Leslie, How wet is your pile? I got the impression from one of your first posts that you are watering it a lot. It may be too much. If you can pick it up (and yes, I use my bare hands in my pile all the time; I just don't think that the bacteria that are interested in eating dead vegetation are going to be very interested in me) and wring a good bit of water out, it may be too wet. If it is too wet and there's a good bit of 'greens' in there, it will begin to stink after a few days. If it does, spread it out to dry or turn it more often to help it dry. If it is not too wet, I am a bit surprised that you have not gotten things to heat up in #2 yet. It seems like you should have a good pile going (plenty of size and the correct ingredients if your greens are still fresh - meaning not already composted). When I hit things right in my pile it begins to heat up over night and within two or three days it is often over 140 F (again, that's when I have gotten enough greens in with the browns and it is not too wet or too dry). But you should get some heating if you have a good bit of greens and browns (even if the ratio is not perfect) and if the wetness is anything close to correct. Your bins should be of adequate size (mine are 4 feet across and 3 feet tall and made of wire mesh as well. The rough material at the bottom of #3 should help your pile to breath. I would continue to keep my eyes open for some greens, continue as you are and trust that it will all be compost in time. Steve

yes they exist !! I bite a peace of,, the taste is, like row beans. I like it. its nice eating ..sometimes

Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb

Jeff It seems to me that I am the only one against the misting. But I have to make myself clear: I believe many (not all!!!) ppl just assume that they should mist the plant. Misting the soil should be np, but I still rather put them in gritty mix, in container with drainage hole and water if and when needed. I don't need to worry about not wetting the plant, about overwatering, and drainage. I won't say that everything always survives, but success rate is quite high. Many don't care about gritty mix; I love it. I can take a hose and water them all outdoors. It can rain and I don't have to take them inside (obviously, not a torrential rain that lasts for days and days - but we don't get that kind of rain; and obviously - not hailstorm...) I like to make it simple and found gritty to be very simple. Much simpler than hoping to find a bag of 'good soil'. Buying ingredients in bulk is very economical too and I would bet that this 'custom' mix is much less costly than bagged soil. I know that it isn't possible for everyone, especially if no storage - and/or car - is available. I was, perhaps, bit obsessed ('anal'?) at first, trying to find the right bark...measure exactly...I can go on. Don't do it any more, buy ingredients maybe 2x/year in bulk. I have many other plants - won't bore anybody with naming them, there is close to 100, and many are going into grittier mix when needed to repot. I use some soil for those plants, but no more than 50% and often much less. And yes, I use chicken grit for those too.