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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:14 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:29 pm
Posts: 125
Location: Rowlett TX
Well since I have a 3.231 Gazillion Soldier Fly larvae that have taken over my holding bin where I tossed some rotten apples I have a couple questions about vermicomposting.

Given the rate these babies are devouring everything thrown to them (like 6" deep by 30" by 30" of cardboard and cornmeal soaked in molasses in one day reduced to dirt and more critters) I am very interested in seeing how this method does for me - I have lots of cardboard from my home business and the 24 hour turnaround is pretty amazing as well as useful.

Anyone know if these critters can be maintained throught he winter? I am confident that I can keep the bin warm and humid but wonder if these buggers are a longterm option or if they tend to crash as a culture??? They tolerate some pretty severe heat and judging by the way the bin contents are shrinking I am sure the bigger items in the bin are breaking down as the critter c*** falls through. This seems like a fabulous way to quickly make extremely rich compost - dump molasses over metal and i bet these suckers would try to eat it. So far they have shown that they will ravenously multiply with cornmeal, will eat cardboard soaked in molasses, will eat grass and leaves that are dried out if you soak it in molasses and the bin environment is hot and steamy in part I am sure to all of thier activity. Anyone else do this????? If it keeps working i will start throwing all of my veggie scraps and bird waste in that bin and see if i can't start collecting the thick brown liquid leaching out from the holes in the bottom. Judging by what I am seeing these guys can process 15-20 pounds of cardboard and other browns soaked in molasses inside a week and the 'end product' must be absolutely loaded with beneficial microbes.

I am looking into some of the worm composters sold online that give you castings as well as tea - the heat in Dallas is such that i wonder if that will work longterm through summers if kept in a cool and shady area? No desire to invite them inside.

Whaddaya think???? I definately want to keep this experiment going and will keep you updated. Anyone with experience in this method talk to me!


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:35 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:29 pm
Posts: 125
Location: Rowlett TX
Ok, I did some research online and these little buggers sound too good to be true.

Check this out:
http://www.ads.uga.edu/annrpt/1995/95_311.htm

If anyone is interested in trying these things let me know - I'll be glad to share.

Now I am wondering what else i can do with them - I suspect that if you took bags and bags of leaves, mixed them with a little cornmeal and a gallon of molasses and put these guys on top with a cover of some kind they would reduce it to dirt in a week - the reproduction rate of these things is that startling.

Evidently they also do thier own pile aeration when they dig up and down in various lifecycle stages and are so protein rich they are used as feedstuff to replace soy in the larval stage. If I am not missing something this is too good to be true.

Captain - give me your thoughts - I am thinking that if I hot compost most of my stuff, then spread the pile flat - say 2' of compost in an 8x8' square bin, then add a bag of cornmeal and bottle of molasses to the top layer, mix it in a bit and then put these babies to work on the pile for a week or two it would finish off the composting job in record time and likely add a lot of microbes for fungus to grow on in this cooler pile??? Your thoughts?

Sick, I am really sick.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:29 am 
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Joined: Sat May 03, 2003 10:48 am
Posts: 241
Location: Arlington
Hey Chuckfranke; I am enjoying your Soldier Fly saga :) I understand that an outdoor vermicomposter made out of cinder blocks, that is sunk into the ground about 12 to 18" with a cover would work well in this area. The cinderblocks would help to regulate the temperature during both summer and winter. I'm not sure how you would capture the "tea" with this type of box, but the castings would be easily collected.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:42 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:29 pm
Posts: 125
Location: Rowlett TX
yeah, this is getting fun - sick, but fun - hopefully the neighbors won't realize I am growing massive maggots by the pound and report me but if they do ya gotta figure that the larvae could process an irritating neighbor in a week or so.

Here I am figuring out how to get my nice, huge, carefully constructed, 180 degree hot compost pile finished perfectly and I look over my shoulder in the holding bin and some martian grub thingies have reduced about 60 pounds of my 'supplies' to a nice neat pile of poop in about 1/5th the time my room temperature IQ brain managed to compost the 'nearly done' stuff.

God has a sense of humor and I am reasonably certain he gets a kick out of giving me a wedgie once in a while if I begin to forget how stupid i am :-)

Update - running out of stuff to feed the buggers, my neighbor's completely unsupervised, rude, nasty smelling pee creating cats have been attempting to fish for $200 koi in my pond again. :idea:

Who is in a betting mood? What's the over/under on how long it takes the soldier fly larvae to completely reduce a cat? I got $20 says that 6 days will do it... takers?

Relax cat people - I wouldn't actually compost both of the cats.

...I'm thinkin after the first one the other will learn and run across the street to fish in Hubbard from now on. :roll:

Hey, my Macaw quit biting when I opened the freezer and told him the turkey in there had bit me :shock:


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 3:58 pm 
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 8:15 am
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Location: Odenville,Alabama
Sounds great chuckfranke!

Go for it!

_________________
The entire Kingdom of God can be totally explained as an Organic Garden (Mark 4:26)
William Cureton


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