Bay Branch Farm » worms eat my garbage

Local worms

Annabel — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:05:31 +0000

We recently met an awesome couple that keeps an outdoor worm bin right in Ohio City! Curious about their process and reeling from a major fruit fly infestation in our indoor bin, we decided to learn more. The couple has a 3 bin system that they rotate about once a month. The worms do all the work and they reap the rewards. They’ve even gotten the neighbors involved in composting, which is so cool! Part of the reason it seems to work is because the bins are pretty well protected, situated between two houses so they are nicely protected from the elements. Although most of what we’ve read indicates worms need to be kept between 55 and 75 degrees in order to survive, the owners say their worms lived through last winter.

Well, we are going to try it….no more fruit flies for us!

Current bin to which food scraps and leaves are added

Fully composted materials and worm castings. Check out their nicely built structure!

The couple responsible for this system! Bags of leaves in last bin were collected from tree lawn (otherwise they would have been sent to landfill!).

Rain barrel system right next to compost pile.

Oatey diverter taps into the downspout and connects to the rain barrels.

how to make compost tea

Annabel — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:18:21 +0000

Making compost tea is similar to making a cup of tea…..simply steep your compost in water and voila! We scoured the internet for resources on this and found many different methods…..this is how we chose to do it.

Materials needed:

container (5 gal. bucket or rubbermaid container)
air pump (buy at your local pet store)
tubing for air pump
finished compost (either from worm bin or compost)
molasses
old sock or pantyhose

How to set up:

collect your compost. we used worm poop from our worm bin.
measure out your compost (~2 cups for every 5 gal. of water) and put into your sock or pantyhose and tie off the ends.
add water to your container (if you are using tap water, let it sit overnight to allow chlorine to evaporate. the chlorine can destroy the good bacteria in the compost)
set up your air pump and immerse ends in water
add your compost-filled sock (we tied the sock to a dowel and used the dowel to hold the compost sock in place – see pic below)
add 2 tbs. molasses (1 tbs for every 5 gal. of water). this provides food source for beneficial microorganisms
turn on the air pump and let it steep for 24-48 hours
after it has steeped, add the tea to your plants (put in spray bottle and apply directly to foliage or add to soil as if watering)
the compost can be reused (add to your potting soil or put back in your compost pile)

harvesting worm poop

compost in sock

compost steeping to make tea

worm bin upgrade

Annabel — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:25:06 +0000

recently we upgraded our worm bin to a tiered system, sometimes referred to as a flow through system. we started based on these plans, but modified to what we had…..worms are not all that picky. i’d like to modify it with a drain to easily get the “tea” from the bottom bin.

here’s how we built the new bin for vermicomposting:

materials

3 rubbermaid (or $6 bob’s plastics) containers
scrap 2 x 4′s
drill
utility knife
screws and washers
screen

how to make it

attach 2′x4′s to sides of 2 of the plastic containers with screws. the purpose here is to create some space between each container when you place them together.
drill holes in the bottom of 2 of the 3 containers with a drill bit (about 1/4″). this allows the worms to travel from one bin to another.
cut out part of the top of one of the bins and replace with mesh screen to allow airflow
place the bins together, 1 inside the other
place soaked shredded paper or leaves inside the bin and add a handful of dirt and your worms (red wigglers)
continue to add veggie/organic scraps to the bin and cover with the wet paper
the holes in the first bin allow compost tea to drop into the base container
as the 2nd container fills with scraps, add soaked paper to the 3rd (top) bin and begin adding your organic wastes to the top bin. the holes in the bottom allow the worms to travel up to where the food is making collection of worm castings easier

see pictures for a better idea of how we made our bin…..

Worm bin upgrade

vermi what? or worms eat my garbage…..

Annabel — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:12:55 +0000

worm bin covered with black plastic

since last year, we have had a home-built wooden box about 4′ x 2′ by 6″ high on the floor of our basement. we built this to experiment with vermicomposting–using worms to compost our organic waste. having read the book, worms eat my garbage by Mary Appelhof, we decided to give it a shot since our compost pile outside seemed to be too far to schlep during the cold winter months. the process is actually not that hard once you get the worms going and get over the fact that you actually have worms in your basement. in our case, no rogue worms have gotten out of the bin and the whole set up is not offensive to the olfactory senses. so, how did we set it up:

materials needed

wooden or plastic bin (with airholes drilled in the sides and bottom)
shredded newspaper
dirt
worms, of the red wiggler variety
food compost (no meat, oils or dairy)

worm bin with food waste

food waste covered with shredded paper

shred newspaper (we used a store-bought shredder) and soak in water for 5-10 minutes. wring out excess water and spread paper in your bin. mix in a couple of handfuls of dirt. add your worms (we put in about 500 worms to start). then we added food waste about once a week. the ratio of paper to food waste should be about 70 / 30. the worms eat the compost and the paper and leave behind worm castings, which are hands down the best garden fertilizer going!

other good sites to reference include:

six steps to set up worm bin
Composting Your Organic Kitchen Wastes with Worms

benefits

keeps food waste out of landfills
produces the best organic matter for your garden
it’s cool to see the full life cycle of the veggie waste from our garden help next year’s crop flourish

did you say poop?

Annabel — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:52:24 +0000

in our continuous search for all things garden-related, we have come across so many important inputs on craigslist….it’s our favorite place to shop! latest find is free manure for the garden. that’s right, dear reader, your food (if it’s grown locally… generally speaking) is not grown in chemicals or by chemicals, but by that all important and often neglected ingredient – dried, decomposed shit! and in our case, we use worm poop, which comes from our vermicomposting operation in the basement. don’t tell the inlaws when they come a-visiting or they won’t stay too long, but when we sneak down in the basement with a full container of compost, the worms are one happy set of slimy creatures!

on the manure side, the important thing to remember is to make sure it is good and dry, otherwise, it may burn your plants. dried manure is rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and also generally contains straw (finely masticated straw), which helps retain water in the soil. based on my research, you should only use the manure from herbivorous animals (cows, horses, chickens are all great options).

so, in the coming weeks, hopefully, we will be calling the generous person on craigslist who has advertised free manure and loading up for placing in our garden this fall. also, this should be fine for over winter and good and ready for spring planting, no tilling in required. will keep you posted on how it all works out!