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Symptoms | Problems | Solution |
---|---|---|
The compost has a bad odor |
Not enough air; pile too wet |
Turn it; add coarse dry materials such as straw, corn stalk, etc. |
The center of the pile is dry |
Not enough water; too much woody, coarse material |
Turn and add moisten materials; add fresh green wastes, chop or shred coarse wastes |
The compost is damp and warm in the middle, but nowhere else |
Too small |
Collect more material and mix the old ingredients into a new pile |
The heap is damp and sweet-smelling but still will not heat up |
Lack of nitrogen |
Mix in a nitrogen source like fresh grass clipping, fresh manure, blood meal or ammonium sulfate. |
Backyard Composting brochures are available through the Office of Recycling. For a free brochure, call 410-638-3417. For your convenience, we have included a copy of the "Home Composting" brochure (PDF) for download.