photo source: http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com
Worm Composting
Quotes:
Fred Kirschenmann
"soil is the connection to ourselves...the way to peace with environment. it is the common ground to which we all stand."
"role of soil & worms in our livelihood"
Amy Stewart - The Earth Moved - soil & worms
Teaching -
Basics:
Worm Composting
Backyard Composting
definitions: Vermaculture - commercial growing and raising of red worms to sell to home composters
Goals for vermaculture - is to produce more worms
Vermicomposting:
Method of composting using earth worms to breakdown earth matter -
goal is to make the fertiziler part of compost.
divert waste from the land fill. specifically SF -
75% waste aversion by 2010. Right now at 72%
Compost - definition - depending on the context
Soil -
Compost is a part of soil - the end product from the decomposition of organic matter
Castings - worm poo (worm manure)
Vermicompost or Worm Compost - combination of castings decaying in organic matter and micro-organisms associated with decomposition.
Agriculture happens b/c of worms
Comes back to worms (the health of soil largely dep. on the presence of worms)
Worm poo more refined than chicken poo
Worm castings the champaigne of poop
Poop is rich in nutrients
High quality compost, better than backyard compost
Worms aerate;
worms - "guts of the soil" - essential to the livelihood & fertility of the soil
Saves you money - don't have to buy ammendmants for your soil; helps with the garbage problem
30-40% of our waste - organic matter over 1/2 is food scraps - the primary food for the worms - worm composting - helps with the garbage issue
Large Farms ? - labor intensive - don't even make their own compost
composting - essential to the livelihood of a functioning ecological system
why would i do -
worm composting - primary waste is food scraps
backyard bin vs. worm bin - based on what you have
1 lbs of worms - 1000 worms worms eat a half of their body weight and thus food scraps each day
self-regulating (population) and are able to compact with bigger food scraps
worm composting - a lot faster and a lot less labor intensive than backyard composting
Different Types of Worms -
over 6K known species of earth worms - raning in size dep. on habitat. 10" long and 1/2" diam. (average)
In the wild - most worms - lifecylce 1 year; 4-5 years in a worm bin
worst predator - human insecticides (chemical feritil., insecticides, herbicides, pesticides)
3 types of worms
Litter Dwellers- Leaf Litter
Shallow Dweller - The red worm /
The red wriggler - can be used in a worm bin; the one that is most recommended; the most adaptable to temp, moisture, acidity, faster reproducers, and fast digesters
Deep Burrowers - 18 inches and below soil surface e.g. Night Crawlers (earth worker); burrow the tunnels under the soil, and aerate, (not for vermicomposting) but for aerating
Anatomy of the Worm - don't have lungs; both sexes, 5 hearts
Look up - Green Porno - ?
No brain, no eyes- sensory organs on the outside of their bodies; light sensing cells
Use a gizzard -
Posterior / Anterior - head / tail - swollen ring closer to their mouth
Reproduction - offspring in 2 months
Process - mate 2-3 hours - exchange sperm lining up side by side, sperm travels through sperm grooves few days where they peel off the cocoon that stores the sperm - egg (2-3 days after comes the cocoon)
amazing capacity to multiply; if you create conducive climate
by 2 months ready to reproduce - live to eat & reproduce
8 adult worms produce 1500 offspring in 6 months; every 3 or 4 days getting jiggy
A species Can't cross reproduce - 1 kind of worm
Creating a Worm Habitat - for Composting
A little goes a long way - the castings are packed with nutrients - recommended use for
transplanting & seedlings
greenhouse potting mixes
top dressing - dist. compost on the top layer
better for smaller scale things
hard to get that volume of worm compost for the purpose of turning a bed
not bad for soil, but inefficient - better to use chicken manure for that volume
storing worm compost - ?
