I am sorry you feel this way. I for one always thought composting was a gross, smelly thing to do, and for the life of me, could not figure out why people did it. Well, I thought I'd try my hand at it and started back in April. I'll never stop!

Too bad you don't live next to me. My compost does not smell, my hubby and I don't bicker and I already have a fence.

I hope you just wanted a fence. I must say if I had to put up a fence because of 'massive amounts and varieties and peices of body fluids' there wouldn't be any doubt in my neighbors' minds as to why. It doesn't sound like your neighbors are actually composting. It sounds like they have an putrid garbage pile and I'm afraid to ask what constitutes 'peices of body fluids.'

Congratulations on your pumpkins! I've thought about growing pumpkins myself, and I'm always sorry I didn't this time of year. I'd like to grow the white kind, and carve it out like "The Scream" painting!

My compost pile doesn't stink to high heaven. It doesn't even stink a little bit!

Deanna

I hope you will keep reading threads on this forum bobboberan because there are a lot of knowledgeable and intelligent people here who might be able to change your mind about compost. I've composted for years and my compost doesn't smell. So IMHO you have not made a point about compost done properly, only about compost done improperly.

"Good fences make good neighbors."

Are you condemning composting based on one experience with one person's garbage pile (that he happened to call "compost")? It certainly wasn't a compost bin/pile or it wouldn't have smelled.

Granted urban composting can be more problematic than country composting but total condemnation of anything based on one exposure to it is hardly fair or sensible.

Dave

digdirt ;

I'm just making a point and I'm not really sure urban composting is a great idea . I really wonder if its true that compost doesn't smell foul.

Compost does not stink unless it is too wet or not managed properly. Your neighbors were not making compost, they were just putting the garbage out. My neighbors have never complained, and believe me, they would say something if it stunk.

odorless compost ? I'm not sure that is completely true but I'm willing to hear how the smell can be kept down or to a minimum but in my neighbours case its just rude and vulgar it wouldn't be the first time or neighbourhood I've been able to enjoy the delicious potpourri aroma therapy gracing its residents .

I used to coordinate a community garden in the City of Berkeley, California. We had a very large compost bin in the garden. It didn't smell bad, ever. At home, I have an average size compost bin on my property, there is no foul odor, ever.

Your neighbor doesn't know how to compost. I agree with the other poster who said your neighbor had a batch of trash, not compost. Although garbage is actually the correct word, as trash denotes dry stuff. Garbage includes wet and dry waste, and definitely does stink to high heaven.

How does a fence keep a foul smell from wafting about?! You could call your local health department and make a complaint. Most municipalities have laws against accumulating garbage in residential areas.

Lorna

Compost, properly made and maintained, does not need to smell like anything other than good, rich earth, ever. Compost that does smell objectionable has problems that need correcting. The link below will take you to a good composting tutorial.

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida on line composting

"various amounts and PIECES of bodily fluids" is the part that bothers me
My huge compost pile dosent stink.

If your compost stinks, you are not doing it right.

My compost pile sets right outside my back door, next to the patio.

I located it there, because I don't want to have to trudge across a snow filled yard in the winter to get to the pile.

my neighbour is an avid gardener she's been at it for decades and infact is one of the suppliers of local road side/park and downtown flower beds for beautifying this small town she does all kinds of themes incuding haloween easter weddings etc etc she also rents peoples back yards for garden vegetables all over town and seems to do a pretty good job at it .

... regarding the composting bin well of course she had to stand on my property to do her thing at her composter 'before the fence' ,it is heavy pastic with six drawers and I've seen her dump peices of fish and many other types of meat products inside but she always adds eggs to each drawer its obvious because she stands there cracking eggs and pouring the contents in each drawer everytime she uses the composter .From that point the bin lets off a horrible odor for days .

btw the fence does a good job of funneling some of the foul odor because we get strong southerly winds here and well thats the direction of the bin from my house .

you are all really contesting that composting doesn't smell well I'm not going to disagree with you since there are so many of you, afterall its the majority of you saying this ,so if anything its nice to know that maybe done correctly its not a gross thing but if my neighbour is anything of an example then in my opinion its disgusting ...she seems to know what she's doing .

