hehe

Lol, Lloyd. I was out there thinking, "Man, Bear Grylls or Les Stroud would love to find these things. I bet they're crunchy and creamy... or nutty and crispy when roasted over an open flame."

Really though, those things are tough. I rolled over several of them with my garden fork and they kind of laughed at me. I poked them, and they just languished in the dirt like nuthin'. When I did finally squish 'em though... eew. They made a popping noise that I'll probably have nightmares about, and they oozed white goo. Icky, icky, icky!

I don't think we have them up here. If we do, I don't think I've ever seen one.

But speaking of gross, when I was a kid my uncle used to de-horn the cattle and while they were in the press he used to pour some kind of chemical/oil on their backs to prevent some kind of insect from laying it's eggs in the skin. Well sometimes there would already be these boil kind of wounds that when squeezed, produced this huge white maggoty thing. To us kids it was a gag me with a spoon moment seeing that huge thing pop out of the skin. Forty years later and it still creeps me out!

Lloyd

I hate maggots. I just hate them. On my list of 'ick factor' items, they're right up there. I'm a little worried they won't break down in the compost if they die in there. I read somewhere here on these forums that the bodies don't decompose. Why they won't, I can't even guess at, but the thought of having to sift out dead maggot bodies sends cold shivers up my spine.

Lloyd --- I had supressed this memory of the cows backs for almost 40 years --- I was with a buddy at his grandaddy's farm when we wetre probaly 10 yrs old and he was doing the same thing to his cattle --OMG he pooped those things out like a giant zit !!!!-I had forgotten about that untill now ----you gotta love this forum ----

and I am just gonna do the wait and see thing about the BSFL in my pile ---I think as soon as I get the right mix and bring on the heat it will be curtains for these little buggers --- and turning to expose to the local bird population may prove effective and entertaining --------JB

Take those BSFL fishing, they do as good if even better at catching fish than a worm. Kills my husband when I do this.
My worm bin today is getting some fried okra that wasn't eaten last night-along with the ends, crusty bread, and some more paper. Need to get out there and do this, before the next rain.

twigs & leaves from trees & crepe myrtles that have started drooping

cold coffee, lukewarm tea

UCG
old tortillas
two pieces old bread
two pieces old pepperoni pizza
old plant leaves, dead flowers, etc.

all the food items were eaten by BSFL by the end of the day.

I put some BSFL in a pan and put it out by the birdfeeders. no interest from chickadees, doves, or finches. Not even the local woodpecker. I'm holding out for the cardinals, squirrels, and even the outside cats and especially the skunk I think lives around here.

I think Robins will eat them. Or chickens.

Lloyd: I do have them and I'm in Vancouver, BC. Not in my CP but in my worm bin when I fed them mostly greens (leaf-veggie)

Otis

Two huge tromboncino squash plants that had tried to eat the garden and the sidewalk but had finally stopped producing

An overflowing wheel barrow load of lima bean plants
Various weeds and grass pulled from the squash and bean patches

Peach peels
Forgotten peppers found in the back of the fridge

Now it needs water!

Sandy

UCG, watermelon rind, tomato bits, onion skins, shredded paper, weeds, paper towels. Waiting are peach skins, more tomato bits, more onion, more ucg, corn husks and cobs, more melon rinds.

After reading that the BSFL will go dormant without food, instead of dying, I've decided to start feeding the pile again in the hope that they'll hurry up and pupate into flies and gtfo! I now probably have an over abundance of greens in the pile, but if the larvae wake up and start eating, I'm sure it won't have time to turn anaerobic, although I did pluck out another 40 or so of them before adding any goodies. We'll see what remains tomorrow.

Been saving lots of goodies:

UCG and filters
cantaloupe peels sliced thin
a whole bag of spoiled broccoli florettes
some spoiled arugula
green peanut shells
grape stems
grapes
a couple cherry tomatoes
onions
onion skins
jalapeno ends
cauliflower ends and leaves
cantaloupe
a bunch of dried, crushed leaves to brown things up a bit

dumped a load of spent annuals along with the mass of roots and dirt they were planted in so I imagine the BSFL may be kaput. Time for them to 'give back' to the community anyway, if you will.

rotten peach
english ivy that was taking liberties with our arborvitae
sticky rice
ucg
tea bag
soggy cereal
bread crusts
left over scrambled eggs
egg shells
some old milk
old coffee
spaghetti
spinach
apple core
saw dust
bamboo skewer
paper
half a pizza box
paper fiber cup holder

two banana peels
some celery
more ivy
left over fruit juice
wine

3 buckets of commercial tea bags (they sell a *lot* of iced tea on week-ends & holidays!)
torn-up junk mail & newspapers
coffee grounds & filters
stub ends of tomatoes
peach pits
cantaloupe rind & seeds (betcha I'll see cantaloupe vines next spring/summer!)

and a partridge outta my pear tree !!!

