Compost from backyard

[MrMiagiSan]

I've been looking around and i cant find an answer to that question:
Can i take compost from my backyard and use it directly in pots for indoor?

In fact i already took some inside before the winter started. So now i have a rubbermaid bin with "living" compost in my basement, theres a few kind of critter, and worms of course. So can i use this straight up? I know its good to have a living soil, but alive to what point?

 

[Green Sky]

Screen it, do a PH test, amend it with some organic additives, plant seeds. Should be fine as long as it's not (completely) red clay, sand, mud, or nuclear backfill

good luck

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

Well made compost (it got hot, it sat and cured) is the key component to making a viable soil. It doesn't need to be pHed either. Vermicompost is another big piece of the picture. Check out some gardening books or the Rodale Institutes' website to gain a better understanding of how to do it up right.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

MrMiagiSan

What does your compost smell like?

CC

 

[MrMiagiSan]

My compost is made from vegetal waste that we put in an outside bin during last summer/fall. So it's already "composted", it has made some heat last summer, and it has a good earth smell. I'm pretty sure it can be used now, probably no amoniac left. But my question was more "Do i absolutly have to "clean" it from every living critter (woodlouse, worms, and other little critters...) before i use it or can i use it as it is? And if it need to be cleaned, how can one do that?"

By the way i've started a separeted bin where i transfered red wiggler worms fro the 1st bin, and i'm gonna try to make some EWC with my vegetable waste this winter, but it will take a while before i can use it. I'm gonna post some pic later of my "setup" and of the critters i'm talking about.

 

[Sat X RB]

well, seems to me many of those critters will up and leave once you saturate your pots for the first time. the worms will probably die.

but I don't think the mass of life you presently see will unbalance mineral ratios within the compost.

 

[MrMiagiSan]

I'M more worried about those critter doing damage to the plants or roots, here's a few pics of whats in it:


I thinks its a mealworm or butterworm or some kind of larva, i only found 1-2, and i didnt see them since a few days, maybe they mutate


thats a red wiggler worms, they are the most present and they seem to be multiplying relativly fast, i find some small one each time i open the bin. So i take a few each day and put them in my second bin (see down) in the hope of making a "clean" EWC.

that the big one he seem to be the only of its kind, it's no the best kind of worm for EWC but i think he is good at aerating the bottom.

 

[MrMiagiSan]

left would be a baby millipede and right is an adult, trying to get out

and thats a woodlouse, theres a few of theme, but they seem to maintain a constant population.

 

[MrMiagiSan]

other then that, there are small insect that look like small fly but they dont fly, but the crawl around very fast and are almost same color as the compost so i wasnt able to picture them.



aerated compost tea, bin 1 with straight outdoor compost, and bin 2 (round) with only red wiggler and veg food, it was started with half coco coir half black earth.

So, anyone see potential problem with using the compost from bin 1 while i wait for bin 2? maybe i'm just worrying too much about it, but i dont want to make mistake, i'm new with lving soil

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

You will be okay.

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

So hey man, I moved into a new place this summer. My friend that I'm renting from had a compost pile that was over 2 years old. I screened it to 1/2" or less. It looked and smelled fantastic.

I tested it out on a couple small plants and didn't notice any problems for the first couple weeks they were in my mix with the backyard compost. If I had run these plants all the way through, the backyard compost would have stayed in the backyard. Hate to think about how much money and time this cost me.

I have no idea why this occurred. I took the backyard compost out of my mix and everything is back to normal.

Test this compost on a couple different strains before you go all out with it. It's the only way to really know if what you have is gold or not.

Don't worry about all the "critters" if it comes down to it there ain't much these boys around here can't kill organically.

RD

 

[jerry111165]

well, seems to me many of those critters will up and leave once you saturate your pots for the first time. the worms will probably die.

Why will the worms die?

J

 

[jerry111165]

I'm sure we've all seen this, but I enjoy having worms in my soil. Notice the dark castings on top of the soil, which has been reused many times.

Talk about a symbiotic relationship...

J