I did a bad, bad thing

I have a number of those large plastic totes (5+ gallon size? ) in which I mostly store soil amendments. Keep these in my garage. No problem. A few months ago I was planting some ferns in a mostly ignored area of my yard when suddenly weather changed to very strong gusts of wind. Perhaps 8 feet from where I was exists a rotting wood fence and I thought it was going to fall and hit me on the head. I hurriedly looked for stuff that might help prop up the fence. And yes, I lugged some of the totes over b/c they were heavy enough to help prop up. It must have been May when Dallas got a year's worth of rain. Ok, long backstory.

About 2 weeks ago I wanted to remind myself of what the contents of each tote was. I lifted a lid and saw maggots galore and a tote full of liquid smelling to high heaven. Nothing solid, only liquid. Turns out that the lid had cracked a little, letting in the rain. I was able to determine that the tote had originally contained a large bag of dried molasses. My question is what to do with this nasty, foul-smelling liquid? I can't dump it out in place. Should I just slowly scoop out small amounts of it and find a places that might like it? Or???

I would dump it and let the sun dry out any mushy stuff. If it still smells after the sun has worked its magic then I'd scoop it up and throw it out - either trash or compost.

Thx hcmcdole. To clarify, are you suggesting to dump the liquid (maggots are gone) in one place as the first thing to do?

If so, my 'yes, but' is that it is next to an at least 75 yr old Red Oak tree and I'm worried about damaging it.

Yes, that is what I am suggesting. A 75 year old oak has probably been through a lot worse than some spoiled water.

I never heard of dried molasses as a soil amendment but since molasses is mostly sugar with some trace things in it (Blackstrap can be a source of iron), it doesn't sound so bad. I suppose you could get in a situation of too little nitrogen for the decomposition of the carbohydrate, but if you spread it around right before a big rainstorm it is hard to see how it would do much harm. I guess if you dumped it all in one place the high osmolarity could mess things up for a plant. Another theoretical-the high sugar content of jam is why we can keep it unrefrigerated, germs don't like such a high sugar content. Anyway all these potential theoretical problems are solved by spreading it widely, and diluting it.
Here is an idea. Find a Fire Ant Hill and pour it in there!That could be satisfying.
I have on occasion got some manure that was inadequately composted, so it smells to high heaven. But spreading it out in the garden anyway with a day or two and some rain takes care of the odor.

How many thousands of gallons of gunk does it take to kill a 75 year old oak tree, Peter Piper asked.

I like the Kill Fire Ants idea...

i dont know how ants come????
Find a Fire Ant Hill and pour it in there!That could be satisfying.
I have on occasion got some manure that was inadequately composted, so it smells to high heaven. But spreading it out in the garden anyway with a day or two and some rain takes care of the odor.
For more related information - http://bankerstalk.com/subjects/english/important-idioms-and-phrases-list-beginning-with-e

Yes, dried molasses can be used for fire ants. Not sure if it kills them or just runs them off.

The reason that I had my stash of dried molasses is b/c it's good for the soil and all the little microbes in it. Stimulates the microbial activity. But don't know if there might be too much of a good thing.

I have been slowly dumping this out. Can only do so much at a time b/c of the awful, disgusting, nothing-redeemable-about-it smell in conjunction with the temperature. Yesterday was 101 and today was 102. I am getting closer to the bottom and in some ways it's worse. Not all of the molasses liquified and that has left large clumps resembling baby poop. Didn't mean to do it, but I really did a bad, bad thing!

Thanks all for your comments / thoughts.

ah the foibles of gardening! reminds me of a hilarious post from someone who went for spent grain/hops/something from a brewing operation.

go here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/772320/?hl=beer

This message was edited Jul 30, 2015 11:19 PM

Foibles indeed!

Here's a quote from Howard Garrett that explains dry/dried molasses. 'Dry molasses isn’t dried molasses. It’s a grain residue carrier, such as bits of soy meal, that is sprayed and covered with liquid molasses. It’s an excellent carbon source that stimulates beneficial microorganisms. And, it repels fire ants. Apply to soil for landscaping at 20 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. for ideal results.'

Since the remains are mostly wet large clumps, think I'll try to spread them around. Weather permitting. :D