If you can rule out other random possibilities...(ie close to a sewer or other water line, recent burial of family pet, etc) then I would have done exactly what you did.

I would probably watch the site for about a week or 2. I know from composting experiments, if I had heavy anaerobic activity and I added enough browns, the smell & funk corrected itself pretty quickly. If it gets better fairly quickly, I'd go for it.

I'd be most interested in what happens when it's dry, and then observe what happens there after a good, deep rain.

Is it about as equally dried out the non-smelly areas right now? If it's soggier than other areas, I'd hold off until I found the reason or it corrected itself with the addition of soil ammendments.

Gayle

Thisismelissa,
Sounds like you have found that elusive spot where the trees all poop !:)

Denny

You said your irrigation system makes connections in/near that bed. Could it be that you have a small break or crack in a line or connection, near that stinky area? Last summer we removed an aged dwarf mugo pine and found a 1 inch hairline crack in a line -- not enough leakage to bubble up or lower pressure or cause soil to sink so that you'd notice it, but enough to really sog the subsoil.

or its an old indian burial ground ..

and you have awakened the dead..

and they will come after you in your sleep some night ....

anaerobic conditions usually involve lack of oxygen in a damp area ... like under a mat of last years maple leaves ... or a pile of mowed lawn ...

so its either lack of air exchange .. or the water source.. i too would look into the irrigation line issue

ken

Ya know, I do believe the husband-type-person put a bunch of lawn thatch in that area. So, I suppose it's entirely possible that that may have formed a mat and air might have not been able to penetrate.

Add to that, the rain we've had and it sounds like the makings of STANK!

Since it's been tilled and has lots of air pockets, it should resolve quickly, I hope.

Thanks Ken.

Denny: Tree poop. LOL. Good one!