If the vast majority of the material you put into your compost is well digested, not recognizable as what it was, and the material smells like good, rich earth it is ready to use. If there are pieces of woody material the can be screened out, picked out, or simply put onto the soil with the rest of the compost depending on how much work you want to do. A compost pile that is a host to a lot of flies is too wet.

Hey aashishkabob, Congrats on the new purchase of your new VFT. I read that your plant's traps aren't deep red like the ones' you've seen in books or pictures on-line. Venus' flytraps will only make reddish traps if they are grown under good lighting. Meaning, they will only make healthy, big red traps if you grow them in a sunny location. Good thing you clipped off that flower stalk, Unless you are truly experienced growing these magnificent plants, stay away from allowing it to flower. Venus' flytraps don't die after flowering. as long as they get good lighting, they will grow Healthy. I live in california, i grow my venus' flytraps outside all year round. Some plants i grow them in my windosill. If your plant is not going dormant, it's Ok. most likely it's confused since it has been growing in that plastic container. remove all the coverings around the plant. Any type of Dome, or plastic cover or plastic cup that covered your plant.. it's best to get rid of it. If it came in a small plastic pot, then it will grow fine there. If your plant chooses to keep on growing, don't force it to make it go dormant. just keep on growing it. You may give it a proper dormancy next fall. Dormancy isn't only about temperature, but also about Light. as winter arrives, days become shorter and colder. flytraps rely on sunlight in order for them to grow properly. If you don't have a proper place to grow your plants outside, You may grow your VFT in a sunny windowsill. If a sunny windosill is not available, You may grow your plant under flourecent lights. a 40 Watt lightbulb is sufficient. My plants usually get 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight during the growing season(february through october) Or if they are grown under lights, they will need about 16 hours of artificial lighting daily during the growing season. To water your plant is easily, Simply fill in a small type of shallow saucer with Purified water only, then after filling the saucer with water, slowly summerge your plant's pot into the water. this way, its soil will always be moisten at all times. Here's an example how i water my VFTs, i fill in purified water into the saucer, then i summerge its pot into the water to keep its soil always moisten during the growing season. Never allow its soil to dry out: Venus' flytraps Prefer Being watered with Purified water, reverse osmosis water, rain or clean water. No tap water. VFTs prefer medias/soils such as: *sphagnum Peatmoss mixed with perlite. *long fibered sphagnum moss *sphagnum Peat moss alone. No regular potting soil for these plants. as regular potting soil contains hidden fertilizers and are much mor suitable for regular house plants. venus' flytraps aren't compatible with fertilizers. their roots burn easily. Make sure to provide good lighting for your plant. Always keep its Soil moisten at all times. This is a picture of my flytraps that i grow outside. I allow them to flower every season. they get about 4 to 6 hours of full sunlight during the growing season.

Thank you, thazzit! Annoying around my backdoor, but if that's the worst that they do, I'm ahead. Thanks again. :)

First was Tokyo to Seoul, 1953 - we got to visit the cockpit (flight deck?). Second was Seoul to Hong Kong, with Cathay Pacific, one of the world's best airlines, in '57, just after turbo props came in. Then Hong Kong to Bangkok, Calcutta, Bombay by "Constellation" ... and they re-issued my ticket Hong Kong - Bombay. Then when I arrived in Calcutta, told that I needed to go to New Delhi to travel north to the mountains ... that they couldn't reroute me to New Delhi, or I'd have to make my own way there and to Bombay. After the end of the flight, after much arguing in New York (why didn't they have a map of India in the Air India office in Hong Kong?) they paid my flight Bombay - New Delhi and return. Bombay to Beirut, side trip to Amman, Athens, Rome and Geneva (to take a conference at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, near Geneva). Geneva to London, then hitch-hiked around Europe, including a trip Geneva to Salisbury, England, for a missionary colleague's wedding ... till I bought a VW Bug in Geneva, which I shipped to N Y and drove around Ithaca that winter while attending Cornell. London - Montreal, then hitch-hiked to Toronto ... and it was while they were building the Seaway, so the guy who picked me up by Dorval airport and dropped me in Toronto (my longest hitch-hike by far) gave me a bonus ... on the detour through Ottawa (due to the Seaway construction), we drove past our Parliament buildings, so I got to see them. This was all in 1957, and I've flown a number of times since, including London - Edmonton, and Detroit - Phoenix. Flying doesn't bother me ... I figure that my possibility of ending up in disaster is much less than while driving on the road ... but it makes a bigger splash in the papers/on TV. As for the searches at the airports ... I figure that's mostly window dressing, to make us feel better ... how careful are they about various airport staff, baggage handlers and the like? Seems to me that airports are pretty porous. And, anyway ... all that terrorists need do is pop a rocket-propelled grenade at an airliner from just beyond any major airport boundary. ole joyful