A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Organically Speaking... Evicted

I went out to turn the compost pile and guess what I found...ants had moved in. Considering that I do turn it pretty often I'm very suprised to find them there. Would squiring dishsoap on them make them go away? There is a huge megalopolis of ants there. It isn't just a colony we are taking massive invasion here.

I have some too.I've let them stay....as they are kinda composting.I posted about this last year.I removed the part that had them& had a pile with and a pile without.But my pile with them was composting faster.The only REAL problem I have is when am in flip flops....and turn pile...and they find my toes....I do the ant dance.slap shoes on ground(and on feet too)I see them more when add fish guts/remains/dead minnows to my compost,but if I add too much manure...they die(pile heats up& steams kinda) mine don't useually take over the whole pile...just a portion.

Currently....my pile of useable stuff has been all sifted,so I'm out of compost again& Im doing the weed and fork pile back where just sifted it from.I did veggies on old portion of compost pile last year.They liked that.Then when frost hit....I just piled compost back on veggie garden.I'm glad old bromiliad leaves compost well& all my fishing stringers have been found(you guessed it....compost pile recovery of lost treasure..HAHAAHA)

lol that's a good one. That's interesting that the one with ants composts faster.

I've been finding all kinds of bugs in my compost. Some big white grubs that I throw out in the middle of the parking lot for the cars to run over, the ants, worms of course and they are allowed to stay. and those little armodillo bugs. They are allowed to stay too.

I heard, somewhere, that ants are are really good for organizing the nutrients. That it makes it easier for the plants to absorb or something like that.

Tammy, can you mail me some ants for my pile? All of it's carbon is whole leaves from last fall and it's slow-goings! Anything that would speed it up. "Here, anty-anty-anty! Come to my compost pile!"

Well they seem to have gotten upset about being disturbed but I'm sure they will show up somewhere. I have some red ones that don't sting and some black ones with white butts. Or at least that's what it looks like without my glasses.

If your whole leaves are giving you problems let it dry out and then crunch them up. It sounds like your pile is alittle to moist. But I only started composting a little while ago so I'm not that sure of my info. Weezie is the pro.

You know the first complete year I didn't get all that much compost. But the second year I got a really nice load so it is a game of patience.

Yup. I told DH that I wasn't expecting any compost until next spring. I won't be the least bit surprised if I'm right. I got a lot of rabbit poop (a little more than a 5 gallon bucket), lots of table scraps and because I have so much free time, I do my weeding, cut off the weed-roots and put them on bare spots in the lawn near the pile, and then put the rootless, green tops, into the pile.

I just turned my pile, to be honest, just the top half. What is all the grey/whitish ash in it? It almost looks like ashes but maybe just a mold/fungus? It is getting pretty hot. It's uncomfortable to put my hand in it.

The white/greyish ash is the green decomposing and it does get hot. I wondered the first time I saw it too. It means the pile is working the way it is suppose to.

Believe me it took me two days to turn my pile this time so I understand what you mean. The nice thing about it is that the green shrinks pretty fast when it is working so it won't be as much work next time.

tk- Ants are in your compost pile because it isn't moist enough. Keep the contents so they are as moist as a wrung out sponge. When you squeeze a handful of the materials it should be damp feeling, this would apply to taking a handful from anywhere in the pile.

Thanks herbalyn, I'm a disabled older person and I have to hand water and I live on the second floor. So my compost pile has to fend for itself most of the time. I'm happy if I can keep my garden watered.

Thankyou very much for the advice though.

Land - Your compost pile is to dry and needs a better mix of brown to green. Add a few shovels of soil to the pile and get moisture into the middle of it. It is so hot it is close to burning if you are finding ash. Compost piles do catch on fire if they get to hot and have no moisture in the middle. If you let ash form in your pile you are in effect killing all the beneficals in the pile that do the composting.

If the compost pile was to moist it would not be working and would smell badly. A pile of brown material is never going to break down to compost without moisture, heat from the sun and greens. Add moisture, keep the pile turned, cover it so the sun can work and when you cannot put you hand comfortably in the center of the compost pile its to hot. Get water into it and turn the entire pile.

Make small layers of brown, add a shovel of soil, some moisture - a layer of green, a shovel of soil, some moisture, and keep repeating to about 2 feet high. Cover the pile, have it in sun and keep the moisture level correct, you will have good compost rather quickly. Turn the pile as often as you can. The more raw materials you add to the pile the longer it will take to break down. Do you have room to make several piles? One big pile is so hard to turn and mix well. Much better if you have the room to have several smaller heaps that are easy to turn and in varying stages of breaking down.