green and brown items and vegetable matter, is properly exposed to air, and is not kept too wet, it should have only a mild earthy smell.

Hopefully clearing up these myths will help you in your decision to start a compost pile. It will be the best thing you ever did for your garden!