A compost pile has to be healthy in order to efficiently decompose the compost that you add on a daily basis. There are many things that can happen to make your compost pile work inefficiently; you will find some of these problems with solutions explained below.
The temperature of your compost pile should be between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the compost pile is too cold your compost will not mature this decade and if it the compost pile is too hot it may spontaneously combust. Although, the compost lighting on fire is a rare occurrence, it is not something you want to risk. To test the temperature just dig a fist sized hole into the compost and hold your hand inside. The air in the hole should be warmer than the outside air temperature, but it should not be too hot.
Here are some things you can do if your compost pile becomes too cold:
In the summer time, increase the compost pile's exposure to direct sunlight
In the winter time, insulate the compost pile with regular insulating materials, or if you thought ahead you will have to a portable composter that you can move inside
You can raise the temperature by adding more greens (carbon-based organic matter); such as, news paper, straw or dry clippings.
If you find that your compost pile is too hot:
In the summer time, decrease the compost pile's exposure to direct sunlight
Turn or Aerate the compost pile more often or split it up into separate piles. Make sure that you break up the center of the pile because that is where it will be hottest and if a fire is going to start that is where it will happen
If your compost pile is starting to smell like rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide) or ammonia the best way to deal with the problem is to turn the pile. Turn the pile every day for several days until the smell goes away. The odor is caused by the anaerobic respiration of bacteria in the pile, meaning they are not getting enough oxygen. Most bacteria can live both with and without oxygen, but they use different mechanisms to do so. When there is oxygen they use aerobic respiration which generates water and carbon dioxide as byproducts. This is what you want to be happening in your compost pile. When there is little or no oxygen the bacteria switch to anaerobic respiration creating hydrogen sulfide and ammonia as byproducts (both of which are toxic). This is what you do not want to be happening in your compost pile.
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