Composting that doesn't smell like a mistake

Smell means too much green material and not enough air. A three-bin rotation and a pitchfork fix nearly every backyard compost problem we've had.

The three-bin system

One bin filling with fresh scraps, one actively breaking down, one finished and ready to use. Turning material from bin to bin does most of the aeration work for you.

The ratio that actually matters

Roughly two to three parts brown material (dry leaves, cardboard, straw) to one part green kitchen and garden scraps. Most backyard compost problems trace back to too much green and not enough brown.

What we'd change

We'd stockpile fall leaves specifically for this. Running short on brown material in spring is our most common compost mistake, and a bag of dry leaves saved from October solves it completely.