Operation: compost recovery

There is nothing easier to fix than a pile of compost: when too much fresh matter is added, a proper decomposition cannot happen and it all goes rotten and stinky, developing loads of flying bugs and maggots... at the point when I found this compost pile it was really full of insects crawling everywhere: just disgusting!   

23rd august 2013: stinky and full of bugs!

so that what to do?!?... it's easy!

There is nothing wrong with the fresh stuff added... it's just that the proportion was wrong and something else was missing: dry matter! Any dried biomass like, sawdust, rice husk powder, dead leaves... in emergency situations also shredded cardboard would work: anything that it's mostly C carbon and that can balanced out the N nitrogen of which the green stuff it's full. A little bit of fresh stuff, then a good sprinkle of the dried one... than some other green, then dried: put in all down into layers and let the dried biomass be the last layer on top. Best of the best, biochar (of course) and in this case real small amounts are need. As a matter of fact I prefer adding the biochar to the compost when it's finished and it's all been properly done, so that I can control better the ratio compost/biochar: one to one.

17th September 2013: already recovered!

In some references they say the ratio C/N is 25:1 so pretty much it's quite hard to mess it up all the other way around, to the point of getting in too little N nitrogen.
So... after just a few weeks of adding dry biomass the compost pile, the balanced it's fully restored: no more nasty rotten smells or overwhelming bugs all over the place. Mission complete, the Nature can make its course!