Spent barley grains and hops from yesterday's homebrew session. A few bean plants that were done producing and the usual bucket of kitchen scraps.

the BSFL climbed through all that dirt I dumped on them and are eating my greens again- I guess they're here until they're not.

Added the usual-

UCG
cold coffee
Tea bags
left over brussel sprouts
egg shells
pizza crust
toast leavins.

it's getting rained on but good today.

I think all my BSFL are gone. I saw a gigantic fly buzzing around the bin, and thought that must be one of them. Smaller flies are starting to hang around again also. But since the bin is so full, and there aren't many browns to speak of because everything that's put in is looking like almost finished compost, greens are sitting a bit longer.

water water water water water water water water water water water water water water water water water water

& we're *still* under a flash flood watch!

Okra plants
Egg shells
Pepper, apple, plum and tomato peelings and cores from canning projects
Coffee grounds
Blanching water

I had a garden snake in my heap a couple weeks ago he must of ate his share but the worms are back so I feed my heap
a 4 pound bag of left over green and yellow beans
3 yellow squash
a dozen done flowering annuals
for dessert it got a one inch layer of dried out leaves from last season and a 50 gallon bag full of grass clippings
and for beverage it rained yesterday

I started a new bin yesterday, and then had a dream last night that when I opened up the lid, it was crawling with BSFL. Oddly enough, I've imagined myself having nightmares because of these BSFL, but my first reaction in the dream was, "Oh no...." instead of "OMG... AHHH!!!"

spent zucchini plants
Feline Pine cat litter
used paper towels
goat poo and hay/straw
bell peppers
tomatoes
various things that were cleaned out of the refrigerator, but were unidentifiable by the time I emptied them into the pile
shredded newspaper and junk mail

whole bunch of magazines that I had left outside before the flood

used coffee grounds & filters

several buckets of used commercial teabags

bunch of twigs & leaves from pruning project

Carrot peelings, tomato and celery trimmings, a few ww toast crusts (shhh, don't tell!), coffee grounds and filter, 3 tea bags, horseradish rinsings from the empty jar. I'm hoping the last will discourage the bear that's been around. DH is covering up each day's additions with grass clippings in an attempt to disguise the scent. I think it's working because the pile was not pulled apart.

Twice per week: LOTs of grass clippings and shredded leaves from the lawn mower bag, which really helps heat up the pile. 2 Wheelbarrows full of tomatoe plants, Dead Perennial Stems, and weeds, along with Kitchen scrapps, lots of them !!; eggshells, UCG's, banana peels, potatoe peelings, etc.

shredded office paper &
office cardboad (soft drink cartons)
newspaper
coffee grounds & filters
teabags
coffee with a bug in it

Where's everybody hiding?

Are you all snowbound already???

Watermelon, lime rinds, tomato ends, corn husks, potatoes, leek ends, UCGs, paper towels, moldy bread.

It is a little chilly in these parts, but in the upper 70's just 4 hours ago!

I've been slacking on chronicling my feedings, but in the last week I've added:

(2) 5 gallon buckets of rabbit poop, pee and pine shavings
a litter box full of kitty pee and Feline Pine litter
a couple bags of unidentifiable veggie trimmings
ground up rice from making rice milk
ground almonds from making almond milk, plus the corn syrup, almond extract and sugar I added to it to see if it would come out something like marzipan (it didn't.)
some used paper towels and napkins
Splenda wrappers
UCG and filters
old roasted Anaheim chilis
daikon radish peelings
Thai chili pepper ends and discards

And later today, there should be an abundance of kitchen scraps from the fridge that died and was out for a day before it was repaired.

Half a pickup load of shreded maple branchs that were dumped at our city burn pile a mounth or so ago. on top of that a nice layer of cow manure and mixed straw bedding form the local packing plant. I mixed well In pile when I unloaded.

I want to thank all the people on here for the infomation. I never would have knowen where to start with out your help . Keep up the good work.

What is BSFL?

black soldier fly larvae

Lots of corn husks.

Tell you what I'm not composting today but wanted to, which is horse manure. My local barn guy is gone. Really wanted that horse manure. Damn.

Isn't it funny that we all seem to have to scheme & plan & jump at every opportunity to obtain "poo"?

considering that every living critter makes "poo"?

I added

more of last week's rainwater (now enriched by mosquito larvae!)

icky lemon wedges from a luncheon last week

lots of shredded office paper,
commercial tea bags,
& coffee grounds & filters

nectarine pits & pear & apple cores

Shredded junk mail, a rotten potato, some left over broccoli that smelled really bad, some okra that was too hard to use, part of a sandwich left over from grandson's visit, several partial bags of assorted chips and something really green and squishy out of the refrigerator.

