RE: fertilizer, composting, and hail (UNCLASSIFIED)

Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

I admit to composting in my basement one year in winter, as animals were
always dragging my compost all over the place and I was attracting
bears.  I used a garbage can, and thought I was making wonderful black
gold until I dumped it out in the spring and nearly added my stomach
lining to the pile - it smelled that bad.  The neighbors must have
thought I was hiding a corpse somewhere.  I've since gotten a
varmint-proof compost bin (for free from my co-op extension).

The flies you have are probably fungus gnats, which are slightly smaller
and skinnier than fruit flies.  I get them in the house every winter.
Most potting soil comes pre-inoculated with the little buggers, even the
big name brand soil.  They can also live in your walls.  I use Bacillus
Thuringiensis (Bt) to get rid of them in the house plants (the brand I
have is called Knock Out Gnats), however there are other methods to get
rid of them.  If you have house plants, if you look closely, especially
after watering, you may see them crawling on top of the soil.  They can
kill seedlings - they sometimes feed on the roots.

Steve - Budweiser in the A.M. is not good for you.  Please consider
switching to red wine, which pairs nicely with scrambled eggs.

Best of luck to all!

Leigh in NE PA


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of Diana Sigel
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:53 AM
To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
Subject: fertilizer, composting, and hail

Here's how the composting came to be in the computer room:  I ordered
red wigglers, hoping to improve my garden soil, which tends to be
somewhat clay-ey.  They came as the weather was turning desperately
cold, so I started my "vermicomposter" bin in the computer room.
Uncle-whoever-I-bought-them-from said they won't smell bad, just feed
them your house garbage, and lots of damp newspapers.  That's true; they
don't stink.  HowEVER.  They provided the perfect environment for ten
gazillion flies that are not fruit flies because their eyes are not
large and red (the defining trait, so I'm told) but look and act a lot
like fruit flies.  My husband does not like having tiny #$^&^%$ flies go
up his nose while he's trying to sleep on the couch while pretending to
become enlightened about the current economic status of the country.  So
the worms are now outside, in a shed, hoping that we don't have anymore
dreadfully cold weather to freeze them into  red-wiggler-sickles.  The
little &^%$ flies are gone, and my husband is still here.  I think he
applied that much stuff to my garden in revenge for the little  (*&^%%
flies that flew up his schnoz.

The little red wigglers have done a remarkable job of composting ALL our
house garbage for the last four months.  I'd recommend putting them
somewhere besides the computer room, though.  Maybe a semi-heated garage
or shed.  Where the little (*&^&*^$%^@# flies won't be a problem.

If it makes you feel any better, it's only about 35 this morning, and we
had hail yesterday afternoon and again in the night.  Still want to come
to Kansas?

 cheers,
duchess of gladstone

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Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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