Worm Bin Composting

New Blog

2010-01-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

I have a new blog hosted on my domain VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Come on over and see me -

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/WormTalk

See you there.

Let's Talk Shit! I Mean Manure :)

2009-10-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Manure is my bedding of choice for starting a worm bin.

I mean, think about it. What is the other name for red worms...manure worms.

You dig around in a healthy pile of composted manure, no matter what kind and you are going to find red worms.

So let's look at some guidlines about manure if that is a route you want to take.

Any type of manure will do - horse, cow, pig, llama, alpaca, rabbit, zoo doo... Stay away from domesticated animal and bagged retail manure.

If the source is questionable (ie. medicines or other ingredients otherwise not natural) then you will want to let the manure set for 6 months.

Non-composted manure or fresh manure should not be used for bedding. The main reason is because the bedding will start heating up and this will surely kill your worms.

Manure that has been removed from stalls should not be used as this will contain high concentrations of urine and salts. Worms will not like that.

When I set up my manure for composting I build a three sided bin out of old pallets and pile the manure inside. This creates a pile much like a conventional compost pile and will allow the material to heat up, killing pathogens and weed seeds.

I try to control the moisture in the pile much like that of a conventional compost pile as well. If needed I will cover the pile to prevent too much moisture leaching out nuturients or creating an anaerobic condition in the bottom of the pile.

You'll notice when a pile is fresh there aren't too many other critters hanging out. Once these other critters start moving in I figure it's ready for the worms.

With a new bin started with manure, you don't mix it up too much or you will get active composting happening. Just add food stock the first three months in small amounts, then you can start layering in different bedding material. Always be mindful of composting. Things can get real hot real fast and fry all the inhabitants.

Other bedding materials I layer in after the first 3 months - shredded newspaper, leaves, grass clippings (sparingly).

Has this created more questions than answers for you. Send them to me and we will answer them together.

Happy worming,

Christy Ruffner
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

Worm Factory® 360

New product online now

Gonna...Get...Caught...up!

2009-10-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have so many emails from all of you asking questions, needing answers, looking for solutions...and you know what? I haven't been able to get back to any of you.

Lots of reasons all dealing with a little thing called life. But I promise!!! I will be setting aside a whole day (fingers crossed), Friday to personally write each and every one of you.

Many of your questions are so good that I am simply going to have to write a blog post for the benefit of everyone.

So have heart folks... I have not foresaken any of you. I will be in touch.

Christy

Wet Bin Delimma

2009-09-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

I recently had a fellow wormer write me asking how to take care of a wet bin problem.

I have an excellent series of two videos that shows how I handle rejuvenating a bin that had a soggy tray and sludge in the bottom collection tray. You can watch it on my YouTube channel here.

This wormer had added food waste to the bin that was frozen, likely overdoing things. If you are using frozen food waste I wouldn't put the food waste into the bin frozen unless you have a heat problem. Otherwise, let the food waste thaw and drain before adding to the bin.

Otherwise, here is my answer to her questions:

First make sure you solve the reason why you're bin is too wet...

Do you have adequate drainage in the bottom of the bin?

Is your bin elevated so it does not sit in the moisture and air can circulate to the drainage holes in the bottom of the bin?

Are you over feeding/over watering?

Have you had a die off of worm population?

Make sure you answer each of these questions adequately.

If you have adequate drainage in the bottom of the bin and you have identified why you have a moisture problem I would proceed to remove excess moisture by placing DRY newspaper strips in the bottom of the bin, stir the bottom portion (where it is the wettest to incorporate air into the bedding and add a well moisten layer of fresh bedding to the top of the bin if needed for the worms to move up into.

How does things smell? If it stinks you might want to consider getting the worms out and getting rid of the toxic mess at the bottom of the bin. The bad bacteria will kill your worms if you don't get things back into balance.

Always follow your nose and the condition of the worms when trying to decide if you have a problem in your worm bin.

Happy worming :)

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

What to do About the Yucky Muck!

2009-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

First thing is, watch the above video! There is a part two on my YouTube channel

Next thing I would do is start a new tray and if the material in your existing tray appears to be fully composted I would go ahead and move them out of that/those trays into the fresh tray.

If you have a healthy population of worms in the existing trays, I would go ahead and use that material. If it is exceedingly wet I would work the material daily with my hands to incorporate air into the material until it is of a workable texture.

The sludge in the bottom collection tray...what you do with that depends on the condition of the material. Again, if it is full of worms I would scoop out the worms and add them to the fresh tray. The sludge can then be used. I would simply dig a trench in the garden along the root zone of your tomatoes (they love worm castings), pour/place the sludge in the trench and cover with earth or compost.

If however, there are NO worms and the material stinks, I would dispose of it.

Unless you have a microscope and know what you are looking for, there is no way to know if the material you have accumulated anywhere in your worm compost bin is healthy, except by the population of worms, how happy they are, and the smell of the material. The beneficial life in your compost is microscopic and can not be determined by the naked eye.

Happy worming :)

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

In the Heat of the Summer

2009-06-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

A new friend of mine on Facebook asked me this question...

I live in Mount Washington, and, unfortunately, have no shade for our house, or yard. I want to have worms to take care of our green waste, but I'm afraid, in the heat of summer, they will die. At its worst, our house averages 95 degrees, even in the kitchen. I'm worried it will kill any red worms I might cultivate. When the weather is favorable, what can I do?

Heather, Here's my advise. First, understand that even in 95 degree weather in the house the ambient temperature of the worm bin will be cooler, as long as you are careful with your bedding and food stock that you do not get any active composting going on.

I would start with a tower compost bin like the Can-O-Worms which you can find on my website. This tower, when all trays are active, will give you a great surface area to feed your worms without the mass of a larger bin that might heat up when food waste is added to the bedding. (Note: you still need to be careful, but with separate trays available for the worms to migrate into, there is less of a chance you will accidently fry your worms.)

Second suggestion, if you want to compost outside, I would first consider proximity to a water source, electricy and the need for you to keep a watchful eye in hot weather. Make sure your bin is out of any prevailing wind, erect an arbor to grow your own shade, set up a misting system to keep the surface of the bin moist without drowning the bin and a small fan to move air over the surface of the bin. The air movement will cool the bin like a cool breeze cools you in the heat of summer.

I hope this helps all of you to worm bin compost no matter what your conditions are.

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

Can Different Worm Species Co-exist in the Same Environment?

2009-05-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

These red worms are in a bed of shredded newspaper.

A question I was just asked recently that I get alot is whether you can use the worms you find in your garden or lawn in the worm bin. This most recent question asked if they could co-exist with the red worms.

Please be aware that the worms you find in your garden or lawn are soil dwellers and red worms are composting worms dwelling in piles of organic matter such as leaves, manure, rotting grass clippings, compost piles, etc.

As such these worms each have their own requirements for their environment that are very different. These worms do not naturally co-habitate. Even if you find them in the same area around a pile of organic matter, the soil dwellers are at the soil level and the compost worms are in the organic matter. This is the only situation where these two organic consumers will co-habitate. Soild dwellers will not thrive in a worm bin. They are not deep enough to provide the soil dweller with area to burrow.

One way to have each of the lovely creatures in the same area is to dig a hole and fill it with organic material. This would provide the best of both worlds for each of the worms, and the area could be heavily mulched to provide cover for the colder winter months. (That's for all of us wormers in the North.) The material in the hole would need to be removed and replaced with fresh organic material to keep your red worm composters happy and in place. Otherwise, they will go looking for fresh organic material if you do not provide it for them.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

For now, happy worming however you decide to do it.

Christy

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

DIY Worm Bin 101

2009-05-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the video I did to show you just how easy it is to build your own worm bin. Get started with something simple like this and use the experience to stimulate some ideas on other ways to worm bin compost.

Have fun!

Christy
The Wormn Lady
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

First Harvest

2009-04-23T07:32:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how well you can see the worms all congregated in the corner of the bin, but that is about what it seemed like I had left in the worm bin after winter. My first peek in the bin on March 20th, the first day of spring, left me sad and full of regrets that I was not able to properly tend the bins before winter hit hard. I truly thought this was going to be the year I would have to consolidate all the worms into one bin and repopulate.

But I harvested my first pound of worms last night. And they were plentiful, fat, mating, and as I worked my way through the material there were lots of fresh cocoons. My bins are once again on the rebound and will be supplying me with a steady supply of worms and finished product.

With that being said, I have a DIYS worm bin to build. I will be filming and showing you just how easy it is to build your own worm bin.

Till next time,

Happy worming. What do you have planned for being green in the next year?

Christy
VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Moving Material

2009-04-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

One aspect of a worm bin is what to do with the material after the worms have worked it and need fresh bedding. This is some of the most awesome stuff on earth! Seriously, if you are a gardener you will be in heaven when your bins get to the point that they need regular fresh bedding.

The container in this picture is one of the Large kiddie wadding pools you can pick up every year at KMart, or any such store. I have a number of them I have salvaged from the trash or yard sales. They are perfect for handling large quantities of material as they are not too deep and provide a good amount of surface area for drying the material.

This batch sat all winter and the bacteria and microbes continued to work the material until it was so fine it looked like soil. Mind you, I do not use any soil in my worm bins, not even the handful so many tell you to add to your bin when you start one out. I use manure so maybe I get enough soil mixed with the manure I don't need it, but my bins have never needed it.

I have a harvester that I put the material through that has an 1/8th inch screen on it and separates the finer castings material from the coarser compost. I estimate about 60 lbs. of castings came out of this batch (it would have been heavier but the material dried pretty good over the winter). I got 2 large, construction size wheelbarrow loads which I put on a bed I had prepared and that raised my bed up one landscape timber deep.

This is great stuff for the garden. Just one more reason to worm bin compost.

The Worms, They Never Fail Me

2009-04-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

It always makes me happy to work my worm bins, because the worms never cease to amaze me.

When I first went out to the worm bins this spring I truly thought that this was going to be the year that I was going to have to start over.

Fall was a very busy time for me and I really didn't have the time to work the bins, and indeed hadn't worked the bins properly all summer. They were just plain neglected. But I knew that if I expected them to make it through winter that I would have to get fresh bedding and food stock worked into my schedule. Then winter hit! Early and hard.

The year before my greenhouse collapsed from the weight of the snow. If it hadn't that year it most certainly would have this. We went to bed one night with zero snow on the ground and woke up to almost 3'. WOW! I kid you not, this is what we woke up to. I opened the front door and couldn't believe my eyes.

Needless to say, my work was to clear the driveway and I never got a path shoveled out to the worms. I had visions of mice happily setting up housekeeping, having late night parties, and generally carousing and creating havoc in my worm bins.

Once I did get out to the bins, the population was dismal to say the least. One bin looked like it might have a population that might recuperate before the spring season was over. One was totally void of worms (the one without heat) and the other two literally had a handful of worms that were congregating in the corners of the bin. One of those bins is represented in the picture above. I truly can not believe all the worms I have in this bin already.

Still have a couple of more days to work on the worms. Will be setting up my video area to film the making of a DIY worm bin. And I have worms to harvest. Life is good.

Christy
The Worm Lady
VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Update on the Worm Bin - 4/18/09

2009-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

The bins are starting to look pretty good now. Feed is disappearing in a couple of days which is an excellent sign the population is growing and becoming active.

Food waste placed in the bin a couple of weeks ago heated up to the low 80's for a couple of days, but now is reading normal - that would be about 67.

Going to take out harvested material and turn the bin, add new bedding. Then the worms should really take off. The temperatures are still cold at night, but the bins are heated.

Will need to process some of the material I harvested last fall to make room for more material. Everything takes time.

Excited to get my hands in the worm bin with a healthy population of worms. They are so miraculous, they facinate me, even after 10 wonderful years!

Christy
The Worm Lady

April Showers

2009-04-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

Brings May Flowers!

I'm not sure this is what they meant when they coined that phrase, but this is what my world woke up to this morning.

Beautiful in it's appropriate season, but this is suppose to be Spring, right?

Anyway, I am excited to start bringing you new videos for the new season.

My first series will be on AACT or Actively Aerated Compost Tea.

There is a lot of mis-information circulating out there and other people just not understanding what it is that they are using when they use the liquid that comes from their worm bins.

