All of us greenies have made a promise to only eating local organic produce when possible and perhaps even growing your own products to reduce our carbon footprint. To take that promise to the next level we must compost all the scraps from that delicious produce.  You may not be concerned about how this will go because you’re not a beginner and you have a composter. Maybe it hasn’t been a resounding success so far. You may have to wade through the flies to open the lid and the atrocious smell makes your eyes water and you’re not sure but you think you saw something suspicious sliding down the container. If you can relate to this, there are some very simple steps you can take which will improve your composter and make it the envy of your neighbourhood.

Let’s start with the most offensive problem first the smell. What you need to know is that your nose is the key to running a productive composter. Your first tip that something is amiss is the smell – if the container smells than the balance is off. Secondly, don’t panic and place the composter in the shade praying that it will right itself, as it will hamper productivity. Compost is based upon heat- the higher the heat, the quicker the compost breaks down. Thus place the composter in an out of the way place that gets plenty of sunshine, and the scraps will decompose that much faster.  Third step for correcting a composter gone wrong is what is in it – never just dump a hodgepodge of everything from grass to fruit and vegetable scraps in the container.  The best way to compost is to comprise it into layers. A common formula is grass clippings, dried leaves, food scraps, a layer of soil and repeat. The soil acts as a buffer and helps bring in additional nutrients.

If the contents of your composter look dry and are not decomposing you may have to add water and stir with a stick. These very simple steps should assure you very useful compost. Now you can progress onto the garden, which will benefit gratefully from your home-made compost efforts. Happy composting!