composting help needed please!

Along with attempting to garden, I'm tackling composting. I bought a composting caddy for the kitchen a couple of weeks ago and started filling it up. I just got my tumbling compost bin (an Envirocycle) today and dumped the stuff from the composting caddy into it, along with what old dried leaves I could scrounge up and some shredded newpaper. Well, it stinks. And there are flies galore. I realize from reading about composting that part of the problem must be the carbon:nitrogen mix. I'm guessing it doesn't help that much to have the really ripe stuff that's been decomposing in the caddy to start with and the dearth of dead leaves in July doesn't help. I'm planning on shredding some cardboard and throwing it in there, but how long do I have to wait for the stink to decrease? I realize I have a sensitive nose, but it's really offensive to me. Is there a quick way to try to equalize the mix?

The other problem is the flies. Will there always be flies around the compost bin? I have it next to the house, but if flies are going to be a problem, I'm going to have to move it.

I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more questions, but those two are the most pressing at the moment. I really want this to work, but I need help!

If assorted vegetable and fruit trimmings have been accumulating for several weeks without regular aeration, you almost certainly have anaerobic decomposition going on as well as lack a good supply of the proper microbes. It stinks. Good compost uses aerobic decomposition. Try adding some good compost or garden soil if you have it. These will work as well as some of the expensive compost activator products. Once you get good composting going, keep a little of the old stuff back to prime the composter for the next batch. If you screen finished compost, the stuff that doesn't go through the screen should be added to the next batch.

The ideal balance of green and brown materials is extremely difficult to achieve because of seasonality in their supplies. However, the process is pretty robust to variations from ideal. Chopped straw is an ideal source for brown material. Leaves are not too great for brown material because leaf decomposition is primarily fungal rather than bacterial as for most other composting. The biggest problem with too much green material is excess water, which tends to encourage anaerobic decomposition. Grass clippings are horrible to compost because they tend to form wet masses with no air. Let grass clipping go back on the lawn where they will compost in place very well.

Flies seem to be attracted when the compost includes stuff with natural sugars such as fruits (including tomatoes) and sweet corn husks and silks. Gnats can also be a problem. One type is called compost or fungus gnats for a reason. Hanging one of the columnar sticky traps near the composter helps control both pests.

Edited to correct an infinitive.

gtgirl wrote:The other problem is the flies. Will there always be flies around the compost bin? I have it next to the house, but if flies are going to be a problem, I'm going to have to move it.

I haven't noticed any smell from my compost, though there's a fair amount of flies. I'd recommend moving your composter away from the house.

Ditto what ekreider said...your compost pile isn't hot enough and needs more brown stuff plus a bunch of turning. If I have a shortage of leaves, I dump the contents of my shredder (mostly sensitive junk mail) into to my pile too.

In addition to creating compost quickly, a hot compost pile kills weeds and other seeds that might get in from your kitchen scrap bucket.

ekreider wrote:If assorted vegetable and fruit trimmings have been accumulating for several weeks without regular aeration, you almost certainly have anaerobic decomposition going on as well as lack a good supply of the proper microbes. It stinks. Good compost uses aerobic decomposition. Try adding some good compost or garden soil if you have it. These will work as well as some of the expensive compost activator products. Once you get good composting going, keep a little of the old stuff back to prime the composter for the next batch. If you screen finished compost, the stuff that doesn't go through the screen should be added to the next batch.

The ideal balance of green and brown materials is extremely difficult to achieve because of seasonality in their supplies. However, the process is pretty robust to variations from ideal. Chopped straw is an ideal source for brown material. Leaves are not too great for brown material because leaf decomposition is primarily fungal rather than bacterial as for most other composting. The biggest problem with too much green material is excess water, which tends to encourage anaerobic decomposition. Grass clippings are horrible to compost because they tend to form wet masses with no air. Let grass clipping go back on the lawn where they will compost in place very well.

Flies seem to attracted when the compost includes stuff with natural sugars such as fruits (including tomatoes) and sweet corn husks and silks. Gnats can also be a problem. One type is called compost or fungus gnats for a reason. Hanging one of the columnar sticky traps near the composter helps control both pests.

Thank you - that was an excellent explanation! So is the stuff I have in there salvagable as long as I add some soil (my husband threw some soil that he dug up while transplanting some hostas)?

And where would I find straw?

Adding soil and daily tumbling should do some good. Straw might be tricky to find now because old crop stuff has generally been cleared out of stores while wheat and oats are a few weeks from harvest in northern Illinois.

Any dry organic matter will help. If worst comes to worst, rake up some of the dried, decomposing clippings from your lawn provided you have been letting the clippings drop.

ekreider wrote:Adding soil and daily tumbling should do some good. Straw might be tricky to find now because old crop stuff has generally been cleared out of stores while wheat and oats are a few weeks from harvest in northern Illinois.

Any dry organic matter will help. If worst comes to worst, rake up some of the dried, decomposing clippings from your lawn provided you have been letting the clippings drop.

I'm betting they still have straw at The Feed Store: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=25021