Hopefully the series will clear up a lot of that.

The one thing we all must learn is that, "Life finds a way."

Even the most toxic, waste dumps eventually heal and new life starts. But how many lifetimes does it take, and do we really want to leave that for our children.

Composting properly, gardening and farming organically, and just treating the earth with respect will teach our children and show them we care about their inheritance.

We will expand our discussion this year. I hope you will stay with me and share your thoughts.

Christy

The Worm Lady

Handle your waste responsibly.

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

http://motherearthsfarm.com

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Winter Worm Report - Promised update

2009-03-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how a worm responds to warmth, moisture, and food supply.

On the 20th I took my first look in the worms bins since November of last year. With the winter I had to deal with, there was simply no time or energy left, plus all my bedding was buried under about4 feet of snow.

Needless to say, the bins were a big downer for me as the worm population appeared to be almost non-existant. What was there were huddled in the corners and along the edges.

I brought them into the center of the bedding after turning everything for air, added fresh bedding, a little food stock and of course some moisture and low and behold, the worms come out of the woodwork.

They still need a little time to rebound, but it looks like I will be back in business relatively soon.

If you remember, I sent out a special notice to all my subscribers that the pricing on my website will be going up this year. I offered last years pricing to anyone who wanted to pre-order worms. A few of you took me up on that offer. You will be hearing from me soon regarding your orders.

Now all I need is a little time to rework the website. I have new products to add as well which I am very excited about.

Also if you remember, I have mentioned a membership site. This will be highly interactive, educational, affordable and will include many bonuses you won't find anywhere else.

I am thinking seriously about making it an organic gardening membership site as I have much to share that goes beyond worms. But the worms will make the big difference between what my Worm Bin Academy will have to offer organic gardeners.

The VCNW monthly newsletter is due out soon, so all you subscribers, old and new, be on the look out for that. It will cover the second of a series of articles I am planning on AACT (Actively Aerated Compost Tea).

The bulk of the newsletter will be simple text from now on with a link to view online if you want to.

Well, just taking a break from the worm bins and I better get back before it gets any later. Just thought I'd take the opportunity to catch-up with you guys.

See you in a day or so with the VCNW newsletter. If you haven't subscribed yet you can go here and get on the list. Do it now and you may still be able to see the last newsletter before it gets replaced with the next one.

Peace,

Christy
Wormnwomn
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

Winter Worm Report - Updates to Follow

2009-03-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here we are, first day of spring 2009. Winter has been long and hard. Snow hit very heavy just before Christmas and I wasn't quite ready.

Things look bleak for the worms, but if there is one thing I have learned is that it always looks worse than it is. But only a few days will tell.

I will be out there watering every day to bring the bin back into moisture range for the warmer weather.

I turned the bin and the bedding was pretty dry. Most of the worms were congregated in the corners and along the edges of the bin.

I have added food waste and fresh bedding and will water on a regular basis and watch closely.

The bedding material, which has been under a heavy layer of snow until recently (days) is the perfect moisture level and there are worms working away deep in the pile. Always good to see critters in the bedding, especially worms. That's a pretty good indication the bedding is habitable, don't you think.

I'll keep you all posted as things progress. I know a lot of you are looking for worms. I won't be harvesting for a while and when I do I have a few orders that were placed to get my old pricing as the website will be getting an overhaul and new pricing will be going into effect.

I'm excited for the 2009 season. I have some special videos planned, the first one being on brewing compost (worm compost) tea. This is to follow up on my latest newsletter.

For now, that's it. We will talk soon.

Compost Tea - the real story

2009-03-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

My next newsletter, due out soon (it's already late), will be about "Worm Tea".

With the gardening season just around the corner, there is a lot of talk about "tea" and a good deal of it is not coming from people who have done thorough research. As a matter of fact I wonder if any research has been done at all.

My initial thought was to find some good information on YouTube I could share, that someone else had already put out there, but there wasn't anything that I found that I could conscientiously share with you. None of it had any evidence of any research behind it. And real "Compost Tea" has a great deal of science behind it.

There is a lot of good scientific information available on "Compost Tea" and the value it has in gardening and landscape applications. But bad or incomplete information can do more harm than good when it comes to the reputation of such a product, or a similar product made improperly.

I am planning a series of articles/videos that will explain the science of "Compost Tea" , the value of properly made "Compost Tea", and how to properly make "Compost Tea".

There are experts in this field who have explored the science and verified the findings. And while Nature has a way of using all levels of healthy biology for the good of life on earth there is value to understanding the why behind every level of success.

In other words, why does the compost tea from a simple home made tea brewer made from aquarium pumps and air stones work when applied to the soil or plant and how does using a properly designed worm tea brewer improve the process?

So stay tuned and I will share what I know and the valuable resources where I got my information.

Happy Worming,

Christy
Wormnwomn
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

Winter Worm Report

2009-02-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Winter

Worm

Report

The weather is changing - warming temperatures, rain, days getting longer - soon it will be time to dig into the worms and see how they survived this winter.

This winter was different for me from any other winter so far, since I have started worm farming.

We had an early, heavy snowfall in December which caught me unprepared to carry my worms into the colder months of winter.

Time constraints kept me from working the worms properly in the fall to prepare the bins for winter.

I had decided I wasn't going to spend time out working the worms in the winter months.

I had decided to not harvest any worms for sale through the winter months.

The snow that fell in December is still on the ground and covers all of my bedding material with a thick, crusty snow. Today I thought the snow was melting enough that I could drive out the other half of my circular drive, but I almost got stuck.

But it's close. Soon I will be writing and or video taping my Winter Worm Report. So stay tuned.

Those of you who have asked to be put on a list for worm orders...you need to stay tuned too. If you are not on my list you will not recieve notification of when I am going to start harvesting worms in the spring.

I'm a little apprehensive, but the worms have never ceased to amaze me. They are resilient and can survive much neglect.

Talk soon,

Christy Ruffner
Wormnwomn
VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Winter Prep Activities for the Worm Bin

2008-10-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Removing finished material to make room for fresh bedding is imperative when you are preparing your bins for winter.

If your bins are out doors, and there is a concern for your worms freezing then it is even more important to get fresh bedding in to the bin.

The idea is to time your addition of fresh bedding and food stock for the change in temperature. Once the weather changes and the temperature starts dropping then it is safe to start encouraging some composting in the bin. But be careful! It is so easy to get a spike in temperature, and if that is combined with a warming trend you could be in trouble.

This is something I have to be very careful of here in my part of the world. I worked one of the bins recently and added food waste and fresh bedding with a thin layer of grass clippings. The bin before I started working it was running about 68 degrees. The food waste when I put it in the bin was about 56 degrees. By the next day when I check the temperature the bin was reading 87 and by the time I got out there today to feed and water, the bin was reading 97 degrees.

Now it's important to remember that I always put the temperature probe in the center of the bin right where the food waste is, and if you remember from my videos I put the food waste down the center of the bin so that if the material does heat up the outsides of the bin remain cool for the worms. This is indeed the case as I put temperature probes along side of the bin and the temperatures reads 76 and 79. So you see that if the winter temperatures had continued to drop the composting action would be very beneficial.

Stay tuned and happy worming,

Christy
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

Anatomy of a Worm Composting Bin

2008-10-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Minimal size for a conventional composting bin is 3' x 3' x 3'. This is a size that is managable for handling by hand and for building up composting heat. It 's important for you to understand that the bacterial action going on in the pile is what is causing the heat.

When you combine Carbon + Nitrogen + Water + Air you provide the perfect environment for massive bacteria growth which is consuming (composting) the material in your bin. Once your conventional compost pile heats up and then cools, you turn the material in the bin to move fresh material to the center of the bin mixing air back into the mix, and composting begins again and the heat in the bin builds again.

When worm bin composting you want to be very careful that you do not get the heat you produce in a conventional composting bin.

1. When you mix materials for a new bin always allow the material to sit before you add your worms to make sure you have not created a haven for massive bacteria action. HEAT!

2. Once you know the material is not going to heat up, separate out some of the bedding into another container and add only a small portion of your worms to make sure the bedding is safe and the worms will like it.

3. As soon as you suspect a problem, if you can feel heat, it smells bad, and or your worms are trying to escape IN MASS, get them out. If you are not sure of your bedding, use wet, shredded newspaper. Keep a supply handy at all times.

4. If you have a bin that has been active for a while and you develope a problem, there is a possibility that you have cocoons in the bedding and you loose your worms, don't throw away your bedding. Leave it and you may have worms hatch once the bedding becomes habitable again.

Just remember, heat kills worms.

Good Luck,

Until next time.

Christy
Vermiculture Northwest

New Videos Awesome Quality

2008-09-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

I just went back and watched my video that I have hosted on my server and I can't believe the quality. It just can't compare to YouTube. So I am happy and ready to get part 2 finished of The Various Stages of Vermicomposting. I forgot I had split the video into two parts because I had originally planned on putting it up on YouTube and then I couldn't.

So anyway, keep an eye out for notification that part 2 has been uploaded. It will be soon.

Until then,

Happy Worming.

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

No More YouTube

2008-09-19T23:44:00.000-07:00

New software allows me to host my own videos.

This is great for a couple of reasons.

I'm sick and tired of waiting all night for my videos to upload only to find it didn't work and I have to do it all again and again and again. I just don't have that kind of time!

The videos can be longer if need be. I will still try to keep them 10 min. or shorter but sometimes I had to cut out some good stuff just because the video ended up being a little too long.

Better picture quality. By creating my own flash videos I am able to encode the video as a .avi file which is bigger and ends up better quality. The file ends up too big for YouTube or Podcast.

So to view my latest video which is entitled - "The Various Stages Of Vermicomposting" please click and go watch it on my website.

I apologize for not being here much this summer. I have plans that I will be posting here so I invite you to follow me so you don't miss any of the updates.

I also invite you to sign up for notification of new videos by using the form provided to the right.

Trying To Determine an Anaerobic Smell

2008-06-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Decomposing food smells sour and stinky. Anaerobic smells past that. It smells like death, food death.

If something just smells like rotting bad food your okay. Anaerobic is a smell you probably haven't smelled until you have a bin that's gone anaerobic. Usually that smell will be at the bottom of the bin where there is no air and it's too wet. When you get a whiff of it you will know, it will send a panic into your worming being.

I wish I could send a smell electronically. But if the food just smells like it's rotting you're okay, especially if it is in the top layers where it can get air.

Food that is smelly and molding is starting to decompose. That's when the worms will really go after it. Just make sure and bury it with a layer of bedding.

Most importantly, as I always say, take your cues from your worms. If they appear to be thriving and happy you're okay. But you need to get your hands and nose into the bin. Don't just go by what you see on the top layer. Get to the bottom of things as they say, at least once a week, especially until you really feel comfortable with what you're doing. Don't worry; the worms will do fine with that. The will appreciate the air you are incorporating into the worm bin, especially if you have an anaerobic situation developing. Air is the best fix for anaerobic.

Happy worming,

Christy

VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Worms in the Food Waste in the Worm Bin

2008-04-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you the feeling of getting your hands in the worm bin and having them crawling with worms. It is so exciting to see the worms happy, fat and glistening.

The video below is one I just posted to my new podcast, As The Worms Turn. The footage is cool and thought I would share it with you here.

Hope you're having fun in your worm bin. This is the best time of year to spend a lot of time working your bin. You don't have to worry so much about the worm bin overheating as you add new material. With the freedom of being able to add fresh food stock you can witness how happy this makes the worms and watch the population grow daily.

Happy worming,

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

Winter<---->Spring<---->Winter<---->Spring

2008-03-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

This time of year it's hard for the weather to make up it's mind. You just get to where you're thinking spring and winter hits again. It's not really winter cause the snow is more slush and the temp in the air is definitely warmer. But even so, Ol' Man Winter is still saying, "Not yet."

That's right, we got snow last night. Just a dusting really and it was gone by end of day. Still enough of a reminder to not get too anxious yet.

So I went out to check on the worms tonight, probably only the second time this week. The bins are showing more and more signs of worm population. Can't wait to get my hands in there this week.

Just a reminder, Episode 3 of "As The Worms Turn" will be coming up early this week. Be sure and tune in. We're going to talk about watering the bin, why and how much. And we'll probably talk a bit about food waste and where a majority of our waste ends up.

