Troubleshooting Hot Composting Problems

Sam Angima

OSU Lincoln County Oregon

Symptom: Pile is wet and smells like a mixture of rancid butter, vinegar, and rotten eggs

Solution • Turn pile

• Mix in straw, sawdust, or wood chips

• Turn pile and add straw, sawdust, or wood chips; provide drainage

Problem: Not enough air Or too much nitrogen Or too wet

Symptom: Pile does not heat up

Solution • Make pile larger or provide

insulation

• Add water while turning the pile

Problem: Pile is too small

Or pile is too dry

Symptom: Pile is damp and sweet smelling but will not heat up

Solution • Mix in grass clippings, food

scraps, or other sources of nitrogen

Problem: Not enough nitrogen

Symptom: Pile is attracting animals

Solution • Keep meat and other

animal products out of the pile; enclose pile in 1/4-inch hardware cloth

• Cover all food with brown materials such as leaves, wood chips, or finished compost

Problem: Meat and other animal products have been included Or food scraps are not well covered

Symptom: Large, undecomposed items are still in the mix

Solution • Remove items, and chop or

shred large items

• Screen and return undecomposed materials to a new batch to compost

Problem: Low Surface Area

Symptom: Compost is damp and only warm in the middle

Solution • Collect more materials and

mix the old ingredients into a new pile

• For effective critical mass, compost volume of 27 ft3 is ideal but remember it does not have to be that to compost

Problem: Pile is too small

Symptom: The compost has a bad odor

Solution • Turn it, add dry material if

the pile is too wet

• Aerate regularly and cover

Problem: • Not enough air. • Too much

greens • Meats & Dairy

may have been used

Symptom: The center of the pile is dry

Solution • Add greens or a source of

nitrogen (fertilizer may be added here sparingly) and add water then try again

Problem: Lack of nitrogen.

Troubleshooting Vermicomposting

Symptom: Fruit Flies

Solution • Avoid putting rotting or

rotten food in your worm bin. Fly larvae are more likely to be present on rotten food

• Cut food scraps into small pieces. Worms will be able to eat smaller pieces more quickly, thereby limiting the possibility of fruit flies thriving on decomposing food.

Problem: Attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables

Symptom: Fruit Flies

Solution • Don't overfeed worms. Ripe

food that sits around in the bin attracts (and may contain) flies.

• Bury food. Burying the food will help keep unwanted pests and pets from intruding on your bin.

• Keep bedding material moist, but not too wet. Overly wet conditions encourage the proliferation of fruit flies. Wet conditions might also cause an odor problem, as anaerobic bacteria thrive when it is too wet.

Problem: Attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables

Symptom: Fruit Flies

Solution • Feed worms a varied diet. If

citric foods dominate the bin, the bin may become too acidic, which may attract fruit flies.

• Loosely place a piece of towel or newspaper inside the bin on top of the worm bin contents. This cover will create another barrier to help prevent flies from getting in (or out) of the bin.

• Do not use citrus fruits.

Problem: Attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables

To Control Existing Fruit Fly Problem

• Remove rotten food from the bin when fruit flies are present. Fruit flies often lay their eggs on decomposing food.

• Tape or staple flypaper strips on the inside of the bin lid, and/or hang a strip near the bin. Flypaper strips can be purchased cheaply at most hardware stores.

• Create a fly trap to put in the bin. A bowl of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish detergent, placed near the bin, will attract and kill flies. Change liquid regularly to keep fly trap potent.

To Control Existing Fruit Fly Problem

• Place a whole sheet of newspaper on top of bin contents. Change this sheet regularly as flies tend to congregate on the newspaper.

• Sprinkle lime in the bin to neutralize excessively acidic conditions.

• For temporary relief, take bin outside and leave uncovered for up to four hours to air out the bin (out of direct sunlight).

If All Else Fails – FruitFlies…

• Harvest the worms and start a new bin from scratch, using what you have learned from your past experience to create a better bin

Odor Problems

• If you notice the worm population dwindling, or worms crawling all over the bin trying to escape, check for the following:

• Bin is too wet and worms are drowning.

• Bin is too dry and worms dry out.

• Bin does not get enough air and worms suffocate.

Odor Problems Continued..

• Worms do not get enough food. Once the worms devour all of their food and newspaper bedding, they will start to eat their own castings which are poisonous to them. TIME TO HARVEST

• The bin is exposed to extreme temperatures. The worms thrive in temperatures from 55 to 80 degrees F.

• Dead worms decompose rather quickly. If you do not monitor the above conditions you can have a dead box of worms before you even realize it.

Problems: Fruit Flies

Solution • Bury food completely

• Do not overfeed worms

• Reduce high sugar food scraps e.g. banana and whole fruits (cut them up)

• Cover with wet towel

• Use vent screens that do not allow flies to get in

Causes: Food scraps exposed High sugar content foods continually used

Problems: Bin smells bad

Solution • Stop feeding for two weeks

• Bury food completely

• Mix in dry bedding

• Fluff bedding

• May need to drill more holes at the bottom for extra drainage

• Add coconut coir to add structure to the bedding

Causes: Overfeeding Food exposed Bin too wet Not enough air

Problems: Worms are dying

Solution • Mix in dry bedding if too wet

• Thoroughly dampen bedding if too dry

• Maintain 55-80 degree temps

• Fluff bedding

• Drill more holes for air/drainage

• Add more bedding and food scraps for safe living conditions and food to eat

Causes: Bin too wet Bin too dry Extreme temps Not enough air Not enough food

Problems: Worms crawling away

Solution • Provide adequate conditions

e.g. water, air, food, temperature, right volume of container to worm ratio

• Low atmospheric pressure, worms are telling you a storm is coming

Causes: • Bin conditions

not right • Changes in

atmospheric conditions

Problems: Mold forming

Solution • You may have been using

citrus fruits in your kitchen scraps

• Venting needed to keep moisture about 85%

• Regular fluffing of bedding required

Causes: Conditions too acidic for worms

Problems: Bedding drying out

Solution • Dampen bedding

• Have right volume of bedding and food scraps for amount of worms present (2 cubic feet need 1000-2000 worms max.

Causes: Too much ventilation

Problems: Water collecting in the bottom of bin

Solution • Do not use pumpkin kind of

foods

• Regularly monitor condition of bedding material and vermicast

• Drill more holes at the bottom lip of the worm bin

Causes: • Poor venting at the

bottom • Use of pumpkin or

related food scraps • Bedding too old &

wet matting the bottom vents