compost to be used indoors
 

Anne wrote:

Could anyone advise me how to prepare compost for use in the house for
indoor plants? There are bugs and flies and I would prefer not to
bring them in. Thank you.

Rather than compost for potted plants, I strongly suggest my
home-made potting mix. See
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html.

The problem with compost is not with the bugs. It's the fact that
it keeps decomposing and shrinking. You can't merely add more
compost to the top of a pot because that will eventually bury the
plant's crown and may cause the plant to rot and die. Instead, you
must repeatedly remove the plant and add more compost to the bottom
and sides of the pot.

My mix does use some compost because it contains the microbes
necessary to convert the nutrients (e.g., blood meal and bone meal)
into forms that plant roots can absorb. However, the main
constituents are sand (which does not decompose) and peat moss
(which decomposes very slowly). Also, my mix will not become
waterlogged, which can be a problem with fine compost.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/