Organic waste is something that worms can take care of so efficiently. And while the waste is kept from the bowels of the earth, the end product actually feeds the soil and finishes the cycle.

See you next time on "As The Worms Turn"

Christy

VermiCulture Northwest

New Podcast; As The Worms Turn

2008-03-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

My blogging and website work is getting spread so thin there is not time to do it all like I'd like to.

I have a new podcast. You see I have been playing around with my camcorder and learning how to put together movies. I have a couple out on the web, like youtube, etc. But I'm really happy with my podcast. It's really like a video blog. I'm putting an embedded player over in the side bar. Check it out.

The winter here was tough. The bins froze and I have been working on bringing them out of it.

The podcast is really brand new with only one video, but so many people ask about worming in the colder regions that I though this would be a good place to start.

So go there now and take a look. The first one is a little rough around the edges as I work my way through the learning curve. But they promise to get better. Much better. I will probably expand the podcast beyond worm bin composting to include subjects such as Actively Aerated Compost Tea (AACT), organic gardening, recycling, and environmental issues. I won't get too far off topic.

Eventually, I will be making those videos I have been promising, and those will go out to members only. Remember, if you are interested in hearing about those you will want to get on the notification list.

That's it for now. I'll try to get back more often. Or if you like you can subscribe to my podcast. I'm going to be posting there on a very regular basis. How much easier it is to keep everyone informed when they can just subscribe. I'm going to be having fun whether you're there or not.

Christy
www.vermiculturenorthwest.com
Handling my waste the way mother nature intended.

Frozen bedding still has worms...

2008-02-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Winter still has me in its' grip. Knee high snow and freezing at night. Daytime nice but is it enough?

Took a walk out there yesterday, gingerly walking on the surface of the snow. The bedding is frosty, no worms to be seen. But what's it like down in the bin? No way to know till I can get my hands in there and dig around. The compost thermometer reads 28 degrees. It inserts and removes easily.

I decided to turn off the heat to my bins because I have one bin that has been without heat for two winters now and that bin has been the happiest of them all come spring. Yet this winter is like one we haven't seen since 1968. Go figure. I'll just have to wait and see.

Wait and see.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Winter Composting With Worms

2008-01-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

<---This is pretty much how my world looks right now. The temps have been plunging into the single digits and sub-zero, and it's time for a wormn update.

The bins outside in the "worm shed" --->

have been without heat. Today when I went out to check on the temps of the bins and the compost therms. read 28 degrees.

I haven't touched the bins since before Thanksgiving.

Inside my bins are in a back room where there is no heat and those bins are cool as well and the worms are not eating much. Keeping the bedding moist for some reason has been a challenge.

I was just in turning them and I noticed that two of the three mini-bins were on the dry side and the third one was considerably more moist. The moist bin has the best population of worms, other than the bigger stacking worm bin.

So even in the cooler temps the worms prefer to be more on the moist side. I have been told that worms will die faster being hot and dry than being cold and too wet.

FYI, I am planning a series of worm composting videos that will show you how to set up a worm bin and maintain it from start to harvest. If you're interested there is a form available to sign up for notification of when those are released.

Until then,

Happy worming,

Christy

www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

Mini Worm Bins

2008-01-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

How small is too small?

First let me say, the bigger the worm bin the more forgiving it is when something goes wrong. But still, there is much to be desired with a smaller bin.

Obviously they are going to take less time to care for, but I think my most favorite aspect of a smaller bin is how close you can get to the worms.

I have mentioned before that I have been using smaller bins to hold my worms while they wait for shipment. This has worked out pretty good. I am enjoying being up close with my worms and getting a good, daily look at what they are doing. I have to admit that often time my bigger bins are really neglected. But as I said, the bigger bins are more forgiving.

I missed getting into my smaller bins one night and the next day the bedding had gotten all soggy and stinky. Amazing, overnight the environment in the bin had turned and all the worms were all around the edge of the bin. They were easy to harvest out but the material in the bin was trash.

Anyway, I have a little video I put together. I'm just starting with the videos and will be producing a series to show how to set up a worm bin and manage it. It will be like a worm bin video blog. Sounds like fun. There is a form available for you if you want to be notified when I upload a new video, I can do that for you. Provide your address and birthdate (no year) and I will be able to send you a little surprise.

So, here's the video for now:

Worm composting in smaller mini worm bins
Uploaded by cruffner93154

*********************************************

Hope you're having a great holiday season.

Happy New Year!

Christy

VermiCulture Northwest

USDA PROPOSES RULE UNDERMINING ORGANICS AND SMALL FARMS

2007-11-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hi,I thought this might be of interest to you. It's from the Organic Consumers Association-------USDA PROPOSES RULE UNDERMINING ORGANICS AND SMALL FARMS The USDA is accepting public comments until December 3 on a new proposed rule that would force small farms growing green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and lettuce, to put into place industrial-style sterilization measures that reduce biodiversity and soil fertility. The proposal follows in the wake of the USDA's recent controversial crackdown on raw almonds, continued interference with raw milk production, and bans on the sale of locally produced organic meat directly to consumers. The proposed rules basically cover up the fact that e-coli 0157H contamination in lettuce and spinach crops comes from feedlot or industrial livestock-contaminated irrigation waters or contamination in large processing plants. The rule limits hedgerows, and other non-crop vegetation commonly found on and around small organic and sustainable farms. In addition, although every organic farmer knows that healthy soil is literally alive with multiple types of healthy bacteria, the rules also discourage the development of beneficial microbial life in the soil. Send a message to the USDA today:Learn more and take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8679.cfm

Please click on the link above and send your message to the USDA.

The Importance Of Keeping Records On Your Worm Bin

2007-11-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

If you're like me you always think you'll remember, but you know we never do.

I have four bins and while I go out every night and feed each one, once a week or so I do open a bin up and turn the material, harvest a few worms, and put down food stock and fresh bedding.

It happened again tonight. I went out to turn a bin and I couldn't remember for sure which one I had worked on last. I think I skipped one and so I'll have to go back, but it's a prime example why you need to keep a record book to write down what you're doing to what. I also don't remember when the last time I was out there to turn a bin.

The worms are going to be able to survive being skipped, but if something were to take a turn, either good or bad, I wouldn't know what to attribute it to because I have no record of what I did and when. It's important to keep a record of what exactly you did for a bin, if you fed, what you fed, temperature, moisture, etc.

Bin #4 is the bin that has been without supplemental heat for two winters. I'm not sure when I turned it last (because I have no written record). The worms are crawling up into the wire lid and they have no business being there. The temps are too cold. I keep trying to tell them they need to stay down in the bedding but it's like they're suicidal.

The weather has definitely taken a turn. We had our first snow up on Canfield Mt.

The air temp in the worm shed is right at 37 and the bin temperatures are reading 40-43.

Worms Like Food Waste

2007-11-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather is trying to change. The weather man has been trying to predict snow, and while the temperatures are definitely colder, the white stuff has still to make an appearance. And that's fine with me.

The wind has been blowing, HARD! But I didn't let that keep me from getting out and turning a worm bin.

The worm population is really looking good. I am always so relieved to see the bins bounce back after being neglected. They are plump and moist and looking pretty happy.

I have now turned all four bins and I am back at #1 bin. Tonight I just turned the material in on itself. If you remember, last time I turned the bin I took all the fresh bedding off the top and turned the material underneath. This time I have turned the fresh material into the bedding in hopes of getting a little composting action. The temps have cooled enough that the worms would appreciate some warmth given off by some composting. I went ahead and put down a thin layer of worm chow and covered that with a layer of leaves. The leaves are good and wet from the rain we have been having, so I didn't have to wet them down much.

As I am turning each bin, I am harvesting worms to keep in holding bins for any late worm orders I may have to fill. (I have just had an order for a 5-tray Worm Factory with a 1lb of worms.)

Right now, the bins are reading right at about 42 degrees F. The worms are still actively eating and the beds are still easily worked.

It won't be long though until the temps are going to be colder than I am going to want to endure, and the worms will not want to be disturbed and exposed to it either.

Gotta go for now. Until later,

Hava Happy,

Christy
Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest
Where good things come from for the body and soil.

The Original Worm Factory - The most efficient, clean method for handling your organic waste indoors.

Wormn Wednesday Was Wonderful

2007-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is a sampling of what I use for my carbon material on my bins. Large or small, I layer shredded newspaper, leaves and manure with my food waste to create a homey environment for my worms. They love it. In the winter I mix it up more. In the summer not so much. The more you mix it up the more heat you produce. Good in the winter, not so good in the summer.

Today was a rainy day with the temps in the 40's. The worms like it when it rains. They seem to sense that it's safe to come out and they were all out chowin' down big time. Had to go out early and spread some chow and water lightly. When the worms are real active sometimes I have to feed twice a day. Better to feed more often than to put down too much for them to eat in a day. As the weather gets colder, and these inbetween days, sometimes it's difficult to predict what the worms will eat in a day.

It's good to have the mild autumn days to work the bins before the freezing weather moves in. The worms don't come out much when it's cold and quite frankly neither do I.

The Worm Factory worms have moved right on up into that layer of leaves I have put down. The older the bedding material they've been in is the quicker they are to move into the fresh.

Hava Happy, See you tomorrow.

What's With The Worms Tuesday

2007-11-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

So here is one of my bins, for those who don't know. I have four of these 4X8 foot fiberglas bins. I have them covered with hardware cloth to keep out mice.

One spring I broke my ankle and I wasn't able to get out to work on the worms(I did try it and almost regretted the effort). The mice moved in and built nests to raise their young. It was awful to try and get rid of them.

I discovered that the worms really liked the air circulation they got from the insulation being up on the hardware cloth instead of being right down on the bedding.

Today was another nice day. The sun was again shining with the air being a touch cool, reminding me of the time of year it is.

The night was comfortable as I carried my watering can out to check on the worms.

The worms in the bed I turned last night aren't up yet. It usually takes a couple of days for them to settle in after being turned, topsy-turvy. But the other three bins had worms up chowin' down on the worm chow.

Still, the air is cool enough and the bin temps only being 40 degrees, the chow was only slightly eaten in two of the bins. Only one bin needed any additional worm chow, and each bin got watered down.

I used one 2 gallon watering can for the job so each bin got 1/2 gallon water. My aim is to keep the top layer moist where the worm chow is so the worms will continue to eat. They also have a layer of food waste that is rotting under the top layer, plus the shredded newspaper and leaves that have been turned into the bedding when I turn the bin. There is plenty to eat at all levels of the bin.

I brought in a bucket of leaves for my Worm Factory and the small bin I am holding harvested worms in. I put down a thin layer of leaves, breaking the leaves up well and watering to encourage the worms to move in. We'll check it out tomorrow and see how they like it.

I have a 5-tray Terracotta Worm Factory going back east before Thanksgiving. Second graders are using it for a school project.

One year the kindergarden teacher at the school where my son went had a Worm Wagon. She had the kids help her build the bin and shred newspaper and they set the bin up in a red wagon like a Radio Flyer. It was portable and just the right height for the kids to be able to get in the bin and muck around with the worms (with gloves of course).

Anyway, the class was morning and afternoon. The day I delivered the worms I went in for the afternoon class. I can still hear those kids when I dumped that glob of worms out on the bedding and spread them out. Wow! The amazing thing was the afternoon class really took ownership over that bin. The morning class wasn't much interested. They didn't get to see those worms.

Hava Happy,

Christy

Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

Where good things come from for the body and soil.

Plans for the future

2007-11-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hey,

I'm working on moving my blog onto my own hosted domain. Will let you all know when that happens.

For now I am going to be blogging on my day to day activities working in my various worm bins. Hopefully, this will give you an overall feeling for worm bin composting, how to do it, and how much work it really intails.

I will take a blog or two to set the stage on how I have my system set up, pictures and all that. This is the door into the worm shed.

I have 4 4x8 foot fiberglas bins that I have set up in an old shed I use to use for firewood. It is not insulated but it is enclosed to protect the worms (and me) from the elements.

I have been fairly regular in taking care of the worm bins since the beginning of September and I am really amazed at how well the worms have come back. In September I literally could not see worms present other than a few skinny straglers. Now look!

