My girlfriends mother makes her own compost out of old fruit and other things....... I grabbed about a half gallon of it ...thinking when I start my grow I could use it to help add some nutrition to my soil. As I have never grown anything in my life..... and I want to do it correctly...... anyone have any suggestions? And in my opinion it is still pretty disgusting seeing it is full of creepy crawlers still.... I mean LOTS of em..... has soem worms..... the little bugs that curl up into balls..... and then there are these little little bugs that I have no idea what they are..... but yeah gross
I would check the organic section for this. There are lots of great posts about using compost in a soil mix. Good luck on your research
I'd work on identifying those bugs before you use the soil. It's hard to get rid of pests once you have them. Worms are a good thing, and I don't thing the rollie bugs hurt, but I dont know about the other mystery bugs.
Grab more! Go score some Canadian sphagnum peat and an aeration component (lava rock, rice hulls, chunks of diatomaceous earth, perlite, etc.). Mix 40% peat, 30% compost, and 30% of your chosen aeration. Viola! You have made potting soil. Throw in a granular organic fertilizer blend and you will be well on your way.
Ok i left the small bucket of compost in plastic bags in the corner of the room. Yesterday I picked up the bag...... and HOLY HELL..... I have never in my life smelled something so horrific. I think all the bugs died inside and i could see where a couple baby worms had tried to escape and were laying dead on the floor. Now I have compost with a bunch of dead bigs inside. My girlfriend says it will be good with the dead bugs inside but I am thinking of throwing it out since it stinks to high hell and I had to use bleach to get teh stink off my hands..... is this stuff high grade plant food or is it toxic??? lol
lol, I believe that is the rotting flesh of worms you're smelling. I'm sure you could still use it, though i'd probably sift through it with some latex gloves; picking out all the unwanted stuff. Shouldn't be too bad considering you only have a half gallon. Alternatively, you could go to home depot and grab a 25lb bag of "Moo-Nure" for about $2.50. It's organic compost with cow manure, used some in my tomato bins and they fuckin' love it.
Your compost was dominated by aerobic bacteria. That's why we don't keep it in airtight containers. Spread it out over a tarp and keep it lightly moistened until it goes back to smelling like rich earth. You can store it in a tupperware bin if you drill plenty of holes in it. Moo-nure is cheap and everywhere, but homemade thermophilic compost and earthworm castings are unbeatable. The best. Numero uno.