I drilled a bunch of 3/8" holes in a 32-gallon trash barrel, and started filling it with kitchen scraps (vegetative only), leaves, kitchen scraps, leaves and clippings, etc. Well, I'm not sure whether I'm doing this right. First of all, it smells moldy and seems to be swarming with flies. Second, it smells moldy and is definitely either producing or attracting flies. And third, I don't think it's getting warm. Though I'm not sure I want to get close enough to take its temperature.

So is this the way it's supposed to be, or am I doing something wrong? Wrong balance of inputs? Not enough ventilation? Should I avoid letting the kitchen scraps get moldy before they go in the compost? Is a 32 gallon barrel just too small to work? Or is it normal, and I just need to be more patient? I don't mind being patient, but if patience is going to be counterproductive, I'd rather do something helpful.

If it's moldy & stinky, then "too many greens" is probably the cause. Since you have those big bags of leaves right there, toss some more in, and make sure it's mixed well.

In general, compost that's slimy or stinky is either too wet or has too many "greens" (kitchen scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds). "Never does anything" usually means it's too dry or has too many "browns" (leaves, paper, sawdust, wood).

A closed bin composter can require some moisture adjustments to make everything happy. If I'm not seriously over-adding the greens, I often find that I need to add some water (with a hose, or the leftover vegetable cooking water, or leftover pasta water). The moisture level you're aiming for is about like a wrung-out sponge.

As for flies...well, I get them sometimes. I especially get fruit flies, but sometimes regular flies, too. If you keep a thick layer of non-food stuff on top of the bin, that will cut down on the problem, but won't necessarily make it go away...though I've never had them last for too terribly long. Turning the compost will also disturb their habitat, and cut down on the problem. Fruit flies can also be driven off by adding natural insect repellants like lavender (which was awfully handy when I had a too-old jar of lavender blossoms in the cupboard, but I'm not sure this is has any long-term practicality).

I turn my barrel composters by tipping them over to dump them out, then putting everything back in with a pitchfork. If I see any smelly, slimy, or fly-attracting clumps, I break them up.

I wouldn't worry about whether the kitchen scraps are moldy before they go into the compost, but if they're clumpy, I'd try to break them up a bit.

It can take a bit of trial and error to get things running smoothly, but I promise you that it's possible, and not difficult once you figure out your routine.

Lumber yards, carpenters, loggers (best choice) ...they all have access to gobs of sawdust, and will usually send it to the landfill, or leave it on the ground unless someone asks for it.

Note: sawdust can act like a green if it comes from a freshly cut tree, but aged...it makes a nice concentrated brown, and will absorb some of that (must be unpleasant) odor. In a real pinch, get it at the at the pet store; they package it for gerbil bedding, and so on.

Personally, I use wire farm fencing for all my piles...bend a section into a circle, hook the ends together with zip ties. Never have trouble with flies, too hot...they stay away. Plus, I like my piles on the ground and open to air. My bins are coated green too, so they blend right into the landscape. I trip over the empty ones constantly, they have a funny way of turning invisible. But they are easy to move around. When not in use, I just flip them over, step on them to make them flat again, and slide them under the deck. Easy storage. (I've made embarrassing number of these bins, and can neatly store an obscene volume of material in a very small space, thanks to them.) Just something to think about if you can't make your closed bin work the way you want it to.

Les in CO

I did put several holes in the bottom of the barrel, but I didn't put the barrel up on blocks. So maybe I'm having a drainage/ventilation problem, too.

Now I have visions of stashing a row of big leaf bags up against the wall behind the camelias in fall, to give me a year's supply of brown... now I see why everyone uses so much paper. Too bad we sold off our shredder last year.

Your compost should not have flies, and if you do it is probably related to not having enough browns. A pile heavy on food waste is the most likely to get flies, but if you bury the food waste when it's put in and the pile is balanced, you won't get a lot of flies regardless of the type of bin.

10 browns to 1 green seemed like a lot to me too. Most people do not quote such numbers in weight or volume, and even so-called composting guides are not clear. In my bin a half gallon of food waste would be covered with a couple big double handfuls of leaves. Observe and adjust.