This is what the population looks like now as I turn the bins.

The weather has been freezing and the bin these worms are in is the bin that has been without the any supplemental heat for two winters. These worms are fat and happy and we are getting ready for winter.

The temperature in the bins right now is about 40 degrees F The weather last night was clear with a star filled sky. Today the sky has been blue with lots of sunshine. Yesterday the wind blew and I didn't want to get out and work the worms. But today was perfect.

I took the top material off and turned the one Bin (Bin #4). My neighbor collects his food waste for me and in a weeks time he has collected about 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket. I put this waste down the middle of the bed and cover with the material I took off. Then I put a 5 gallon bucket of leaves down.

These leaves are from a pile I have been collecting for a number of years. These leaves were from the top of the pile and are there from last year. Some of the leaves are dry and some of them are wet. I see an occational worm in the leaves.

I water the bin with a two gallon watering can. I put about one gallon of water on the bin. I feed the other three bins worm chow and add about one gallon water to each bin.

My inside bin is a Worm Factory . I have three trays going. Tray #1 (the oldest) has a great deal of castings (pictures soon).

Tray #2 has this cluster of cocoons as an example of what's going on in it.

Tray #3 is shredded newspaper and has a population of worms moving into it.

And you know those little bins they give you when you have to spend time in the hospital? I have two of those with worms being held for delivery (once I get an order) This is working well as the worms are getting nice and fat.

So, there you go. That's what I've been up to. More tomorrow. I will try to give you some more back-ground on the worm operation.

Happy Worming.

Christy

Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

Where good things come from for body and soil.

"Weed it and Weep" Found On AACT Yahoo Group

2007-11-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

NYT
November 4, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
Weed It and Reap
By MICHAEL POLLAN

Berkeley, Calif.

FOR Americans who have been looking to Congress to reform the food system, these past few weeks have been, well, the best of times and the worst of times. A new politics has sprouted up around the farm bill, traditionally a parochial piece of legislation thrashed out in private between the various agricultural interests (wheat growers versus corn growers; meatpackers versus ranchers) without a whole lot of input or attention from mere eaters.

Not this year. The eaters have spoken, much to the consternation of farm-state legislators who have fought hard - and at least so far with success - to preserve the status quo.

Americans have begun to ask why the farm bill is subsidizing high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils at a time when rates of diabetes and obesity among children are soaring, or why the farm bill is underwriting factory farming (with subsidized grain) when feedlot wastes are polluting the countryside and, all too often, the meat supply. For the first time, the public health community has raised its voice in support of overturning farm policies that subsidize precisely the wrong kind of calories (added fat and added sugar), helping to make Twinkies cheaper than carrots and Coca-Cola competitive with water. Also for the first time, the international development community has weighed in on the debate, arguing that subsidized American exports are hobbling cotton farmers in Nigeria and corn farmers in Mexico.

On Capitol Hill, hearings on the farm bill have been packed, and newspapers like The San Francisco Chronicle are covering the legislation as closely as The Des Moines Register, bringing an unprecedented level of attention to what has long been one of the most obscure and least sexy pieces of legislation in Congress. Sensing the winds of reform at his back, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told a reporter in July: "This is not just a farm bill. It's a food bill, and Americans who eat want a stake in it."

Right now, that stake is looking more like a toothpick. Americans who eat have little to celebrate in the bill that Mr. Harkin is expected to bring to the floor this week. Like the House bill passed in July, the Senate product is very much a farm bill in the tradition- al let-them-eat-high-fructose-corn-syrup mold.

For starters, the Old Guard on both agriculture committees has managed to preserve the entire hoary contraption of direct payments, countercyclical payments and loan deficiency payments that subsidize the five big commodity crops - corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and cotton - to the tune of $42 billion over five years.

The Old Guard has also managed to add a $5 billion "permanent disaster" program (excuse me, but isn't a permanent disaster a contradiction in terms?) to help farmers in the High Plains struggling to grow crops in a drought-prone region that, as the chronic need for disaster aid suggests, might not be the best place to grow crops.

When you consider that farm income is at record levels (thanks to the ethanol boom, itself fueled by another set of federal subsidies); that the World Trade Organization has ruled that several of these subsidies are illegal; that the federal government is broke and the president is threatening a veto, bringing forth a $288 billion farm bill that guarantees billions in payments to commodity farmers seems impressively defiant.

How could this have happened? For starters, farm bill critics did a far better job demonizing subsidies, and depicting commodity farmers as welfare queens, than they did proposing alternative - and politically appealing - forms of farm support. And then the farm lobby did what it has always done: bought off its critics with "programs." For that reason "Americans who eat" can expect some nutritious crumbs from the farm bill, just enough to ensure that reform-minded legislators will hold their noses and support it.

It's an old story: the "hunger lobby" gets its food stamps so long as the farm lobby can have its subsidies. Similar, if less lavish, terms are now being offered to the public health and environmental "interests" to get them on board. That's why there's more money in this farm bill for nutrition programs and, for the first time, about $2 billion to support "specialty crops" - farm-bill-speak for the kind of food people actually eat. (Since California grows most of the nation's specialty crops, this was the price for the state delegation's support. Cheap indeed!)

There's also money for the environment: an additional $4 billion in the Senate bill to protect wetlands and grasslands and reward farmers for environmental stewardship, and billions in the House bill for environmental cleanup. There's an important provision in both bills that will make it easier for schools to buy food from local farmers. And there's money to promote farmers' markets and otherwise support the local food movement.

But as important as these programs are, they are just programs - mere fleas on the elephant in the room. The name of that elephant is the commodity title, the all-important subsidy section of the bill. It dictates the rules of the entire food system. As long as the commodity title remains untouched, the way we eat will remain unchanged.

The explanation for this is straightforward. We would not need all these nutrition programs if the commodity title didn't do such a good job making junk food and fast food so ubiquitous and cheap. Food stamps are crucial, surely, but they will be spent on processed rather than real food as long as the commodity title makes calories of fat and sugar the best deal in the supermarket. We would not need all these conservation programs if the commodity title, by paying farmers by the bushel, didn't encourage them to maximize production with agrochemicals and plant their farms with just one crop fence row to fence row.

And the government would not need to pay feedlots to clean up the water or upgrade their manure pits if subsidized grain didn't make rearing animals on feedlots more economical than keeping them on farms. Why does the farm bill pay feedlots to install waste treatment systems rather than simply pay ranchers to keep their animals on grass, where the soil would be only too happy to treat their waste at no cost?

However many worthwhile programs get tacked onto the farm bill to buy off its critics, they won't bring meaningful reform to the American food system until the subsidies are addressed - until the underlying rules of the food game are rewritten. This is a conversation that the Old Guard on the agriculture committees simply does not want to have, at least not with us.

But its defiance on the subsidy question may actually be a sign of weakness, for one detects a note of defensiveness creeping into the rhetoric. "I know people on the outside can sit and complain about this," Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, told The San Francisco Chronicle last summer. "But frankly most of those people have no clue what they're talking about. Most people in the city have no concept of what's going on here."

It seems more likely that, this time around, people in the city and all across the country know exactly what's going on - they just don't like it.

Mr. Peterson's farm bill passed the House by the smallest margin in years, and might have been picked apart on the floor if Representative Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, hadn't leapt to its defense.

(She claimed to be helping freshmen Democrats from rural districts.)

But Senate rules are different, and Mr. Harkin's bill will be challenged on the floor and very possibly improved. One sensible amendment that Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, and Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, are expected to introduce would put a $250,000 cap on the payments any one farmer can receive in a year. This would free roughly $1 billion for other purposes (like food stamps and conservation) and slow the consolidation of farms in the Midwest.

A more radical alternative proposed by Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, and Senator Frank Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, would scrap the current subsidy system and replace it with a form of free government revenue insurance for all American farmers and ranchers, including the ones who grow actual food. Commodity farmers would receive a payment only when their income dropped more than 15 percent as the result of bad weather or price collapse. The $20 billion saved under this plan, called the Fresh Act, would go to conservation and nutrition programs, as well as to deficit reduction.

What finally emerges from Congress depends on exactly who is paying closest attention next week on the Senate floor and then later in the conference committee. We know the American Farm Bureau will be on the case, defending the commodity title on behalf of those who benefit from it most: the biggest commodity farmers, the corporations who sell them chemicals and equipment and, most of all, the buyers of cheap agricultural commodities - companies like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

In the past that alliance could have passed a farm bill like this one without breaking a sweat. But the politics of food have changed, and probably for good. If the eaters and all the other "people on the outside" make themselves heard, we just might end up with something that looks less like a farm bill and more like the food bill a poorly fed America so badly needs.

Michael Pollan, a contributing writer at The Times Magazine and a professor of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, is the author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and the forthcoming "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto."

Stay tuned...

Christy
Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest
Where good things come from for the body and soil.

Fruit Flies Are Common In The Worm Bin

2007-09-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Drosophila melanogaster (from the Greek for black-bellied dew-lover) is commonly known as the fruit fly.

The life cycle of the fruit fly depends on the temperature of the environment the fruit fly is inhabiting. A worm bin is a perfect environment for the fruit fly as the temperature is ideal and there is a ready made food source. The shortest development time (egg to adult), 7 days, is achieved at 28 °C or 82 °F. Ideal temperatures for the fruit fly is 25 °C or 77 °F and development is 8.5 days. Females lay some 400 eggs (embryos), about five at a time, into rotting fruit, with the eggs hatching after 12-15 hours. The resulting larvae grow and molt, all the while feeding on the microorganisms that decompose the fruit as well as on the sugar in the fruit. Everything about your worm bin is perfect for the life of a fruit fly.

So, what can you do about avoiding a fruit fly invasion?

One of the first avenues of defense is to wash your fruit before you prepare it for eating. But probably the best plan is to make sure you are covering your layer of raw organic matter with a thick layer of shredded newspaper. This will help keep the fruit flies from having access to your rotting fruit for egg laying. The second thing you can do is to make sure you are turning your bin on a regular basis. This will help to disturb the little beasties where they live. Your layer of shredded newspaper will be like a blanket and will be easily moved for turning. Plan to turn your bin once a week.

Fruit flies do not have to ruin your worm bin composting experience.

Happy worming,

Christy
MotherEarth'sFarm / VermiCulture Northwest

The Original Worm Factory
The cleanest, most effecient worm bin composting system.
Better than building your own.
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

Take Action or "Raw" or "Organic Almonds Will Be No More

2007-08-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have been reading about this in the organic news alerts I get for a while now. Unless we, the people this legislation will effect, take action now politics will win!! This is a post I read on a compost tea forum I belong to. Use the link provided to let the USDA know how you feel.

"Under pressure from industrial agriculture lobbyists, the USDA has quietly approved a new regulation that will effectively end distribution of raw almonds, while putting many smaller almond farmers out of business. The regulation is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, unless thousands of consumers take action now. The rule requires pasteurization of almonds, including organic, yet allows those same almonds to continue to be labeled as "raw". Nutritionists point out that raw, organic almonds are far superior, in terms of nutrition, to pasteurized almonds. One of the FDA-recommended pasteurization methods involves the use of propylene oxide, which is classified as a carcinogen in California and is banned in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Organic and family-scale almond farmers are protesting the proposed rule, saying it will effectively put them out of business, since the minimum price for the pasteurization equipment is $500,000."

Take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6747.cfm

Don't let the industrial ag lobbiests win this fight. Fight back with your input. Take a stand!!

More Heat Issues

2007-07-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thur 100° 63°
Fri 102° 63°
Sat 102° 61°

While things have been busy here on the farm, the issues that keep me that way must be shared. The issue is HEAT!!! As you can see the temps are soaring and the shade has been stripped from my worm shed by a recent storm.

Remember, I have told you that your worms will die faster from being hot and dry than from being cold and wet. But there is more to the picture than that.

As the temperature rises, the top layer of bedding is harder to keep moist as the moisture evaporates. The delicate balance of moisture in your bedding becomes harder to maintain as you add water to try and keep the top layer moist. Unfortunately, your attempts to keep the top layer moist are creating a wet and soggy condition deeper in the bed. This is serious, as your worms need air and too much water means not enough air.

