Container compost help please

Long time lurker and organic gardener here in need of some assistance...please!

I have assembled a soil mix of ProMix and Coast of Maine Lobster compost (2:1). I added EWC and perlite. I added smaller quantities of amendments including kelp meal, espoma, bat guano, neem cake, and Happy Frog Tomato & Veggie Fert. I watered the mix so it's moist, but not saturated. When I squeeze a handful, it falls apart nicely. The mix fills half of a 32 gallon trash can.

it has been "cooking" in a 32 gallon black plastic trash can in a 70 degree controlled living space for about 10 days. I stirred in 4 days ago and it was fine and smelled earthy.

i went to stir it again tonight and when I stirred the soil it smells like ammonia and is warm to the touch. I stirred it well and mixed it up.

The lid on the trash can fits on tight and condensation forms on the inside of the trash can and the lid.

is this normal? I'm concerned about the ammonia smell which suggests an anaerobic environment which I do not want to create. I want a happy aerobic herd of micro organisms that will make my plants happy as well!

should I drill air holes in the lid or sides of the can to facilitate air movement? Stir more often?

any help, suggestions, or reassurances are surely appreciated! Peace!

As long as you air it out and give it a little extra time for the aerobes to regain control, you should be just fine. Air holes wouldn't be a bad idea. My soil cans (also 32-gal trashcans) have a few holes drilled in the bottom and sides.

I wouldn't say the ammonia smell is "normal", but it certainly isn't that uncommon. It's happened to me before, and my soil turned out fine after airing it out and letting it compost a little longer.

Thanks Spicy...it smells better after stirring. Do you stir often or just let the soil sit? I'm getting mixed messages from too much reading online. I've got the cover skewed to let some air into the can in hopes that helps. I plan to let this sit for a good long while...at least a few months. I know it's working cause it was warm to the touch when I was stirring it up. Peace

I've gotten a gnarly almost fresh manure smell from mine sometimes.. I just let it air out.. After a few days it smells earthy. Its usually from half composted material, not completely broken down. Adding some enzymes and / or bokashi or something similar can speed up the cooking process a little.

I usually stir once about 2 days after mixing, once at about the 1 week mark, then let it do it's thing. This isn't an exact science. Sometimes I'll just shove my arm down a foot or so into the soil. If it feels at all warm, I'll turn it. The warmth you feel is the thermophilic bacteria having themselves a feast. Thermophiles are aerobic, but they work so quickly they can deplete the oxygen supply. This causes any dormant anaerobes to spring into action, which is likely what you smelled. Bringing the oxygen levels back up will kill off and/or force the anaerobes back into dormancy. As long as the soil stays aerobic, the anaerobes either die off or stay dormant.

EDIT: Yes, as Hyroot mentioned, half composted material can also give off some funky smells. Half composted neem meal is pretty funky, for example.

I agree with the posts above I don't stir my soil as it is cooking and usually won't even look at it till I need to use it and have had this happen plenty of times but it always goes away as things level out . It is one of the reasons you are cooking the soil before hand so these processes are already done by the time you use your soil.