Lets say, your 32 gal. bin = ten of my buckets. I'm not sure how much stuff you've got in there...lets pretend its half full. (5 buckets) You said you added this:
"started filling it with kitchen scraps (vegetative only), leaves, kitchen scraps, leaves and clippings, etc."

Complaints are:
1. Smells bad
2. Flies moving in
3. No getting hot

If you address #3, will resolve 1 and 2.

With so little to go on, I would guess the overall C:N that actually exists in that pile as it is now, might be 10...maybe 15. To get head, you want it to be at least 25. With only leaves to work with for browns, assuming half full...if it were my pile, I'd start by adding 10 buckets of leaves, but might need closer to 20. Wouldn't add any moisture, because it already smells. Bin only holds 10 buckets, is problem. Reason I mentioned sawdust. Much stronger brown. (Paper strong also, but gets to be consistency issue, hard to mix in...tear it, shread it is better.

Sawdust makes nicer compost...better texture, good absorbancy. I don't know exact numbers, but off the top of my head...maybe 2-3 buckets of sawdust = 10 buckets of leaves? Depends on how packed the leaves are, how fresh, how old the sawdust is, etc.

Picture would help.
thats where I would start, good luck... I'm late, gotta fly. L

To be clear, I'm the last person in the world who should attempt to explain ratio's...but I do understand where the total balance of C and N needs to be to get heat, at least as it applies to the ingredients I use. In my piles, a few buckets of sawdust will work the same as many buckets of leaves. Then again, my leaves are aspen. With browns especially... there can be a big difference between a weak one and a strong one. If I got sawdust from a cabinet maker, it would be much finer than what I get from my chain saw... so I might need less.

I was thinking of space saving browns that would pack a big punch. The fines I use from my wood mulch are even stronger than sawdust...I've never had it measured for available carbon content (wouldn't have a clue how to do that, would make me an ultra wacko forsure. Erm, no offense to ultra wackos who might have done that before.) I just know that its stronger, because I've seen the way it works in my piles...don't need as much (by volume) to accomplish the same thing.

On the other hand, if someone gave me a pile of oak leaves? (I'd be happy!) But I don't really know if they'd work the same as the aspen leaves I'm used to, or not. I hear they are more acidic... would be like a whole new ingredient to me. I'm in a conifer forest, don't see hardwood often... but we have gobs of aspen, so thats what I know. I may do some homework on the oak leaves first. (For me, that usually means, try a bunch of different things, see what happens...)

It doesn't need to be technical. I would sit and do the math if I absolutely had to, it's happened. I would rather not do that, I'm far too impatient... but I did it a lot when I first started composting. I searched for ingredient calculators online, they confused me more than anything... gave different numbers for coffee grounds, drove me nuts. Things got easier when I stopped shooting for perfect, and focused on getting more practice instead.

The thing about a small pile like yours, while not impossible by any means... there's not as much room for error. I've had lots of small hot piles, still do on occasion...there are some drawbacks. In a closed bin, might be even more tricky, I don't use those...I'm guessing. With a larger pile, I do think its easier to get higher temps, and maintain those temps longer... without too much babysitting. Some may want more compost than a 32 gal. bin would make...so they start out with larger piles, which might be easier to learn with. So, I see some challenges with the method you are working with here, but think you should keep at it... that's all it takes.

Like someone else said already... I would probably dump it on the ground first thing also. I might do it unconsciously, as part of an instant reflex... but that's me. The biggest reason I would react so quickly to a bad smell from compost, its the 600 pound garbage bear who sleeps within 100 yards of my back door, for most of the summer. He isn't interested in my compost; he lives very well on garbage, and is consequently huge. If my compost ever smelled remotely like garbage? I would have a bear problem within 24 hours.

Anyway...dumping on the ground isn't an option for you, it's okay... but I would be afraid of that smell getting worse if you leave it as is. Flies lead to maggots, they gross me out enough that I'd personally rather face the bear, and consider my life over on the spot. So, I do hope you can get it stable... one way or the other.

Apologize in advance for any more embarrasing typo's that I might have missed... I need sleep, headed there now.

Les