That means you need to be turning your bedding. But be careful. If you turn too much fresh bedding into the existing bedding you will start composting and the heat build up could kill your worm population. So all the fresh bedding has to come off the bed before you turn.

The other issue with the heat is the worms are not coming up to the top layer to eat. They are remaining dispersed throughout the bed, down where it is moist and cool. This means harvesting worms is more time consuming and labor intensive. Instead of being able to scrape the top of the bed and scoop up handfuls of worms I have to turn the bedding and pull bedding out that has less worms and more bedding.

My worm populations are doing well despite the heat, which has been in the 90’s and 100’s. Hope yours are doing well also.

Happy worming…

Christy

MotherEarthsFarm / VermiCultureNorthwest

Getting My Product to Market

2007-06-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

Spring and Summer Are My Time For Harvest

The worm bins have come through winter thriving and now are providing me with many pounds of beautiful, black, rich castings and compost - and the real work begins.

Tending the bins:

Feeding

Watering

Turning

Adding fresh bedding

All of this is a piece of cake compared to the process of harvesting the finished material out of the bins. Since the worms are top feeders, and all the new material and feed is constantly being added to the top of the bin...all of the finished material is located at the bottom of the bin. This means that in order to get to it all the unfinished material on top must be moved for the finished material, which is full of the castings, to be accessed.

In my bigger 4X8' bins the process is made easier by providing a space at one end of the bin just for finished material. Approximately 1/4 of the bin is sectioned off for this purpose. This allows for the casting material to finish further composting and begin the drying process.

Once the product is removed from the bins it is moved into holding bins that allow me to continue to turn the casting material to dry further. My aim is to get the casting material dry enough to go through an 1/8 inch screen without leaving the holes clogged with moist casting material. Keep in mind however, that the castings need to contain a certain amount of moisture to maintain the life in the castings.

Once the castings are separated from the compost I use a portion of it to blend my custom organic fertilizer. I specifically call it Tomato Food because that is the crop's need I targeted when I researched and developed the recipe. But you could concievably use this food on pretty much any crop and obtain great results.

The base of the recipe is castings. If you are growing tomatoes and not using castings you are missing out on some of the best tomato growing experience you'll ever have.

I sell my product at my local Farmer's Market.

If you're ever in the area, look us up. We are a great Farmer's Market experience!

Christy,

MotherEarthsFarm.com

VermiCultureNorthwest.com

Busy Time for Worm Bin Composting

2007-05-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

Now is the time of year when worm bin composting keeps you busy. The gardening season is at hand and those of us who worm bin compost to use the by-product have our hands full. Not only do we have the garden to get ready, seeds to plant, plants to transplant...now is the time we are harvesting the worm bin of it's valuable soil amendment. Not only that but the worms are active now to and require more food, water, and turning- a delicate balance which must be maintained in the heat of the coming season.

<--Compost W/castings

Harvesting involves removing the layer of material on top of the worm bin which contains the majority of worms inorder to reach the bottom layer which is rich in worm castings.

Pure castings-->

Personally I have been busy getting ready for our local farmers market. This is where I sell the bulk of my worm castings and organic tomato food. Customers come back year after year to replenish their supply of my black gold.

MotherEarth'sFarm / VermiCulture Northwest

Worm Bin Pictures

2007-04-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

There are many different ways to build your own worm bin. The final decision will depend on your own preferences, life -style and capabilities.

Here you see a bin split in the middle with an oven rack, a black pipe with holes drilled in it for air and the bottom has no drainage holes.

This person appears to be single, living in an apartment.

Click Here to go see the whole project. The wormer does a very good job of explaining his bin, feeding cycle and harvest methods. He experimented with different solutions to his particular problems until he came up with a satisfactory method to compost with worms in his customized situation.

This wormer mentions using shredded paper and corrugated cardboard for bedding. In his situation the cardboard persisted longer than the paper. He mentions being surprised at this as information indicated that worms love cardboard. This is just proof that there is no absolute right or wrong way to worm bin compost. No food/bedding stock that is the only food/bedding stock to use. Each wormer has to work with what they have available and find out what is going to work for them. Let the worms be the judge. I always say, I don't care how you do it, if the worms are happy, it's right.

Wormnwomn,
Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

Build Your Own Worm Bin

2007-04-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've seen where a lot of people are looking for how to build a worm bin.

I thought perhaps I could help by providing some pictures of a bin I built in a week-end.

I have the plan available and you can request a free copy by clicking the link in the right sidebar.

It's easy to build a worm bin out of a plastic tote. Choose your size and color, drill your holes and you have a worm bin.

But maybe you want your bin to be a little more earthy. Or maybe a little bigger.

Your typical tote (especially if you buy one already made into a bin) will be big enough for 1 or 2 people. To handle the waste of a family you will need a bigger bin.

A 1x2x3 bin is perfect for a larger family. And it is made of wood so it has a more earthy feeling.

Here are pictures of a 1x2x3 bin that I built in a weekend with no special tools.

If you know anyone who is handy with a saw, you could probably build your bin from these pictures.

This bin is easy to build.

It is a great size for family of four to six.

A 1x2x3 bin can be built from one sheet of plywood and 2 x 4 wood stock.

It can actually be any size you want.

So build yourself a bin, take my free e-course so you know what you're doing and order some worms .

Happy and Successful Worming,

Christy
Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

All Worms Are Not Created Equal

2007-04-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've heard it many times before. People want to buy worms to put in their gardens. But it doesn't work that way.

There are soil dwellers and there are composting worms. They are not the same.

I just had a customer the other day order a pound of worms. Once she got them she emailed me and indicated she had put them in the soil. I wrote her back and said, "Please tell me you did your homework and that you did not put your composting worms in the soil." Her response was, "I did not do my homework and put them in the dirt....Next time I will read the web site."

Soil dwellers are burrowers. They burrow a deep hole in the soil and attach themselves then stretch out to the surface to search for organic matter dragging a piece down into the burrow to eat. Soil dwellers spend more time burrowing than eating.

Hint: the eating is what produces the castings.

The composters are consumers. They continually move through organic matter eating as they go. That's what they do, day in and day out. Eat, mate, and make babies. Thusly, they need to be in organic matter, aka: leaf pile, manure pile, compost pile...

Please don't put your composters in the soil. They will starve or they will go looking for food. They will not help your soil by being in it.

In this picture you can see the layers in the compost bin. The top layer is composting leaves and shredded newspaper. The worms are concentrated in this top layer. The lower layer is the finished material the worms have already worked. This material is 50/50 worm castings and "compost". If there was not fresh material on top for the worms to eat they could go back and eat the "compost" and even their castings again and derive more nutrition from it. The can not, will not eat soil.

Happy, successful worming,

Wormnwomn
MotherEarth'sFarm

A site I found to share: http://www.echocurio.com/Exhibit-WormsSaveThePlanet.html

As The Worm Bin Turns

2007-03-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have visited many forums talking about worm bin composting and I constantly see the question being asked, “Do I need to turn my worm bin?” Most of the time the advice I see given is, “No, the worms do the turning…”

I have to set the record straight here. In my 9+ years of worm bin composting my bins have been through every experience from the best to the worst. My worms tell me that even though they don’t like being disturbed; they much prefer an environment that is loose and well aerated to that which is compact and dense.

Yes, I will agree that the worms do move through the bedding stirring it up, but you have to realize they are taking a very coarse material and breaking it down into a much finer material. In doing so the material is going to settle and become compacted. The worms are going to benefit greatly by being turned and loosened, incorporating air into the mix. Believe me the worms are happier. Add your fresh bedding and food stock at this time and the worms are going to reward you by actively moving into your fresh offering and getting right to work.

I supplement my feed with Purina Earthworm Chow. The directions on this professional product read as follows: “For best results, stir or turn the bedding at least twice a week. Keep the bedding loose and well aerated.”

Now I don’t turn my worms that often. My personal goal is to turn each worm bin at least once a month. Sometimes, especially during the winter months it just doesn’t happen. But during the worms’ active months I try harder. I know they are happier and more productive, which makes me be more productive.

My worms tell me they are happy. And now I need to get out and turn a worm bin.

This is the tool I use to turn my worm bins.

Happy Worming,

Christy
Mother Earths Farm
VermiCulture Northwest

Be Creative With Your Unique Situation

2007-03-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have always said that there are as many ways to worm bin compost as there are people worm bin composting. Always let your worms have the final say. If they are happy they will let you know. But you really need to pay close attention, because if they aren't happy bad things can happen fast.

Some day I hope to have the means to put together my own video showing how I worm bin compost. But until that day comes, I am on the look out for what other people are doing. Well, I found this video I thought I'd share with you. I think I'll try it out for myself. The information is basic and doesn't get into the details of the day to day. But check out my e-course and you'll get what you need.

METRO-WORM-CONDO

A short how to do it yourself video about worm composting in an urban environment.

This video explains & shows how to build your own worm composting bin system.

Happy worming,

Christy

Learn to Worm

2007-03-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

Bin Compost...

Are you looking to start a worm bin? If so you are probably looking for information to help you get started. If that is the case, then listen up.

I have finished the second writing of my book "WORM BIN COMPOSTING: Nature's Way of Replenishing the Earth."

A good book is never really done. Such if the case with "WORM BIN COMPOSTING..." I will continue to add information as I rework the book, and new information as I discover it will also be added. Of course, the price will go up as I spend more time and resources gathering information to add to this already valuable resource..

The book covers all the "how to" information you will need to start your own worm bin. Plus it discusses all the other critters you will find in a healthy bin.

Like this one:

If you would be interested in purchasing this e-book you can

click here now.

If you do decide to purchase through this link I will gladly provide you with free updates of this book as I add to it. If you are interested in this additional benefit then you will need to sign up to my Worm Mailing List.

You can do that by clicking here.

I will also send you a free gift - plans for building your own 123 Bin, which is a great size for any serious worm bin composter to begin with.

PLEASE NOTE! If you would like to receive the 123 Bin plans you will need to send me your mailing address in a separate email to:

info@motherearthsfarm.com

Please put "123 Bin plans" in the subject line.

I have personally been busy getting my worm bins ready for the already warming Spring weather. Bins are getting turned and new bedding material is being added. This is the time of year when you can really mix it up and add good amounts of food waste which will rapidly be consumed by worms and bacteria which are becoming active with the warmer temps.

Finished material is being removed to be processed which leaves more room in the bins for the additions mentioned above.

We are coming into a busy time of year... Keep a cool head and enjoy the rebirth of Spring.

Wormingly,

Christy
Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

Are Worms Vegetarians?

2007-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

Worms will eat your garbage -

They will eat your manures (stay away from domesticated animal manures like dog and cat), they will eat shredded paper (none of the slick stuff), they will eat your leaves and grass, they will eat your cardboard, they will eat your saw dust (wood shavings), and they will eat your food waste. In particular they love - coffee grounds, cardboard, melon rinds, and all sorts of "sh_t."

Manures mixed with wood shavings is a great combination. Melon rinds are great if you have a mite infestation.

Shredded paper and leaves are a great layer to add after you layer on food waste. I really mix these things up in the winter to get some good composting action going for the colder temps. In the heat of summer you need to keep things simple to produce as little heat as possible.

Use some kind of processor for your food waste to get the pieces small. I use a butcher knife or a food processor on pulse. My neighbor saves me all his waste from his kitchen in a bucket. I don't process any of that, I just dump it into my worm bin. But when I go to the grocer and get food waste from the produce department then I process that because it is all still whole. The processing is just so the composting process will move along faster.

It's not so much that worms are vegetarians, because really they aren't. They will eat anything that has lived and died.

However, there are a lot of other critters that are attracted to meat, and fat, and bones. And, since the decomposition rate of these are much slower, they are not a desirable addition to your worm bin, or any compost bin.

Therefore, you do not want to add, meat or bones to your compost system.

Dairy products? I wouldn't dump a load of cheese or dump old salad dressing into the system. But if you have a dinner plate that has uneaten salad with dressing and some grated cheese on it, go ahead and dump it in the compost bucket. Your system will handle it just fine. Bury it and cover it with a good layer of bedding and let the composting begin. There isn't much of anything that your system can not handle in moderation.

Citrus peels are something I am very careful about. While I don't worry about the peel from an orange or two, if someone had decided to juice a bag of oranges for orange juice I would not put all of those peels in my worm bin. There is a substance in citrus peels that the worms don't seem like too much.

