RE: fertilizer, composting, and hail (UNCLASSIFIED)

 Although I have nothing against old grapejuice (wine), I have rellatives
that are Bud distributors. They have LOTS of money and I don't want them to
be angry at me when they ammend the will. 


Steve Haberman


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of
Tooley, Leigh CIV USA AMC
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 4:21 PM
To: pumpkins@hort.net
Subject: 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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