What do you know about bone meal?

[bestofour]

My compost pile is full of pill bugs.  I read online that they work with decayed matter but they need to be gone before the compost is put in the garden because they will eat the root systems.  An infestation in a compost pile may be due to lack of heat.  I'm thinking since we've had so much rain lately my pile may not be getting hot enough.  I also read that bone meal will heat things up.  Has anyone ever used it?

[barleychown]

I would think blood meal would provide heat better...

[bestofour]

Thanks.  Would that be your first choice in this situation?

[landofoz]

I'm sorry, Sheri but that definitely would not be my first choice.  My first choice would be too look at my youngest and say "Roly Poly's.  Compost Pile."  And watch her dart out the door screaming, "THEY'RE MINE!!!"  And then she'd spend days collected her sweet, baby, roly-polys and moving them somewhere safe.  And that solution, Sheri, is much cheaper than bone meal.  

[Tina]

I can never remember bone or blood meal.

[duh]

I was reading an article recently that said bone meal was a good additive to compost piles because it worked like an activator.  So I would go with the bone meal.  On the other hand I've got roly polys in all the beds and my plants don't seem to mind at all.  So I'm not sure I would do that if the roly polys were the only reason.  But that's just me.

I do add activated yeast to my compost piles from time to time especially if they have dried out.  Which mine does really quickly.  In fact I was out there this afternoon wetting them down because the outer layers were bone dry. 

Good luck with your compost pile. 

[bestofour]

Tammy, last year was the first time I had these bugs in these numbers.  I planted cucumbers three different times in the usual area and they disappeared each time.  I picked another area and went online and found out that pill bugs eat plant roots.  I had put out cardboard and when I took it up there were millions underneath.  I left the area open to the heat, which is supposed to cause them to move, BUT then I put cardboard down again and today when I looked they are back.  Millions.  So I thought "hmmm, I'll cover them over with compost and maybe they'll leave my plants alone" but when I started shoveling the compost I noticed it's crawling with them.  I had never seen one out there until last year so I don't know if it's from the drought, the cardboard, the rain, Barack Obama or if it's Tina's fault.

But I bought the bone meal and it was only 5 something so I'm going to put  it in the compost pile and around the plants.  It says to throw it on top of the ground in the vege garden to give everything a boost.

[bestofour]

I'm sorry, Sheri but that definitely would not be my first choice.  My first choice would be too look at my youngest and say "Roly Poly's.  Compost Pile."  And watch her dart out the door screaming, "THEY'RE MINE!!!"  And then she'd spend days collected her sweet, baby, roly-polys and moving them somewhere safe.  And that solution, Sheri, is much cheaper than bone meal.   

Send her to me.

[Tina]

  I had never seen one out there until last year so I don't know if it's from the drought, the cardboard, the rain, Barack Obama or if it's Tina's fault.

I don't have pill bugs. I guess I sent them all to you. Those gifts were a Trojan horse?

[sunsoaker]

 

[duh]

Well I don't grow cucumbers so I can't comment on that.  So I'll say keep adding your grass clippings to the compost pile cause if anything will keep it hot it's the clippings mix them in well so the entire pile is hot and see if that helps.  I would think that the 160 degrees you can get with a hot pile should discourage just about anything.  I know it really gets my sweat going.

[landofoz]

I would send her to you, Sheri.  But I'm not sure how many holes to poke in the box... 

[bestofour]

I've been adding the grass clippings to the garden.

Sarah, poke just enough holes to keep the cake fresh.  And feed her first so she doesn't eat any.

[Triss]

 

[Dianna]

 

You owe me a monitor, Sheri....

[landofoz]

   

 

Do you want frosting on that cake or just in a tub "on the side" style?

[duh]

I'm sure the garden can spare the grass clippings until you heat up your pile good and hot. 

Why are you putting your clippings in your garden?  Do you mean leaving them on your lawn?

[bestofour]

Tammy I've been putting the clippings in the garden as mulch.  I can throw them in the compost pile but I did get bone meal too. 

[duh]

How do you normally keep your compost hot if your not adding greens?

[bestofour]

 I do add greens.  It's just lately that I've been adding the grass clippings to the garden rows. -  maybe only 3 or 4 times this summer.  I prune and clip green stuff all the time and add to the compost.  I'm pretty sure what has happened is that someone, and I want to say Johnny but he denies it, added a bunch of big limbs and sticks to the pile and it's been really hard to turn.  Especially since I broke my arm.  I've gotten most of those cleaned out I hope and it was turned yesterday after adding the bone meal.  In past years I've been able to use almost the entire pile on the garden in the summer but this summer I've only been able to get a little good, dark, rich, wormy compost out of it.

[duh]

interesting.  I find that the sticks I put in the compost pile help me turn it.  It kind of gives me a handle so I can get a good grip on a good share of it.  Makes turning for me much easier. 

[bestofour]

Some of these sticks are too big and long.

[duh]

I can't remember who told me that anything the diameter of my little finger or small was good but that's the measurement I go by. 

[bestofour]

I've been reading online where people complain that their compost smells bad.  Mine smells like dirt.  What are they doing wrong?  Mine is also full of worms and when I dug potatoes out of the garden that dirt is full of worms too.  I must be doing something right.

[Tina]

Bad smells come from one basic problem, built up gases. That can come from too much animal addition like tossing in meat or too much manure or something. Or not enough air getting into the pile. You are obviously doing it right. Congrats!