Likewise, with oak leaves or pine needles. While I would not worry about a small amount of these in my worm bin, I would not dump a load of either of these items in my bin as well. The outer coating on oak leaves and pine needles is very slow to decompose. And yet in nature these things do decompose quite nicely in time. The tanin is a substance the worms don't seem to like either.

Another thing I watch for is making sure that any manure I use has composted at least 6 months. There are some exceptions. Rabbit manure, because it is not a "hot" manure, can be used immediately. As a matter of fact rabbits and worms are a great combination. But that's for another post.

Here in my neck of the woods we are soon going to be rolling into the time of year when the worms are going to be getting active again and the feeding will begin in earnest.

Happy worming,

Christy
MotherEarth'sFarm

If You're Worm Composting for Your Gardening Efforts...

2007-01-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

If you're worm composting for the purpose of having a better garden this year, then let me remind you, that is only part of the picture.

Castings are definitely the very best when it comes to soil ammendment, but it is not all you have to figure into the equation.

Starting early when you live up North is sometimes the only answer to getting a good harvest. And I would imagine that where it gets hot, it would be beneficial to start early as well.

No doubt about it, where-ever you live, you're going to get a more bountiful harvest if you get a jump on the gardening season. Even if you already get a good harvest from a product maybe you could get enough of a season to actually be able to plant a second crop, or even a third.

If you are planning your garden space well, feeding your soil and keeping it healthy there is much more you can get out of a square foot of space.

When you work so hard all season weeding, watering, feeding and staying on the look out for pests and disease, how disheartening is it for you to only get a handful of produce for your efforts?

Put a little more effort into getting an early start and your efforts will be rewarded many times over.

The gardening season is just around the corner and the best way to get a
jump on the season

is to start indoors. Get those seeds started while Ol' Man Winter
is still raging and you'll be

way ahead of the pack.

Use castings in your seed starting mix and you'll have what seems like a miracle right before your eyes.

Gardener's Supply Company - Free Shipping on orders of $55 or more >>

Rev your engines for a speedy start on the gardening season.

You can get some of your best Organic supplies right here!

For all the extras that you won't find on my site, I love to shop at Gardener's Supply. And with free shipping on orders of $55 or more, you just can't beat that.

My newsletter, Market Monthly News is just about ready to start this years publication. I will be sharing with you, step by step what I do to get an early start and achieve success in my garden. Go here to subscribe.

The catalogs are coming in. If they aren't coming for you please send me a message via my form here on this blog and I will share resources with you to help you get some of the best catalogs available for organic sources for seeds and supplies.

May the sun shine bright on your gardens,

Christy
MotherEarth'sFarm.com

I'm starting a new Worm Bin Composting blog.

2007-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

I happened across a forum called GardenStew.com. There seems to be alot of really great people there, the lay-out is easy to follow and interesting. Not the ordinary, run-of-the-mill forum.

And they also have the option of starting a blog, which is also easy to set up. They didn't seem to have anyone really talking about worm bin composting so I started a new topic on it and set myself up a blog as well.

I would like to invite you over to check it out.

Go to www.GardenStew.com

I will not be abandoning this blog. The two are completely different. There is much more interaction over at GardenStew so I will take the lead of all the people who ask questions and have things to say.

This blog will remain a step-by-step process of what's happening with my worm bins.

I will be posting an up-date soon as the weather has been very frigid here. I want to share with you how the bins have been doing.

The last time I was out tending the worms it was a mild day just before the frigid temperatures hit. It was the perfect time to get out there and turn the bins, working some of the fresh material down into the composting material to try and generate some heat. It worked...I had turned all the bins down to 50, the temperature plummeted to the single digits, and the bins were reading 64 degrees, so composting definitely going on in the bins. The worms should be happy. Won't know how happy until the temps get back up to where I feel like being out there for an extended amount of time.

Later,

Christy

Mother Earth's Farm / VermiCulture Northwest

Where good things come from for the body and soil.

Out in the cold! - Update on the bins...

2006-12-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

This picture, taken the beginning of November, is the fresh pile of leaves (mostly maple) my neighbor has left for me after fall clean-up in his yard. The pile is probably about 4 feet high and about 6 feet by 10 feet for the biggest part. This is an on-going leaf pile I use for the worm bin. Even in the dead of winter I can dig into the middle of this pile and find workable material to put on my bins which not only provide a layer of breathable material, but act as a blanket on the worm bins holding in heat.

The handful of bedding to the right was the consistency of the lower layers in the bin at this same time, the beginning of November. It is important that while the weather is still mild, that the bins are turned to get air down into the bedding. Too much moisture and not enough air causes the environment to go anaerobic. This you can tell by the smell of the bedding. It will start to "stink."

Right now the outside temperature is freezing. Our high today was in the mid 30's and our low was in the low 20's. The leaf pile was frozen on the outer layer, but once I broke through that layer I was able to gather soft wet leaves from inside the pile for the worm bins. The worm bins were reading 56 degrees, with one of them reading 61 degrees. This was the bin I worked last time and added some food waste to, covering with a layer of leaves.

I have one bin which has no heat source. It has been without a heat source since the fall of 2005. So this is the second winter without heat. This has been my best performing bin.

The top layer is frosty looking, but when I inserted a compost thermometer it slid into the bedding material easily, indicating the bedding was not frozen. However, it was reading in the 30's. I did not disturb this bin at all. In the spring I will show you pictures of the worms in this bin. They have consistently out-sized the worms in my other three bins which have a heat source.

I don't work the worms as much during the winter for obvious reasons, it's cold outside... So I try to keep the beds cooler so the worms require less - less food, less water.

Hope your happy worming wherever you are.

Christy
www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

AACT - What's that?

2006-12-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

AACT is the acronym for Actively Aerated Compost Tea. I have recently been dealing with a customer in Hong Kong who is an orchid hobbiest and he has been interested in using my vermicastings in brewing tea, so I have been busy gathering information for him. I will share what information I find here on my blog and on my website - VermiCulture Northwest.

What I have been reading lately has to do with chlorinated water. Chlorine in your water will have an effect on the bacteria in your tea. This issue can be solved in a number of ways.

You can simply choose to let your water sit for 12-24 hours.
You can aerate your water for a couple of hours.
As pointed out by Dr. Ingham, if you add humic acid to your tea, it will change chlorine to chloride, and not effect your tea.

That's it for now. More later on AACT.

Happy worming,

Christy

Nothing Short of Magic

2006-12-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.
- Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1500s

Nothing short of magic is how I see the wonders of what my little workers will do with the likes of manure, leaves, shredded newspaper, and what we call garbage.

But, of course there is more than magic to it, actually it is science. And in reality it is more than one science - microbiology, ecology, soil science and agronomy.

Recently, soil ecology has developed to the where the lid on the black box of underground processes can be opened and we can try to comprehend the intricate equation that the symbiotic relationships between plants and micro-organisms creates.

Dr. Elaine Ingham is widely accepted as an expert in soil biology. Ingham's message has been summed up by one author in this way:

"Life on earth is sustained by a complex underground ecological system - the soil food web."
"Through ignorance, we've disrupted the food web, in particular with ill-advised farming and gardening methods."
"We can return the food web to health by restoring the soil biology." - Bart Anderson

______Here's a view of the soil the way Dr. Ingham sees it______

The Soil Food Web: Eat and be eaten.
__________________________________________________

The following information is taken from an excellent article at:
http://www.energybulletin.net/23428.html

Soil food web in brief:

Soil food web - basis for life on the land.
~Breaks down dead plants and animals and recycles nutrients.
~Numbers and varieties of organisms are staggering.
~Reproduction rates are high (especially bacteria), and populations tend to boom and bust with different levels of oxygen, nutrients, heat, pH and water.
~Complex ecological relationships.
Soil food web is composed of several classes of organisms.
~Plants - roots and organic matter from plants.
~Bacteria and fungi - many varieties and functions. Most are decomposers, while many others are mutualists.
~Other members of the food web - protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms and higher predators.
~Predators eat other organisms and make nutrients available.
Soil food web is important for plant growth:
~Builds soil structure.
~Stores nutrients and releases them in forms plants can use.
~Protects plants against diseases and pests.
~Can tie up salts and harmful chemicals.
~Provides resilience and adaptation to changing conditions.
Some bacteria and fungi form mutualistic associations with plant roots. Both plants and micro-organisms benefit.
~Plant roots exude proteins, sugars and carbohydrates ("cakes and cookies") which attract beneficial micro-organisms.
~Nitrogen-fixing bacteria inhabit the roots of leguminous plants.
~About 80% of world's plants have symbiotic relationships with fungi (mycorrhizae).
Ratio of bacteria to fungi is different for different plant communities.
~Bacteria-dominated in early succession communities (bare earth, weeds, vegetables).
~Fungal-dominated in late succession communities (shrubs, trees, old growth).
~Equal balance of bacteria and fungi for most row crops and garden flowers.
~Bacteria/fungal ratio can be changed to favor different kinds of plants.
Soil food web is degraded in disturbed land.
~Enemies of the soil food web: compaction, tilling (turning), pollution, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers.
~Degraded food web invites pests, disease and nutrient problems.
~Chemical solutions aggravate the problem.
~Need to restore and enhance the soil biology.
Monitoring soil biology.
~Ingham advocates a "direct count" method, in which individual organisms in a sample are counted under a microscope.
~The result is a report on the numbers/biomass of different classes of organisms estimated to be in the sample.
~These numbers give indication about the health or problems with the soil. For example, a high number of ciliates (a group of protozoa) indicates anaerobic conditions.
~Many problems can be solved or alleviated by applying compost or compost tea, according to Dr. Ingham.
Compost
~Aerobic good, anaerobic bad. It should not stink (stink=anaerobic).
~Three methods discussed: thermal (hot), worm, and static (backyard).
~The balance between fungi and bacteria can be controlled by different feedstocks and methods.
~Monitoring compost quality is important - all composts are not created equal.
Compost tea is a convenient way to apply compost.
~Actively aerated compost tea (AACT) is what Ingham studies and recommends.
~Other compost teas and liquid amendments exist (some anaerobic).
~Process
>Good compost.
>Good (potable) water without chlorine or chloramine.
>Good brewing machine, easy to clean. Ask manufacturer for data.
>Appropriate temperatures
>Appropriate food for desired organisms
>Brewing times variable (about 24 hours)
>Prompt application.

I invite you to read more about it at the link below. The article is extensive and full of excellent information.

http://www.energybulletin.net/23428.html

See VermiCulture Northwest for the Tea Brewer I recommend.

What's important to remember is that no one factor is going to be a cure-all for whatever your problems might be. And like fine wine and intimate relationships, all good things take time.

Dr. Ingham advises there are limitations to compost tea:

Compost tea is not the end all "silver bullet" for all the problems that have developed in your yard over the years. Other practices, such as organic fertilizing, soil amending, mulching, aeration, etc., are also important to build and sustain a healthy yard and garden. The reality of it is that the soil, environmental and prior chemical condition of your yard all effect the overall health.

Take the time to read the above article and take the next step in taking care of your world.

Happy Worming,

Christy
www.vermiculturenorthwest.com
www.motherearthsfarm.com

Autumn Works!

2006-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Once the cooler weather starts to arrive, working in the bin begins anew. We have spent the hot summer months trying to keep the worms fed and the bins oxygenated without causing the environment the worms call home to over-heat and stress the worms.

The work I did in the bins during September caused a heat spike of 15 degrees:

For this reason I waited to work my bins until the temperature had dropped and likewise I will wait for the temperature to drop again before I continue working the bins. This is all relative to the daily/nightly temperatures reached this time of year in my area.

Once the temp comes down I will remove more product and add fresh bedding. This process will be repeated as many times as possible before winter sets in so that my beds are as full of fresh composting material as possible. With the onset of the cold winter months I want the bins to be producing as much of their own heat as possible. This is as good a scenario for the worms as it is for my power bill. (Although the bins have never cost me much to run in the winter, perhaps because of this strategy.)

As the daily/nightly temperatures cool I begin adding a wider variety of bedding material to the bins. Here you see a layer of leaves beneath the shredded newspaper.

