A Very Pleasant Surprise

[john gault]

I have a Southern Magnolia that drops seed pods, by the hundreds, every year. I can't ignore them because it's a pain to walk around and when I throw them in my compost pile they get in the way because they're always getting stuck on the prongs of my pitchfork, major pain in the...

So earlier this year I decided to gather them all up and pile them in one place so they'd be out of my way, but still compost. So today I decided to dig into them just to see what it looked like, not expecting much, but to my surprise after only brushing away a couple layers of the pile I hit dirt (this pile started with at least 3 full wheelbarrows of seed pods). Furthermore the dirt/soil was full of worms and was some of the richest dirt I've seen. I couldn't believe it I was expecting these things to take at least a year to decompose. They are hard like a pine cone and about the same size, here's a pic https://www.flickr.com/photos/chenoweth/353030454/

I've always hated these damn pods and dreaded the time of year they fall. Now I can't wait for the magnolia to start dropping them again

[gumbo2176]

I have a Southern Magnolia that drops seed pods, by the hundreds, every year. I can't ignore them because it's a pain to walk around and when I throw them in my compost pile they get in the way because they're always getting stuck on the prongs of my pitchfork, major pain in the...

So earlier this year I decided to gather them all up and pile them in one place so they'd be out of my way, but still compost. So today I decided to dig into them just to see what it looked like, not expecting much, but to my surprise after only brushing away a couple layers of the pile I hit dirt (this pile started with at least 3 full wheelbarrows of seed pods). Furthermore the dirt/soil was full of worms and was some of the richest dirt I've seen. I couldn't believe it I was expecting these things to take at least a year to decompose. They are hard like a pine cone and about the same size, here's a pic https://www.flickr.com/photos/chenoweth/353030454/

I've always hated these damn pods and dreaded the time of year they fall. Now I can't wait for the magnolia to start dropping them again

You've stirred some bad childhood memories in me with that post. The house I lived in from age 1 until I graduated high school had a neighbor that had 2 huge magnolia trees just inside his property line. My father died just prior to my 9th birthday and it fell upon me to keep the yard raked. Those 2 trees rained down leaves and cones almost all year long and I'd fill many bags a week with leaves. It would have been easier with a power mower to shred them, but NO, we only owned an old reel push mower.

When I got into making a small vegetable garden, I'd pile them up and let them compost without really knowing I was doing so. The only problem was with our climate was that the pile attracted just as many cockroaches as it did worms and tossing that pile was an adventure with roaches crawling up the legs, taking flight and landing anywhere on you. It kept my mom and sisters out the yard, so that became my sanctuary-----similar to Quasimodo in "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame".

They do have a very distinct smell, don't they. The blooming Magnolia flowers were the only thing my mom liked about those trees. She'd make me climb a ladder and cut them, being careful to not touch the white petals of the flower to not cause them to discolor.

[PunkRotten]

I remember when I was a kid me and my friends used to rip off those pods and throw them around pretending they were grenades.

[gumbo2176]

I remember when I was a kid me and my friends used to rip off those pods and throw them around pretending they were grenades.

You too!!! I did the same thing since many of my uncles were in WWII and Korea and I grew up on John Wayne war movies as a kid. My, how things seem to be a part of our generation and the way we perceived things.

[john gault]

Yes, I forgot to mention that the cockroaches love them I've even found worms in them as if they were an apple

[rainbowgardener]

euewww! I would be creeped out by lots of big cockroaches, ESPECIALLY if they were on me! At that point I would totally lose my nature-girl attitude and run screaming.

My compost pile always has a few cockroaches, but small ones and one or two, not bunches.

Nonetheless, a compost pile is where they belong, doing their job being part of the process of breaking stuff down. So I never feel bad about the few little cockroaches in my compost pile. By the time the compost is finished, the stuff they like is gone and they have moved on to greener pastures.

But it is part of why my compost pile is AWAY from my house, just so they never decide greener pastures includes my house!

[applestar]

Once composted, it's probably a good idea to blend them in with your other compost.

Another concept is to have separate compost piles, one from vegetable garden waste and another from fruit/nut orchard waste and use veg compost on the orchard and vice versa. This is supposed to help reduce disease contamination.

Other separate compost pile concepts include intentionally pro-fungal vs. intentionally pro-bacterial piles and intentionally lower vs. higher pH piles (although pH tends to even out, slightly higher and slightly lower can make all the difference)

[PunkRotten]

I remember when I was a kid me and my friends used to rip off those pods and throw them around pretending they were grenades.

You too!!! I did the same thing since many of my uncles were in WWII and Korea and I grew up on John Wayne war movies as a kid. My, how things seem to be a part of our generation and the way we perceived things.

I had those little plastic army men, and I think the German soldiers some had grenades. The German grenades had handles on them and those magnolia pods would look just like the grenades.

[garudamon11]

euewww! I would be creeped out by lots of big cockroaches, ESPECIALLY if they were on me!

I would probably faint if that happened to me

[cynthia_h]

Once you've lived in Panama, Florida (old building), and Atlanta (more old, wood-framed buildings), then Oakland, CA (another old, wood-framed building), cockroaches are just another nuisance, like houseflies or something.

I learned, *finally*! not to turn the lights on in any room in Atlanta or Oakland unless I *also* had my vacuum cleaner in my hand, ready for action. Once it's clear that war has been declared on the sanctity of my kitchen/home, no more creepiness, eek'ing, or anything. A major line has been crossed, and I will kill to drive the enemy back from my territory. The vacuum cleaner is a great weapon of mass removal!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[john gault]

Luckily I don't have roach problems in my house; I know this because I always do sunday cleaning in my kitchen in which I move things like the stove/refrigerator, ect... and never see any, nor any remains/evidence.

I also had a leak a while ago in which I had to tear out a wall, which also require a lot of moving stuff, never found any. However, I will once in a while find a straggler in my back utility room, alway catch and release into my compost.

But I do remember as a little kid having german cockroaches https://www.saviortpc.com/german_roach.html invade our house, those things are awful; I think much worse than these "monsters" down here. I'm not saying they're not down here, but I've never seen those in my compost pile. And I really don't want to, those things scarred me for life.

[Runningtrails]

I grew up in Memphis and lived there when we were first married for a couple of years in an old apartment building. I know what you mean about battling the cockroaches. We used to have a small dog that loved to eat them and considered that her part of the battle. When we turned on the light, they were all over the walls and she would take off and gobble up as many as she could catch, every time! I swear we never had to feed that dog!

I'm sure glad we don't have them up here!

I love magnolias!

[applestar]

Somewhere along the way the conversation turned to very UNpleasant surprises....