Compost Decay - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

REAL Hostel Work · 11-09-2011, 01:58 PM

Hola-
New to the site, new to urban gardening, new to gardening in general.
I got creative and built a composter out of a few soda bottles (similar to the one seen here: Bottle Composting). I made it a few weeks ago and have been filling it with lots of goodies. I understand it's a good sign when you can't tell what you've put in because it has decomposed.. I'm at that point with the oldest stuff...the newer stuff on top is moldy, rather 'fragrant', and has fruit flies (I've even seen a few larvae crawling around!) I'm living in Argentina (tropics) and we are on the verge of summer, I am afraid that the flies will get out of control and invade my apartment (right now my bottle is safely on the far edge of my balcony away from windows). Also, the bottle doesn't seem to feel 'warm'...
I try to have a good mix of brown and green, and I mix it all up about once a week. I have holes and a tube for airflow....
Q's: Can I salvage my compost with flies breeding in it?
How can I avoid future flies? Is my compost 'healthy'?
Thanks!

stylemichelle21 · 11-10-2011, 10:30 AM

From the Washington State University website:

"Studies at the University of California on mixed garbage and refuse demonstrated that after raw material containing considerable numbers of eggs and larvae had been ground and placed on the pile, no fly breeding took place using normal composting procedures of turning every 2 to 3 days. Apparently, the destruction of the larvae by grinding, mixing, and the structural changes caused by grinding, results in garbage that is no longer attractive to flies. Heat quickly generated in compost piles effectively stops flies breeding in refuse containing a considerable proportion of garbage. However, this is not the case, for compost materials containing large amounts of animal manure, food scraps and other fresh and decaying fruits.

When materials attractive to flies and containing large numbers of larvae and pupae are composted, some of the larvae will move to other cooler layers and continue their life cycle. The most effective method of destroying these larvae is frequent turning. Turning compost stacks at daily interval, when the raw material contains many larvae and pupae and when fly breeding conditions are favorable, and at a maximum interval of 3 or 4 days when fly breeding conditions are not especially favorable, provides good fly control."

Hope this helps.

11-09-2011, 01:58 PM	#1
REAL Hostel Work Green Gardener Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 1	Compost Decay Hola- New to the site, new to urban gardening, new to gardening in general. I got creative and built a composter out of a few soda bottles (similar to the one seen here: Bottle Composting). I made it a few weeks ago and have been filling it with lots of goodies. I understand it's a good sign when you can't tell what you've put in because it has decomposed.. I'm at that point with the oldest stuff...the newer stuff on top is moldy, rather 'fragrant', and has fruit flies (I've even seen a few larvae crawling around!) I'm living in Argentina (tropics) and we are on the verge of summer, I am afraid that the flies will get out of control and invade my apartment (right now my bottle is safely on the far edge of my balcony away from windows). Also, the bottle doesn't seem to feel 'warm'... I try to have a good mix of brown and green, and I mix it all up about once a week. I have holes and a tube for airflow.... Q's: Can I salvage my compost with flies breeding in it? How can I avoid future flies? Is my compost 'healthy'? Thanks!

11-10-2011, 10:30 AM	#2
stylemichelle21 Green Gardener Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5	From the Washington State University website: "Studies at the University of California on mixed garbage and refuse demonstrated that after raw material containing considerable numbers of eggs and larvae had been ground and placed on the pile, no fly breeding took place using normal composting procedures of turning every 2 to 3 days. Apparently, the destruction of the larvae by grinding, mixing, and the structural changes caused by grinding, results in garbage that is no longer attractive to flies. Heat quickly generated in compost piles effectively stops flies breeding in refuse containing a considerable proportion of garbage. However, this is not the case, for compost materials containing large amounts of animal manure, food scraps and other fresh and decaying fruits. When materials attractive to flies and containing large numbers of larvae and pupae are composted, some of the larvae will move to other cooler layers and continue their life cycle. The most effective method of destroying these larvae is frequent turning. Turning compost stacks at daily interval, when the raw material contains many larvae and pupae and when fly breeding conditions are favorable, and at a maximum interval of 3 or 4 days when fly breeding conditions are not especially favorable, provides good fly control." Hope this helps. __________________ What I cook Where I shop <3 Michelle

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