After a summer of limited fresh bedding the worms happily go to town on this fresh source of feed stock.

For now our nights are in the 30's and we have had some frosts. The temp today at 11:44 A.M. is reading 55 degrees with blue skies and sunshine. Prrrrrfect!

For now, happy worming.

Christy
www.vermiculturenorthwest.com
www.motherearthsfarm.com

Where good things come from for body and soil.

See What Your Workers Can Do!

2006-09-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

The workers are of course the worms. It never ceases to amaze me what they can do in a very short period of time when the conditions are right. These worms eat and eat and eat constantly. They don't stop, except then they are mating. If you ever saw this you would know why. If I can ever get a picture of that one I will share it with you.

Anyway, let me show you what I mean.

Here they are, just beneath the surface of the bedding material. As long as the material has enough moisture content and it is dark enough, this is where they like to be. I have just brushed the top of the bed with my hand to expose these worms.

Here I have added shredded newspaper to the bin. I have been using manure all summer because it has been so hot and the manure was well composted. This meant that the bedding wouldn't add to the heat already building up in the bin. But now the bins are starting to cool down, back into the 70's and a nice layer of shredded newspaper is an appreciated change for the worms. They move into it overnight.

Within 6 days this is what the bins above look like.

So now I need to go out and feed my worms. Until next time happy worming!

Christy
www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

Your Soil is Teaming with Life

2006-08-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

If a healthy soil is full of death, it is also full of life: worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds ... Given only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long.- Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America, 1977
******************************

"Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web"
Sometimes scientists can talk over the layman's head and not even realize that the message is not being conveyed. This book is written in a very understandable language, that even a simple worm farmer like myself could understand and relate to. A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the life producing your food.

Smart gardeners understand that soil is alive and what is in the soil is what supports plant life. Healthy soil is exploding with life - beyond the worms and insects we can see with the naked eye - there are a multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microbial forms of life vital to the soil food web that sustains healthy plant life. Resorting to chemicals destroys this delicate balance and results in an unhealthy situation for the soil, the plants, and the environment. You can't destroy this balance and not have an affect on the people, the children, family and friends. As gardeners, farmers, and inhabitants of the Earth we have an obligation to the next generation to leave behind a healthy soil. Venture beyond your current understanding that good soil grows healthy plants and understand why...

This book is newly available and can be purchased now from Amazon.com by clicking on the buy link.

If you are interested in worm bin composting and you garden you have the beginnings of understanding why. Learn all about the why and strengthen your resolve to garden organically.

What I Do When It's Too Hot!

2006-08-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, since that last notification of a posting to my blog was bogus I figured I had better sit down and have a little chat with you all, and since it has been hot, hot, hot here all summer long I guess it would be good to share with you what I do with the worm bins when it is hot.

Hot and dry will kill the worms way before cold and wet will. And since by the very nature of composting you are creating heat you need to use a great deal of caution when the ambient temperature raises to the point it's uncomfortable for the average human. Granted some of us "like it hot", I'm not one of them and neither are the worms.

Once the bin temperatures get into the nineties you need to start frettin' about losing worms. I usually know I have lost worm mass when my "tea" buckets fill up almost over night. Worms contain a lot of moisture and when they die from over-heating that moisture is released and ends up in my tea buckets. Boo Hoo!

One of the best ways to keep your bins cool when the temperature raises is to set up a fan to blow over the surface of the bedding. You will need to be adding moisture as the fan will cause evaporation, which will cool the bin but will also leave the surface of the bedding dry. This is where the worms want to be, but not if it is too dry.

Another way to help keep the bins cool is to control the amount of composting going on in the bin. To do this you watch what you are adding for bedding material, don't mix it up. Whatever your main source of bedding material is, for instance I use manure, that's all you want to be adding. And you want to make sure the worms have worked it up real good before you turn it. This can leave your worms wanting for food so, I use worm chow.

It's made by Purina and is very finely milled for the worms to eat. I can sprinkle it on top of the worm bin and the worms come up and eat it at night. The food is immediately available and does not have to compost for the worms to eat it.

I use an old flour sifter to sprinkle the food on top of the worm bin. This gives me an even spread over the surface of the worm bin.

The worm chow comes in a 40 lb. bag and one bag fits perfect in a tote to keep the mice out.

Another thing I have noticed when it's hot, the worms seem to like it better with the screen off. The screen restricts airflow, even just a bit, and the worms notice. I haven't had a problem with leaving the screen off in the summer. Come fall I will be putting them back on to keep the mice out of the bins.

So, that's what I do when it's hot. Sometimes instead of using manure in the hot months I will stick with shredded newpaper. And that's all I use for bedding is layers of shredded newspaper on top of the bedding. Or maybe I'll just use leaves. The main thing is just not to mix it up. If you mix it up you're gonna compost and add heat to a system that is already stressed by the heat of the day.

New Web Site In The Works!

2006-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

New website shows you exactly how I build my small 2 person worm bin, talks about the value of real brewed worm tea, worming with kindergarteners and how to proceed with a school project at the high school level. This site is devoted to worms, worm bin composting, and worm bin composting by-products. I will talk about castings, food stock, bedding material, and step by step how to.

Mother Earth's Farm will become an organic gardening site. There will be more information on organic fertilizers, composters, conventional composting, pests and pest control, gardening helpers.

For additional gardening tips you can check out Market Monthly News. This is a newsletter I write for the Kootenai County Farmers Market.

The Market is a place to find many treasures. Stop and see us if you are in the neighborhood. Stop by our website and get some ideas for starting your own Farmer's Market.

A lot goes into farming worms, gardening organically, and building a successful farmer's market where people come together to share unique creations, food grown safe and fresh, plants and flowers, music and friends.

The closer we get to Mother Earth the closer we get to each other. Come on Down!

Stop on by and see me, and feel free to drop me a line, Skype me, or send me a message.

Truly,
Christy

Worm Bin Composting | Maintaining the worm bin

2006-07-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Keeping the worms happy in the heat of summer

can be more of a challenge than that of winter!

As we move into the heat of summer, working the worm bin becomes a very delicate balance of keeping the bin aerated, moist, and fed. You want as little active composting going on as possible while still providing the worms with adequate nurishment. When the temperatures outside are in the nineties and climbing this can be a challenge.

I try to wait until the material in the bed has been worked very well by the worms. When I turn the bedding material, I will be incorporating air into the mix which will stimulate composting of any material that has yet to break down. In the picture below you can see the difference between the material that the worms have worked and that which they have not around the edges.
At the time of this working of the bins the temperatures here have been in the nineties. The bin I turned was reading a temperature of 81. The day after I turned it the temps went up to 97. That is actually too hot for the worms but by manipulating where the composting was taking place I am able to provide areas for the worms to go where they will be cooler. Since the bin is enclosed and the worms have no where else to go I absolutely need to do this or my worms will surely die.

The next picture shows the bin after the material has been turned. The worms have been disturbed and they really do not like this, but they are happy to have the air that is incorporated into the bedding material by this action.

The surface of the material will be rough and lumpy. I use a cultivator to break up the big clumps and smooth the area out.

Then a layer of food waste is spread down the center of the bin in a layer thick enough that you don't see the bedding material beneath it, but just. Don't put the food waste on too thick. Keep it to an area about 1/4 of the total surface area.

This is material my neighbor has saved for me and has been sitting in a bucket for about a week and smells pretty rank. I pour off any excess moisture before putting the material on the bed. If the material is covered properly with fresh bedding material then the smell will be covered as well and the worms will proceed to take care of it - smell and all.

The bedding material is horse manure that has been composting out in a designated area in my yard for over a year. The material is concentrated on top of the food waste down the center of the bin. As you can see it forms a mound of material on top of the food waste. The cable you see snaked across the top of the bin is the temperature probe. That is what tell me how hot the bin is. The probe is stuck down in the middle of the bin beneath the food waste. That is where it is reading 97 degrees.

The last thing I do is use my cultivator to smooth out the top of the fresh bedding to level it off some. I do not pull the material out to the edges of the bin. First off, the fresh material is dry and will take a few watering for the material to become saturated. The first couple of waterings the water just sloughs off. By leaving the area around the outside edges open the worms have friendly bedding material to come up into to feed and find cooler regions of the bin.

In no time at all (I was surprised that in this case the worms moved in to the fresh bedding overnight) the worms come back up to the surface to feed.

Harvesting a Worm Bin

2006-05-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

HARVESTING A WORM BIN FOR CASTINGS

Harvesting a worm bin for worms and harvesting for castings are two different things. If you are not growing worms as a commercial operator (as I'm assuming most if not all of you are not) then harvesting worms is as simple as taking material off the top of the worm bin which will be full of worms and sharing them.

However, if you are harvesting castings, which pretty much anyone growing worms will do at some point, then the process as I do it is revealed below.

Photo 1 shows the bin before I get started. Along the sides you can see the lines of where the product started in November when I move as much product from the bottom of my bins to one end to cure. The material continues to compost and dry. As the material finishes composting the volume decreases. Here is a shot of what the material looks like that I am harvesting from the worm bin.

On the right is the material I start with and on the left the finished product. Along with the leaves, manure, and shredded paper, I feed the worms food waste.

The first thing you do to harvest your bin is to get all the finished material out of the bin. Then you start moving the fresh bedding with most of the worms either out and into another holding bin, or in my case, I just work my way down the bin, piling the fresh material with the worms in it at the end of the bed.

This is the fresh bedding from the top filled with worms being piled down onto the top of the oposite end of the bed.

The picture above shows the layer of worms in the top layer of material. The finished material will be in the bottom 1/3 t0 1/4 of the bed. It depends how long the composting has been taking place since last harvest.

This picture shows the center of the composting area before it was disturbed, which is surrounded by uncomposted material such as the picture directly above this one.

This material is full of worms and will stay in the bin to populate the new bedding to be added.

The finished material at the bottom of the bin will be pulled down to the empty part of the bin, filling that end up.

The material with the worms in it will then be put into the now vacated portion of the bin, leveled out and new bedding material will then be placed on top. This new material will need to be smoothed out, watered, and watched to make sure the moisture level is brought up to where the worms like it. This may take a few days depending on how wet your bedding material was when it was initially added to the bin.

There, you are done. The finished material can then go into another holding area to continue drying if need be, screened if desired, and used for whatever purpose you have for it.

More pictures will be posted to further explain this process. Email me if you have questions or feel free to post a comment to benefit all.]

Happy Harvesting,

Christy
MotherEarth'sFarm.com
Where good things come from for body and soil.

