When someone reports that the compost still smells of ammonia, do not reach for a chemical and do not add a day. Ask four questions first, because each one changes the answer.
Which stage is this: end of Phase I, mid conditioning or after cooling? What method produced the reading: an instrument, a detector tube or a nose? Where was the sample taken: front, back, top, middle or plenum? Has cooling started, since a warm mass releases ammonia that a cooled mass holds back? A reading without those four facts cannot support a spawning decision.
- Stage
- Method
- Sample location
- Cooling status