Perhaps your neighbor is making it stink on purpose? Like this poster:

Here is a link that might be useful: People repelling compost

Interesting I'm wondering if she is composting or doing something else. First I've never heard of a compost bin that had drawers. Usually if it's a bin or something It's just that a large bin nothing fancy and espcially not drawers. Secondly, Fish? Any person that does compost directly in their back yard know you don't add fish or any other meat or dairy products to you compost because of the rodants and spread of deseases. Now if the pile was very large you can add meat to it but you have to know what you are doing so your pile can get hot enough to kill the deseases that meat may have in it. You have to really know what you are doing to add meat to the mix. I won't take that risk I have more then enough of other stuff to compost.

As far as a typical compost pile or bin it should never smell bad. If you start getting an oder it's usually because there is way to much "greens" in it. And typically it's just that an oder if it's smells that bad there's got to be something really wrong.

I aggree with every one else is that they must have a pile of garbage and not compost.

I was thinking the same thing about the drawers... sounds like an odd composting setup.

Perhaps you could tell her of your newly formed knowledge, and that you appreciate her composting operation as a great tool for gardening, but she can manage her operation better such that its not such a nuisance to the neighborhood.

The way she's composting would smell pretty bad.

I've composted meat and eggs without having it cause a bad smell. Meat and eggs are very high in nitrogen. The key to getting them to compost without stinking is to add enough high carbon material at the same time. Some examples of high carbon material are sawdust, chipped wood (not too may leaves), shredded paper, straw (not hay).

She also has a vested interest in composting correctly. The reason the compost has a foul smell is that nutrients are escaping from the compost into the atmosphere in gaseous form.

If she's composting things like fish and eggs, she should also be using a thermometer to ensure that the compost gets hot enough to kill pathogens. It probably does, since high nitrogen tends to lead to hot compost, but I'd be wary of composting those kinds of things unless I could be certain it is getting hot enough.

I'm tempted to one night just throw the bin onto my trailer and dispose of it along side of a backroad

Two of my 4 compost bins are 15 paces for my backdoor. We smell nothing.

Uneducated composters make smelly piles.

I, on the other hand, put up a fence to keep neighbor's pets out of my gardens. They also come with smelly things.

This is the only thing I could find with something that would be drawers. Actually kind of interesting. But any way you do it or with any type of contraption it should never smell.

After re-reading you post I realized that you said she actually cracks eggs and puts them in there? What a waist. Compost should be used for sraps and waste. they might as well bough organic fertilizer and stop wasting good food. Unless of course they went bad.

Here is a link that might be useful: compost bin with drawers

Print all this info out and give it to her to read. Maybe if she reads about all these people telling her its wrong and that she has a bin-gone-bad she might at least 'think' about it.

From what you describe, she isn't composting - "cracking eggs into drawers" - and she sure isn't doing it correctly. Most anything, including fish, eggs, meats, and dairy products can be safely added to compost IF done properly by burying it in the center of a well-balanced pile with the correct amount of carbon materials in it. Millions of us doing it all the time with no problems.

Smelly piles are those that are far too high in nitrogen rich materials - it is the carbons - paper, cardboard, dead leaves, straw, etc. that prevent the odor and make it work.

Dave

smokensqeal; yes that would be the bin when you scroll down to the three in a row the one for $99.99 is my neighbours .

... thanks everybody but its not just the smell I think its sad that she has to resort to basicly shoving it in my yard ...I just don't understand the sanity of using good eggs for composting maybe they are bad eggs but I doubt it unless she's into the habit of not usng her eggs in the fridge all the time ...I really doubt it .

I'm not saying any of you are like her but I really don't think everyone is completely innocent all of the time . I have very young kids and a chronic breatheing problem ....when the PCB barrel arrived on the scene I thought it would be a good time to put up the fence for my kids benefit also I think its time to run an 8 to 10 foot high fence the length of my property ...enough of this .

