I am posting this on behalf of Dr. Ankush Gupta.
Suggestions for enhancing composting rate and reducing smell problems:
- 1 spoonful of buttermilk can be added as microbial culture to the compost pile.
- Adding dry leaves or dry old compost also helps to reduce smell by reducing excessive moisture or water logging, which is one of the prime cause of foul smell. Old compost also acts as source of microbial culture.
- For composting plant waste (more dry leaves and grass), a dilute solution of jaggery can be used.
- A generic use microbial culture can be prepared by taking 1 spoon of what flour, 1 spoon of besan (gram flour), small piece (1-2 cm3) of jaggery, and few drops of vinegar, and mix it with about half a litre water. Keep this in a closed container (but it should not be air tight) for about 10-14 days. Many microbes will grow in it. After that stir the solution and spray in small amounts over compost pile. This culture can be stored and used for days.
Sometimes if you are not able to chop the vegetable into small pieces due to lack of some, it can be added as such to the compost pile. After 2-3 days, it become soft due to bacterial decay. Then using a stick, this piece of vegetable can be crushed, which will aid in further composting.