Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)

[JackTheGrower]

make a trap. fill a mesh bag with the goodness they love. they will go to it. you simply pull it out and put it in whatever you want to culture them in.

I have so many Jaykush you wouldn't believe it. I spent a lot of scoop time and a lot of scoops removing some material and turning what was left.

The more I work this the more I say let them sit a full season then run worms in the cool of the winter.

 

[jaykush]

oh man my chickens got there first eating of bsf.....they went nuts.

great waste reduction these guys are, too bad its getting cold here now and they wont be around much longer.

 

[JackTheGrower]

oh man my chickens got there first eating of bsf.....they went nuts.

great waste reduction these guys are, too bad its getting cold here now and they wont be around much longer.

Not much longer unless their mound is hot.. Coffee can make a hot mound.

They are the most amazing managers of their environment.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

Chickens will eat as many as you give them. They love the BSFL.

 

[foescan]

They're hard to photograph since they immediately start burrowing when exposed. For a few days after adding to my pile I can literally hear them from five feet away. I thought I got rid of them, but nope, they're still here and stronger than ever. I've been adding some "forbidden" compost items lately. There's not much they won't eat.

 

[JackTheGrower]

They're hard to photograph since they immediately start burrowing when exposed. For a few days after adding to my pile I can literally hear them from five feet away. I thought I got rid of them, but nope, they're still here and stronger than ever. I've been adding some "forbidden" compost items lately. There's not much they won't eat.

Better not let my guys see that.. It looks like a fine restaurant. They are now being asked to eat the deeper decay in the tub. If they see that they will move I figure..

Good job on the photos as well!

 

[foescan]

They get fed like that at least 2x a week. pineapple leaves are the one thing they don't touch, and those take longer than anything else to break down. Banana peels and beets disappear faster than anything else.

Extending several feet in all directions from this pile are delicate networks of fungal hyphae, white webs branching endlessly in their quest for food. the pile is warm in the center, but not much over 100 degrees.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Update 10 - 19 - 2009

Update 10 - 19 - 2009

I'm still with the BSF.. They are a churning mass of fun.
I thought to blog a bit and update.
---------------------------------

I cooked a whole chicken and we picked most of the meat off the carcass. I took it out to the BSF. To watch a chicken skeleton sink beneath the surface in real time is amazing.
I like to cook the cheaper whole fryers on the BBQ and that provides hearts, necks, gizzards and what not as extras so, I cook them and feed them directly to the BSF. They are gone quickly. \
I'm for cooking meat first before I feed it to the BSF. Raw meat makes it smell foul after they eat it. That's a negative for me here.

Just an FYI for those with ultra large masses of BSF larvea who may worry about food levels. I am wanting them to make work of the already decayed or decaying materials from the deep but, a hand full of cheep dry cat food is a boost. If anyone wishes to keep the food volume up in between or maybe ensure a more "complete" food source; if so they may try a cheep brand of dry cat food.



I hope they will eat more of the decayed stuff.. It will be earthworm time soon.

On the leachate side of things; The bucket of bubbling brew continues to churn. A newer thread suggests that we can raise the pH of our brewed liquids with time and an air pump. That's good because the decompositional process can cause a strong acidic liquid to form.

Raise pH naturally.

Since I have been using oyster shell as a pH buffer I can't say for sure what changes have taken place pH wise with air alone but, from the baking soda fizz test it looks like reactivity to base is a lot less now then before.
I would say I have not gone crazy with the oyster shell.
Since this brew gets diluted and that raises pH even more, having the liquid closer to neutral (7.0) or maybe 6.3-6.8 ish is better for a stronger application.

I use the liquid every feeding so it seems to work alright as a part of a liquid mixture.

Also a new sized BSF female is coming around and I think they are from here. Not as small as some that have come here but they are really buff looking. Shiny black almost jet-black with that high sheen of health on them.
They seem to get right to business and are not afraid of me at all.

----

The bioactivity of the microbial life is high in the decaying materials with temperatures of the "composting" materials in the 90's in some places in the container even on a day that is 78.

That's my update how are you doing?

 

[JackTheGrower]

They get fed like that at least 2x a week. pineapple leaves are the one thing they don't touch, and those take longer than anything else to break down. Banana peels and beets disappear faster than anything else.