She shoots birds and cats with a pellet gun occasionally hitting my van , shed and house and in the front she is growing large bushes planted just inches on her side of the line and they may quickly block my sidewalk . This person is soooo invasive enough is enough like someone here said GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBOURS lol thanks for that ... btw joepyeweed I read that link about PEOPLE REPELLING COMPOST I truly laughed at some posts and well some posters are crazier than my neighbour especially the one who suggested rigging her compost box with C4 lol . I'm sure once in awhile everyone would like to use C4 on their neighbour lol .

OK, I'm convinced. Your neighbour is a nutcase. It's as simple as that. Pellet guns pointed at my property, a PCB rolling on to my terrain, and a woman cracking eggs in drawers talking about pieces of bodily fluids???? Forget the fence. Build a moat with a palisade 10 feet high!!!!

PS - My compost does not stink.

Based on what I read, you might want to look into your local nuisance ordinances. It sounds as if you'd have a strong case.

That said, I'm glad to see you back off a bit from the "point" you were trying to make. It's difficult to judge all composters from your experience with one. There may be other bad composters, but there are certainly more good than bad.

I'll say for the record that my compost bin smells just lovely. Every time I go out to turn it, I inhale deeply. The smell reminds me of wonderful woodland forests: rich, fertile, and earthy.

Good luck with your fences, both real and figurative. Robert Frost might have you consider alternatives.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mending Fences

The way you describe your neighbor she might be a nut bag but for the sake of this forum I encourage you to walk over and ask her about her bin. I'm very interested in if she actually is calling that a compost bin or if she is using it for something else (like attracting pet rats) :) There are so many questions and so few answers.

I've been lucky enough not to have to bad of neighbors. I have had one complain to another about my bin because he believes it houses rats but most of us believe we have discovered that the rat issue we had earlier this year happen to come about when another neighbor got one of those massive dumpsters and started "cleaning" out their house. Needless to say we have seen at least 4 of these semi sized dumpsters leave their house full and when the garage doors are open it's still full. Where do they get all that junk!

Eggs? Oh, the humanity.

Can you give her some composting brochures? She might not read them, but you could try that approach. "Hey, Dolores, I was reading about composting here and it recommends not putting meat or dairy into your compost. I just wondered if the fish and eggs are what is giving your compost that not-so-fresh aroma."

I'm not innocent all the time.

I got some grass clippings from one of my neighbors, that they'd already bagged. They were only a day or two old, and I spread them (inside my six foot fenced yard) on a 'Lasagna' area. They were already sour, and my kids were in the pool ten feet away saying "What's that awful smell?"

I was hopping around, though, because Deidra's deck is only twenty feet away, and they park their car only fifteen feet away. They frequently grill out with friends on their deck! I would have been MORTIFIED. I tried spraying it down with the hose and you guessed it, that made it even worse.
I wound up layered a single sheet of newspaper over every bit of it, and putting two bags of precious fall leaves to hold that down.

I kept yelling at the kids..."How bout now? Can you smell it now?" Eventually, I think they just felt sorry for me and said no.

I will confess....I put uncooked eggs, cooked meat and bones in my compost pile...and I live in the city. I put my eggs in when they are months and months past the expiration date (only one of me and I don't bake or eat breakfast too often.) When I have made broth, I put the boiled bones in my compost bin and when I clean out my refrigerator, everything goes in.

I try to make sure my pile is large enough to put any of those ingredients deep into the center and that I have enough material to cover. I've been known to weed just for that purpose :)

My compost pile rarely smells. I can't claim with 100% accuracy that it never does! :) Too much grass that's been sitting in plastic bags too long can smell really nasty!!

I do not have any rodent problems, but then I do have three wild neighborhood cats who patrol my yard. So, if I ever have them, I assume they take care of them for me.