not getting air becomes anaerobic - bad bacteria for plants
best place to store is in the worm bin - easier to accept the nutrients
space btwn leaf litter & soil - is where they thrive
A. Different Bin Types:
rubbermaid tubs
two feet by two feet trays - stack them up (starters)
drainage holes no bigger than 1/4"
depth of 18 inches
wood dries out a lot quicker - breath through skin environment
need moisture to be able to breath
rule of thumb- keep the moisture of the consistency a rung out sponge 50-60%
plastic retains moisture better;
secure lid is critical
2 sqr feet of surface area per person - helpful if you're building your bin
B. Location
moderate temperature
outside pref in shade
indoors basement or garage -
keeping in kitchen
worms eat my garbrage
SF - deal with temp range of SF not below 50deg
prefer nothing hotter than 80/85 degrees
add dry newspaper or bedding (?)
bring inside when it's cold & rainy or put a tarp on top if you're leaving outside
bacterial decomp that increase the temperature (other decomposers) - natures FBI fungus - bacteria - invertebrates - all those things present in decomposition no matter where it is
C. Bedding -
black & white newspaper stay away from color & glossy magz
all bay area papers - soy based ink
keeps the environment moist and dark for worms
covered sheltered
cool dark damp - the threes - the bedding creates that environment
provides fiber for the worms
covers food scraps - exposed food scraps invites rats, rodents, molds, fruit flies
on the bottom for worms & on top for food scraps
shred & reserve
paper towels
cartons
or just food scraps
newspapers -
high nitrogen & compact - get anarobic conditions ; bedding allows for air channels - for worms & finished product (necessary)
newspapers -
air channels
carbon
soaks up the moisture
straw
dried leaves
compost - jonathan? - ask
they eat the bacteria that they're feeding on -
fluffy
moist - consistency of a wrung out sponge
and one inch -
don't put -
D. Feeding & Worms - lbs of worms - 1bs of food scraps
add handful of food scraps and let it sit for at least 3-4 weeks ' wait till the parent form of the scraps are decomposing
What you want to feed your worm -
raw vegan diet
egg shells crushed
coffee grounds
tea bags
no meat, dairy or bread, oils,
citrus, onions, garlic - stinky
1 football field and 15 feet deep of trash per day!
Municipal compost -
E. Other Decomposers
Mites
Mold
Pill bugs?
Fruit Flies - not bad ; but annoying - trick put balsamic vinegar skinny neck bottle
shredded & solid sheet on top to keep out fruit flies
F. Harvesting Your Castings - 6 months from when you start -
9 months to a year
harvest (pull everything at least once a year (2x a year) - the more often the better for your garden
several methods - dump & sort method - stop feeding them for a few weeks - dump out all contents on a sunny day - they go inward b.c they are light sensitive -
go through and scrape of the castings
very time intensive; want to have 10 people over
half a bin -
about half way full - stop feeding - add another bin- migration of worms takes a month
sift the castings through a screen
ongoing process - the harvest; will not be done all at one time
one floor bin - divide in quadrants / half - feeding on one side for 2 weeks and alternate; to avoid the piling of foods
harvest - feed to one side for a few weeks, the castings on the other side - will have the worms move and then get the castings
worm castings great for container garden
making tea method
using colander to make the worm tea - get it specifically for composting
liquid fertilizer for the garden
Compost Worm Tea -
WORM TEA
bottom tray collector tray - drain out the water - worm tea for you right there
use it pretty quickly; don't want it sitting around too long - anarobic check your collector tray frequently drain it
use the tea within 24 hours
adding air pump preserves it
Steps to building the worm bin
Wriggly Wranch -
First layer of bedding - cardboard
building the bottom tray
building block - coconut fiber
2-3x a week feeding
Maintenance -
Blair's routine
1/4 yogurt container
banana
apples
vegetable trimmings
add 1x week
shred newspaper and add every time - add dry paper bedding on top
worm tea= strain into a small container - dilute - ratio 10 to 1 mild cup of tea
inch of worm poo and 10 inches of water - makes tea
harvest at least once a year
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