Sylvia, we are poo lovers around here, aren't we? LOL! I was scouring craigslist, and there are people actually selling rabbit poo by the bag. I laughed. Obviously there are so many people around here after it, that someone can get away with making a little profit off what most people can't wait to get rid of. I've made 3 great contacts from Freecycle, and so now have the freedom to visit some horse paddocks whenever I want for some of their poop, access to the backyard of a multimillion dollar home so that I can have their goat poop, and a girl who raises rabbits who calls me whenever she has a garbage can of bunny poop that I can scoop from. People laugh at me when I tell them I'm going on a poo run, but it's great fun for me, lol.

My only issue now, is that all of this green poop comes with a lot of brown material in the form of sawdust, and straw, and pine shavings. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my green requirement and my bin is a little stagnated at the moment. I need to visit some of the Starbucks in the area and see if they have any grounds I can take with me because I can't think of any other large scale green source. Maybe I need to get out there and start making friends with people in the grocery store produce sections or something.

spaghetina:
Good luck in getting greens from the grocery store. In my experience, they won't give it away because of "store policy". You might get it from the individual owned stores but not from bigger stores.

Starbucks is very good in saving their banana peels for my worm bin and you can take away as much UCG as you want. My problem with that, they have it in big bags and they are HEAVY. If you want to be able to carry it, leave a 5 gal. bucket with them in the morning and p/u later in the day.

Joebob, he POPPED those things like a giant zit. Pooped, sheesh I nearly spit coffee out my nose...

Surprised to find no hair or fur on anyone's list . In my compost bucket waiting to join the pile today :

coffee grounds and liquid coffee
cat fur from pet sweeper
okra stem tops from making pickled okra
cooked rice gone bad
onion skins
waxed paper including butter wrapper
receipts
moldy cottage cheese
sour nasty forgotten tomato sauce

Directly to the pile :
contents of vacuum bag including paper bag itself
garden greens - plants pulled up
cow manure

Stir well and age .

I do put in my cat's hair when I clean out his brush, but it doesn't seem like he's been shedding much lately.

Haven't fed the pile today, but yesterday I tossed in:

a couple bags of anaheim chiles that had been roasted, frozen, and then thawed when the freezer broke last week
old mushrooms that had turned into mostly brown water (gross)
green peanut shells (I have a feeling I'll be seeing these for a long time)

In my kitchen sink, ready to go in today:
old frozen strawberries
fava pods and skins
cucumber trimmings
moldy applesauce
moldy baked beans
a crispy bunch of basil
and maybe I'll clean out the kitty brush and toss in his fur too

This morning:
slimey lettuce, slimey spinach, really slimey tomato, couple of empty tp cardboard tubes, empty paper towel tube and some used napkins and paper towels. I need to remember to bring back in my container for saving UCG and coffee we don't drink for some wet to add to the pile.
Kath

Boring ol' grass clippings, coupled aged tpomato vines, 2 eggshells (halved) and about 15 lbs alfafa meal yday.. When turning pile. This evening too hot to keep hand in, in places :D

So far this MONTH:

lots of melon scraps from lots of donors (hehe)
heaps of kitchen scraps mostly from the various peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers we've been canning
about 3 wheelbarrows full of Starbucks UCGs
pastachio and walnut shell pieces
used Kleenexes, receipts, TP/PT rolls, and paper towels
chicken feathers, guts, and blood (been culling the meat birds)
corn stalks, carrots stalks, bean & pea plants that were done

This week's project is to (1) finish "Fall Cleaning" of the old flower garden I've let go for 2 yrs "to see what grows there". (2) Fill it with a nice layer of my first huge bin of beautiful compost and cover with a fresh layer of mulch so next Spring I can (3) plant the herb/butterfly/hummingbird garden that I've always envisioned that spot to be. PLAYIN IN THE DIRT IS FUN!!!!

Many green tomatoes

2 lbs oooooooooooooold frozen shrimp from defrosting freezer.

ooooh, hope you buried 'em deep!

The shrimp are about a foot down in the center of a hot pile. The pile was then covered with a few inches of wood shavings.
No odor today, and they are cooking - there was a wet circle in the shavings where the steam was condensing this AM.

Coffee, back of refrigerator science experiment, grapes, peels from carrots, onions, and potatoes, slug beer slime. And some shredded paper--lots more waiting. I missed paper recycle pick up (it comes 1x a month). How much paper can I add? 450 liter composter currently 1/2 full. But not for long--those leaves keep falling.

And thanks for this monthly list. It's very helpful for a beginner.

Its apres-frost veggie garden clean up time, aka build a couple new compost heaps because there is so much stuff. I have one of those lawn carts that has a volume of approx 4 bales of hay, and yesterday I filled that thing 3 times with tomato vines, hauled that to the pile, and then filled it again with green and spoiling tomatoes. And I've got at least 5 more days worth of assorted stuff to go.

Watermelon plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, Weeds all greens again, soon too come, LOTS of leaves. Frost is here WAAAH!!!
:)Laura