Lisa

witeowl :

teehee love it ! that almost sounds DELICIOUS haha Robert Frost has nothing on you for magnificance of description . I don't mean that sarcasticly, your description is great if only her compost could be like that lol

petalpatsy and lisa h ...

lol what can I say thankyou for supporting my point ,I really do think composting can be done well and I'd be alot like either one of you ,I'd screw it up big time ...I know some people just get it right and organic composting is very popular and has become a very ellaborate procedure ...people pay huge dollars for that good stuff it's become big business and I admitt even the very well rotted steer manure I buy does not smell at all .

It really is the people like my neighbour who ruin it for everyone else because she knows exactly what she's doing its not like either of you although I'll never completely get that egg part or animal enzymes of any kind .

Bob, I'm trying to convince myself that you didn't really tell me that I screwed it up big time. It really was just sentence structure, right? :)

My neighbors never complain. I'm out in the yard frequently and I don't want my compost pile to stink because **I** would have to smell it.

Here's a picture of my pile:

{{gwi:308403}}

Lisa

lisa h ...

well you are convincing yourself correctly I can't smell your composter pile either so thats fair btw that is a very nice looking patch I'm impressed .

bobboberan- you wrote :
"I admitt even the very well rotted steer manure I buy does not smell at all ."

I have a cattle ranch. The fence line and the cows come very close to the house . Even the fresh manure does not smell . After it dries , the manure has no odor at all . When wet , it does not smell . The manure is great stuff for my compost piles . It really fires them up ! And still , none of it smells bad . You could compost to show people the right way to do it . Nothing like a good example to inspire people .
I too have made many composting and gardening mistakes . I call that learning !

Not enough air+Not enough carbon= Stinky!

Not enough air=too much water. Therefore never add water to a stinking pile because it will just make things worse.

In short, tell her that she needs to add more carbon, keep it not THAT wet...or call the police ;)

As for smells, it does smell of whatever it is rotting if I expose it too early in the process of decomp. No worries, dig it deeper into the pile,cover and poof! The smell is gone. I don't compost meat due to space issues (I live on the 14th floor), but I do use my urine.

REAL compost is supposed to smell of delicious mushrooms, not the dump.

Since she lives on ground level, she should dig the fouler smelling stuff deeper so it doesn't spread. Covered with carbon material too.

I do use egg SHELLS...though really I should grind them first before adding @_@

Bobber, your neighbor does sound like a nut, and although I would be curious about what they're doing, I'd probably install a nice 8 foot fence with a border of fragrant shrubs and flowers!

LOL Petalpatsy, that story is hysterical! Fresh grass clippings sure can stink. All summer long I've been collecting fresh grass clippings in the brown paper lawn bags from the municipal composting site. I collect extra paper bags, then tear them open, spread them out and then layer the grass clippings 2-3 inches thick on top. This is to smother some horrible intractible invasive weeds in my "meadow area" where I want to plant native shrubs and create gardens with native wildflowers/grasses. The grass clippings are great - they dry and congeal into a pretty impenetrable layer that works great to suppress the weed growth without chemicals.

This in the BACK back yard, it is 200 feet behind my house and the neighbors too, surrounded by thick shrubbery. The grass clippings can STINK to high heaven, especially if it rains, but once they're dried out, they're fine. I would not subject my neighbors or anyone else with olfactory senses to this smell! Wooo!

The coffee grounds I collect stink a bit too, but not as bad and again I pile those farther back on the lot or use in lasagne beds.

Sometime the black plastic bin I put the kitchens scraps in can smell a little too, but in that case I just layer some leaves over the contents of the bin.

I'm quite pleased w/ the ability of a large compost pile of mostly leaves and grass clippings to suppress the smell and cook my kitchen scraps. I only built mine a few weeks ago, and have turned it 3 or 4 times. Each time I add several Ice cream 5litre buckets of kitchen scraps. They are almost completely gone the next time I turn it, I only find a few recognizable remains.

Now if I could just find some horse biscuits close by. I'd have to make a decent drive out of my way to collect some of those.

at least I know some of you have beautiful potpourri for compost but some have ...well not so beautiful potpourri. I just hope none of you are deliberate . some people just run out of space to grow things as well as keep compost and become intrusive I really hate anyone like my neighbour I'm glad none of you are like that lol .