I've got a compost pile that has a nasty population of fruit flies. Probably started because I left veggie waste in the open for too long before adding it to the bin and dressing it.
Is there easy way to keep them from reproducing? Maybe a garden-safe additive I can put on the pile? The bin is outdoors and well away from my house, so they're not a real problem, but they make turning the pile a serious annoyance.
Thanks for the input. I'm realizing that the bin is probably a little too large for the amount of waste I generate, which makes keeping it covered a little more difficult.
Out of curiosity, how often do those bins get emptied? Regularly, or just when people come to buy some?
Not sure how often they get emptied, but based on how much we fill them in one day, it's gotta be at least once a month, maybe twice.
We definitely don't have people just coming by to buy it, because these are 3 huge dumpsters that are locked up every time we use them, and I doubt anyone who has use for compost is driving up to the suburbs just to buy it off us. More likely we just have a distributor come by regularly or whenever it's full, and they probably resell it to manufacturers or farmers.
Most compost piles are trash heaps. There are many forms of compost, but below are the two most common.
Vermicompost - this is food scraps eaten by worms. Often done indoors in a bin. This requires a balance and a lot of practice/patience.
Hot composting - a big freaking pile of herbaceous material that breaks down quickly. It normally requires 27 cubic feet and a good balance of carbon-heavy products and nitrogen-heavy products. Or browns and greens.
Most people throw all their food scraps in a pile, it rots or gets eaten by bugs and call it compost. They're not totally wrong, it's just ineffective.
Most people throw all their food scraps in a pile, it rots or gets eaten by bugs and call it compost. They're not totally wrong, it's just ineffective.
That's me!
I think I need to invest a couple hours into gathering a bunch of leaves to use as browns. I'm definitely on the green-heavy side. I've had good success in the past with composting, but I think I've just been neglecting this pile too much.
It normally requires 27 cubic feet
Is that just for heat reasons, or is there more to it? I use a tub that holds a little over 100 gallons (best guess 10-12 cubic feet).
Maybe its time I went to vermiculture. I've always liked the idea, but never had a compelling reason to build a good place for worms.
The 27 cubic feet is to get the heat going. The pressure from a pile that large will get the bacteria working to heat it up. Otherwise you'll have a cold compost. Which is fine, just slower.
I personally prefer lasagna gardening where I lay down layers of everything and let it rot/decompose over the fall. Always results in a lot of worms, good tilth, and healthy soil.
They're eating like freaking royalty and making eggs like motherfuckers.
Idk what the turnaround is on spider food --> hatching spider eggs, but I expect there's gonna be a horde of them in the next few weeks.
chicago sunroof
lol. That sounds like a sex act. Please, do enlighten me.
I usually take a shovel full of dirt off the top and place the fruit and put that dirt back on. Rotting fruit smell travels for miles in the air apparently. I also remember fruit flies laying their larvae directly on to the fruit surface but you might have to look that up too. Know your enemy.
Our store has some compost dumpsters, we probably put literal tonnes of rotten meat and bread and produce in them every week.
Obviously, we don't do anything with it besides selling it, but I've never noticed any flies or anything, even when they get really full. It's probably just a matter of keeping it covered except when you're putting stuff in. I haven't seen them putting any additives in.