Extending several feet in all directions from this pile are delicate networks of fungal hyphae, white webs branching endlessly in their quest for food. the pile is warm in the center, but not much over 100 degrees.

I notice raw potato isn't high on the list of stuff they are dieing to eat but they like french fries. Onions go quickly but are not picked first.

We have come home from a buffet a couple times with a take home tray full of everything no one wanted to finish and it was gone in an hour or less.
A huge amount of food each time.

They do eat most everything.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Compost Coffee Brew update.

Compost Coffee Brew update.

So, I assume the small fish tank air pump is a great way to raise the pH on a "compost coffee" brew.

Just by bubbling the liquid the pH will raise from acid towards alkali. I believe I am seeing this with this my first "Compost Coffee" brew ever.

I have added a small tank heater to keep the liquid active and evaporating.

I assume I can store the liquid in old soda 2 liter bottles and it will be good for a long time.

 

[jaykush]

wow.....that is some funky lookin shit. what are your plans for that stuff?

 

[JackTheGrower]

wow.....that is some funky lookin shit. what are your plans for that stuff?

been making a kelp meal brew and mixing BSF CC ( compost coffee) with it and feeding plants.

I figure it's full of nutrients from all the things I added so it can't be bad..

 

[JackTheGrower]

It's getting cold..

It's getting cold..

My BSF's have been transferred to a tub. They have been on cement so that has brought the temperatures down and their activity has been reduced. They are really sluggish and i will assume moving to hibernate.

Soon I will add some worms and split the material into two tubs so I can keep it drying out.

I think I mentioned that i harvested 12 liters of "Compost Coffee" from my brew.. Thinking that kelp meal brew would make a nice buffer I have been mixing that BSF CC with kelp meal brew and that's what I feed my 12 medical immature plants. My library.

So guys what happened to your season? how is it going with your BSF's?

 

[jaykush]

all gone no more bsf too cold. patiently awaiting warmer weather again.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Update.

Update.

They are in a bin and exposed to the full cold.

I'm still looking to get worms but have to see my way clear to get the good stuff..

The Liquid I dubbed "Compost Coffee" has been used with mothers in one Gallon pots and they are doing very well. Stalks are thick and they grow well. I also micronize feed materials.

So anyone else? How did your season go?


Jack

 

[Green&Gold]

I was poking around the internet today and found a blog devoted to BSF composting... http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/ Namaste.

 

[JackTheGrower]

I was poking around the internet today and found a blog devoted to BSF composting... http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/ Namaste.

NP we made note of that earlier in the thread..

On his blog he talks about how it turned anaerobic. These BSF know how to manage things IMO.. The lack of oxygen in the lower is like a heat and food reserve from what I have seen. It's just for humans it can start to smell.

I also found out that once material like that hits oxygen that the aerobics bursts out in activity so that which was stinky cold muck turns to super active hot composting muck even laying on the ground in a small pile.

I also read about the effect in fish farm fish poop harvest circles.

Nice to help nature and help ourselves..

Namaste to you too.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Well the Spring has brought Rain and with that warm weather and now last years larvae are starting to resume their growth after a long cold winter.

I wrote about over wintering them and actually BSF will do all the work to make a mound that is very "anaerobic"

When a pile of material is dominated by anaerobic conditions introduction of air causes a lot of aerobic activity in a hurry. It's my guess that BSF know how to manage a pile of rotting materials to create such a reserve of heat energy.

Anyway the little critters are now moving about and out.. The Rain motivated many of them to flee the container and move to higher ground.

I am going to wait for much warmer days to fine screen the result of last years BSF efforts but if I do little but top dress with this dark and rich material I'm guessing it packs a punch in the plant food way!

IS anyone else planning BSF this year if so I am here to answer what questions I can.

 

[Protocol11]

The thrive in my outhouse box. And they really do work good in keeping the smell at bay.

 

[JackTheGrower]

The thrive in my outhouse box. And they really do work good in keeping the smell at bay.

An actual outhouse?

I would imagine they are ideal for such a thing. They are used in reclaiming pig waste and then they self-harvested for protein meal by climbing out of the pig waste into a container.