[Dryerase] AGR Green Wash
Shawn G
dr_broccoli at hotmail.com
Thu Sep 5 14:55:51 CDT 2002
Asheville Global Report
www.agrnews.org
Start Worm Composting
By Shawn Gaynor
Asheville, North Carolina, Sept.4 (AGR) By now it seems like most people
know about recycling. This by now means is to say that everyone recycles
everything that is recyclable, but rather that it is in the mass
consciousness of our culture that recycling is generally a good idea and a
benefit to the environment. It reduces the amount of garbage that ends up in
landfills, reduces impact on forests and mines, and saves fuel by having to
put less energy into processing raw materials.
Likewise, composting seems to have largely entered the mass consciousness as
a way to reduce waste. However many people, although they know that
composting and building soils from your food waste, helps make the world
more fertile, reduces our dependencies on the chemical industry (who
provides fertilizers), and counters the massive top soil loss happening
worldwide, still dont do it. Of course they have all kinds of reasons;
however, one that seems to come up often is that they have no space for a
big pile of compost in their apartment, or small yard. Well, if youre one
of these people, worm composting is for you. In just a few easy steps that
you can take on any evening of your life, you can begin worm composting.
Youll need a few things to start. First is a bin. It should have a lid
that sits on it, but is not airtight. I recommend the retail shipping bin
myself. It has a hinged lid and is about two feet by two and a half feet by
one foot deep--the perfect size for an apartment worm compost. They are the
milk crate of the new millennium. Plastic makes it easy to clean, and it
needs only one major alterationthat a few dozen ¼ inch holes be drilled in
the bottom for it to drain. Drain?
Your worm compost is going to produce worm castings. As fertilizers go this
is top notch. It should be diluted before using on your house or garden
plants. To catch the castings, you will want to elevate the bin (with
bricks, tin cans, other post-industrial waste) and have a tray beneath
that catches the castings. A worn out Tupperware dish or baking sheet should
work fine.Before adding your worms, the bin should have some starter soil
(maybe an inch of it) in it and some bedding to regulate moisture. Old card
board or newspapers shredded up works just fin. The bedding should go on
top of the dirt and fill the bin more then halfway.
Now time for the worms. Lots are better. Some sources say about two
thousand for a box this size, but you can start with a couple of containers
from the local bait shop. Red worms are the ones youre looking for. They
are common and voracious eaters. Adding new bedding every so often will
keep the box from smelling. It can be kept beneath a sink for easy access,
or in a garage, basement or other underutilized space.
Now its time to feed the worms your garbage. Dont put in dairy or meat, as
these will attract pests, bugs, smell and a general aura of evil. A bin
this size should be good for a household, however if you started with less
worms, you need to let them multiply by feeding them steadily without
filling up the bin. The food waste should be mixed in. One worm composter
I know blends the waste for faster consumption by the worms. Worms like it
between 40 and 80 degrees and moist but not wet, so make sure theyre
getting what they want.
For more information on worm composting visit look up worm composting on the
Internet, or in your local library. The following Internet sites will be
very useful: www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html,
www.cfe.cornell.edu/compost/worms/basics.html,
www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/AppalFor/bins.html or your local library. Also the
book Worms Eat My Compost by Mary Appelhof provides many helpful insights
and facts.
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