Stinking Shed

Last post 03-12-2009 7:40 AM by Digger. 4 replies.

• 29/11/2009 06:37 PM
  Peter Woods Location: Joined on: 29 Nov 2009 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact Our allotment society shed has a foul smell from the stored fertilizers.  It clings to your clothes after just a minute or two of being in there and lasts for hours - days even. Apart from improving ventilation does anyone have any tips for getting rid of it?

• 29/11/2009 06:48 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 4,551

  Reply | Contact  A fire? OK maybe not. Which fertiliser smells? If it's manure then maybe it should be stored outside. If it's dry fertiliser, I'm guessing it's not as dry as it should be as properly stored fertilisers don't tend to have a very strong smell. Perhaps you're buying in too much at a time and it's deteriorating before you can sell it? For your clothes, the obvious solution there is to remove them as soon as you get home and bung them straight in the washing machine, or if you don't want to wash them after every visit (which wouldn't be practical with heavy coats and footwear) get undressed in your shed or garage and leave the wiffy clothes there until next time. http://patsysplot.blogspot.co.uk/

• 29/11/2009 10:50 PM

  In reply to

  Location: Joined on: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2,377

  Reply | Contact Not that I use fertilizers.  However I have yet to find any that don't smell.  Quite a number smell very cadavac, none seem to have a pleasant pong.  Even though the use of strong polythene type sacks or bags have been adopted instead of paper ones, the smell still manages to permeate.   Often gardening clubs etc do tend to over-buy and then have the stock on hand for exceptionally long periods simply to buy cheaper.  Not however the best of practices.  Some substances will deteriorate whereas others may become somewhat toxic.

• 30/11/2009 08:14 AM

  In reply to

  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,766

  Reply | Contact Sounds like organic based fertilisers such as chicken manure pellets or blood fish and bone have got wet and started to decompose. Have a stock clearance sale and start again - these wet fertilisers are fine to add to the compost heap as activators or dug in over winter at a very light dressing.  Don't worry about toxicity - this is deeply unlikely. Most gardeners use too little fertiliser and too little organic matter for best results so this may be a chance for them to remedy matters. Any dry fertilisers should be fine.  Try to clear the store each year by late summer.  If sales are slow consider inviting other local allotment and garden society members to become trading members for a nominal sum and increase sales/turnover of stock. Check and mend the roof.  Keep all fertilisers on pallets off the floor and leave a gap between sacks and walls to avoid condensation. Also rats tend to feast on organic fertilisers and rats have dank, musky smell - rat-proof the building with wire mesh and put down bait/traps.   Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 03/12/2009 07:40 AM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230	Reply | Contact Yes a nest of rats could stink the place up real good! you might have some horrible rotten stuff in your shed now, you will have to do as Boggy says or if the shed was only cheap, just torch the lot and have a new brick and concrete building instead digger Sage of the fells