Worm Bin Composting | After the Bin, What's Next

2006-05-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

~~~Leaves~~~~~~~Manure~~~~~~~Paper~~~

Once you have made your decisions about your bin, including location then the next issue to address is the bedding material. These are some of the materials I use for my bedding material.

I am lucky enough to live in an area where I have a neighbor who has a horse. Any manure is good as long as it has composted. You don't want the bedding to heat up, it will kill the worms. An excellent choice is cow manure, pig manure, llama, and/or rabbit. Another name for redworms is manure worm. That's because manure is a natural habitat for them.
I also use leaves. Worms love rotting leave. Put them through the lawn mower or a shredder to shred the leaves up.

The last thing I use a lot of is shredded newspaper. I lay it on thick on top of the bin and wet it down. It takes a few wettings to get all the paper fibers saturated. Once the paper is evenly wet it lays on the bin like a blanket. You can pull it back and feed under it. Then when you want to see what the worms are doing you just pull back the blanket. Eventually the worms will work their way up into the newspaper and start consuming it. There will be a time you will pull the blanket back and it will fall apart. That's when you work it into the bedding and start over.

The variety of bedding helps keep a wide spectrum of bacteria in the end product. Add a variety of food stock and you have a bacteria powered product to add to your soil.

So get out there and start gathering bedding material.

If you can't find any of these there is a product called Coir. It is made from coconut shells. It is much like peat moss but it is a renewable resource unlike peatmoss.

Christy
wormn@motherearthsfarm.com
Where good things come from for the body and soil.

Worm Bin Composting | Start with the Bin

2006-04-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

When you decide to compost with worms, that initial decision is the first of many. Aspects of what you want to accomplish will have an effect on what you finally do.

Will you compost outside with a conventional compost pile and add worms to that?
Will you compost in worm bins?
If you compost in worm bins, what size will they be?
Are you composting to handle your organic waste, for the by product, or both?
Do you want the bin in the house, the garage, or out-doors?
Do you want a plastic bin, a wood bin or perhaps you want to be creative with something out of the ordinary.

Whatever you decide, there is a plethora of materials out there to use.

I am a commercial grower and therefore my main bins are of commercial size. They are 4'x8' Fiberglas heated bins. Here is a picture of one:

Anyone who is a serious gardener and recognizes the benefit of using worm castings in their soil building program must also recognize that anything smaller than a 4'x8' bin would be insignificant. A bigger bin is easier to work and produces a great deal more product. The Fiberglas are nice but expensive. You could build one out of plywood quite easily and coat it in paraffin wax to help preserve the wood. In this way you can customize the size to fit your needs and space requirements.

If you want to do an in-door bin, or an in-bin as I call them here is a sample of that:

These can be made out of any plastic tote. It simply needs to be a solid color, not opaque as the worms do not like light and would not be happy in a bin that allowed light in all around. I like the attached lid of this bin and the hard plastic. Vents can be found at a builders supply store. Vents must be put in the top and the bottom as well as the sides. You can't have too many vents as long as you do not compromise the integrity of the tote. You need to be able to move the bin.

I have had people ask me about using old freezers, bath tubs, I heard of one person modifying an old phonograph to be a worm bin, and another had the bin in the window seat of the kitchen window. Really, you can use anything that will hold bedding material and will allow for the escape of excess moisture and the circulation of air. The less accommodating to these needs the more maintenance will be required.

Next I will show you the tools I use the most in working my bins. In the smaller in-bins the main tools are your hands and some rubber gloves.

Happy worming,

Christy - Wormnwomn
wormn@motherearthsfarm.com

Worm Bin Composting | The Season Begins

2006-04-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

While I do grow my worms in heated bins which keeps them active right through winter, with the warmer weather of Spring the activity in the worm bin picks up and the work begins anew.

In November I work to get as much of the finished material out of the bin so that I can fill the it up with as much fresh material fresh material as I can. Since I am somewhat of a fair-weather worm farmer, when the weather outside gets real inclimate I tend to hibernate a bit. Therefore, the worms tend to get a little more neglected. They are okay though because there is plenty of fresh bedding to get them through. But as the weather changes the fresh stuff disappears and the time draws near that I must once again start removing finished material and making room for more fresh bedding. It is time to start feeding daily again and getting the worms fat and happy.

It's wonderful how nature works, as right when it's time to start feeding the compost bin again with all the winter kill that covers the garden, the worms are ready to get busy too. Most of the material that goes in the compost bin now will be carbon material and will require quite a bit of moisture. Layer it with as much food waste as you can come up with and the worms will be happy.

Worm Bin Composting | Why are castings the best soil amendment?

2006-03-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin Composting Why are castings the best soil amendment?

VERMI-CAST is a 100% organic fertilizer, and is completely safe to all plants, animals, humans and our environment in any concentration. It is the richest natural fertilizer known to humans. Plant growth trials at Ohio State University have shown that as little as 5% (by volume) produces “unique and remarkable plant growth responses.” The recommended rate is 10-20%. Unlike animal dung and artificial fertilizer it is absorbed easily and immediately by plants and will not burn . It also enhances the ability of your soil to retain water and even inhibits bacterial and fungal diseases. It will improve soil structure and aeration dramatically. It consists of thousands of durable torpedo-shaped pellets that resist compaction, creating a spongy quality to the material.

VERMI-CAST has not been sterilized and therefore contains a highly active biological mixture of bacteria, enzymes, and microbes. This material stays active for a long period of time. The microbial life in the castings are much better at transforming nutrients into forms readily available to plants than those you find in conventional compost- because the microbes in compost are thermophilic- so the microbial spectrum is quite different and much more beneficial in castings. This is all according to Dr. Clive Edwards, the world’s leading authority on vermicomposting.
The real value of Vermi-Cast lies in the soil structure, water holding capacity, the retention, drainage, pathogen control, and control of damaging fungi and bacterial life in the soil. The worm castings actually contain more bacteria than are found in the worm gut or in the organic matter the worm consumes. Microbiological activity is promoted in the soil, which is very beneficial for the environment your plants are growing in.
Vermi-Cast helps replenish biological diversity in the soil. According to George Hahn of California Vermiculture, “castings provide the biological engines of the soil.” They are the best source for a complete soil food web. A soil food web consists of thousands of biological species. With them you have a healthy soil. The result of this food web is a healthy cycling of soil nutrients.

Worm bin composting - why are castings the best soil amendment? They are simply put, nature's answer to replenishing the soil.

WORM BIN COMPOSTING|What are castings used for?

2006-03-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin Composting - What are castings used for?

Because of its nutrients, bacteria, humus, and soil building qualities, VERMI-CAST can be used in every application imaginable in the garden, greenhouse, and potted plants. Use it when planting trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables. Use it as a top dressing to feed plants already in a pot or in the ground. VERMI-CAST will never burn, so you don't have to worry about using too much. However, you get maximum growth improvement somewhere in the lower levels of concentration, 5-20%, not with 100%.

Worm bin composting - what are castings used for? Absolutely any time you want to add quality soil amendment to any plant whether it be in a pot, container, or in the ground.

Happy worming.

Christy
http://motherearthsfarm.com
Where good things come from for the body and soil.
Subscribe to my new newsletter - "Worms In My Garden." Go to my website now. Request my free Worm Bin Composting Mini-Course.

WORM BIN COMPOSTING|What are castings?

2006-03-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin Composting - What are castings?

I call my castings Vermi-Cast.

What is Vermi-Cast?

We all know the advantages of having earthworms in our gardens. We are thrilled to see these little creatures doing their thing in our soil, and even relocate them when we find them so they will be where they will do us the most good. But did you know that there are more than 3000 species of earthworms, and of those only 6 species are important for improving our soil.

VERMI-CAST is the end product of the hardest worker of them all in worm bin composting – Eisenia fetida, also known as the “red wriggler”, “manure worm”, and “compost worm”. These earthworms produce castings or worm manure, which is the best fertilizer on Earth. It is extremely versatile as it works as a plant food, soil conditioner, and microbial activity enhancer for virtually any type of plant that grows.

VERMI-CAST is a worm bin composting end product unique to VermiCulture Northwest in that it is 95 – 98% pure castings. Most of your other worm bin composting products are a pulverized mixture of castings and partially decomposed organic matter. VERMI-CAST is processed through a fine screen to filter out the excess compost, leaving a very fine, moist product full of nutrition and beneficial bacteria that will produce amazing results in your garden, greenhouse and potted plants.

Worm bin composting - what is castings? Simply the best soil amendment you can use in any application.

Learn more about worm bin composting and how it's a perfect partner in your organic gardening by subscribing to my new newsletter, "WORMS IN MY GARDEN." More information to follow about this.

Happy worming and successful gardening,

Christy

Mother Earth's Farm

Worm Bin Composting|An Organic Choice

2006-03-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin Composting - An organic choice for your garden.

We have known for hundreds of years that earthworms are the best way to improve plant growth and increase yield. Earthworm castings are a wonder product of Nature and will outperform any other organic product or chemical product available.

Let's talk about what plants need, and how worm bin composting can create a product that will meet those needs.

Plants need certain nutrients in fairly large quantities for them to be healthy. These include: Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (which they get from air and water in photosynthesis); nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and calcium (which they are meant to get from the nutritious soil); iron, zinc, copper, manganese, boron, and molybdenum are among the other trace elements that are vital to a plants well being and growth, if in smaller quantities.

Soil which is rich in composted material - like leaves, manure, and straw...and tilled in cover crops like buckwheat, hairy vetch, rye, etc. will have these nutrients in abundance. Add a high-quality vermicompost rich in beneficial bacteria and you have what's necessary to release from your soil exactly what the plant needs when the plant needs it.

Artificial fertilizers bypass the soil-living creatures which are vital to the natural chain of organic soil conditioning and plant fertility, moving straight to the root of the plant. They supply a limited range of plant foods, which dissolve quickly in soil, so they are all available at once. This means that plants can take up too much of one nutrient (such as nitrogen which leads to sappy growth, making the plant more prone to pests and diseases), and not enough of another (plants fed with too much potassium, for example, get magnesium deficiency and turn yellow). What the plant does not use is then often washed out of the soil, wasting resources and polluting the environment. Artificial fertilizers don’t contain all the nutrients required for healthy plant growth, meaning the soil is depleted of these nutrients if not replaced.

So get out there and start layering on some organic material, plan your next cover crop, and get started worm bin composting. It's the answer to successful gardening.

Worm Bin Composting - An organic choice for your garden.

Wormnwomn (that's me, Christy)
Mother Earth's Farm
http://wormbincomposting.blogspot.com

Worm Bin Composting|A Natural Choice

2006-02-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin CompostingA natural choice

If you are a gardener you garden because you love it and you love the results...flavorful vegetables, beautiful flowers, a yard that is the envy of the neighborhood. Worm bin composting can help you achieve these goals faster and better with the added benefit of disposing of your organic waste in a timely and economical way. It's a natural choice for gardeners to make.

If you have never heard of worm bin composting and the resulting vermicompost, then now is the time to discover its secrets. When you go to Mother Earth's Farm you will lay claim to all the information you need to become a successful worm farmer.

Studies have shown that worm bin composting produces a product that will help build the quality of your soil not just give your plants a chemical shot in the arm. Worm bin composting replenishes the soil the way Nature intended. It is a simple miracle of nature that will bring great rewards to those who desire to learn the mystery behind worm bin composting.

Do it now. Learn about worm bin composting.

Make your gardening better.

Christy
Worm Bin Composting at Mother Earth's Farm

Worm Bin Composting Produces Superior Product Over Conventional Composting

2006-02-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

Worm Bin Composting - Let's think about this a moment. Worm bin composting uses worms to do the composting. Therefore the temperatures in the bin must be able to sustain the life of the worm. These temperatures, ideally are between 68 and 72 degrees celsius. The worms can handle degrees below and above these temperatures but not without effecting the speed at which your worm bin composts. With temperatures reaching the extremes of freezing or 90 degrees celsius the worms will start to die. In a conventional compost bin the temperatures climb much higher than the ideal temperatures in your worm bin. These high temperatures kill everything, good and bad. Therefore, when comparing the two systems, worm bin composting and conventional composting, the bacterial life present in the worm bin composting system has a wider variety of beneficial organisms. This makes the product from your worm bin composting system a superior product, as it is the beneficial bacteria which is valuable when added to the soil as a soil amendment.

Some of you might worry about worm bin composting not reaching temperatures high enough to kill pathogens. Studies have shown the worm gut to be most astonishing.

Pathogens Removed Through Vermistabilization: "[Dan] Holcombe reported that tests performed on worm-worked material originating as bio-solids waste showed 'no detect' on such pathogens as E. coli and Salmonella as well as some enteric viruses. Not only is this report significant, but the process of vermistabilization (as Holcombe refers to it) means that vermicompost does not become inoculated with harmful airborne bacteria when exposed to unprocessed waste in close proximity." Casting Call, Vol. 1, No. 2 Casting Call is a bimonthly newsletter put out by Peter Bogdanov at Vermico.com. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in what is going on in the Vermiculture Industry.

So make yourself some better compost and start worm bin composting.

Happy Worming!
www.motherearthsfarm.com

Worm Bin Composting

2006-02-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Worm Bin Composting blog. Here you will learn about Worm Bin Composting and why Worm Bin Composting is something every gardener should be doing no matter what size garden you have.

Worm Bin Composting

New Blog

More questions on manure

Let's Talk Shit! I Mean Manure :)

Gonna...Get...Caught...up!

Wet Bin Delimma

What to do About the Yucky Muck!

In the Heat of the Summer

Can Different Worm Species Co-exist in the Same Environment?

DIY Worm Bin 101

First Harvest

Moving Material

The Worms, They Never Fail Me

Update on the Worm Bin - 4/18/09

April Showers

Winter Worm Report - Promised update

Winter Worm Report - Updates to Follow

Compost Tea - the real story

Winter Worm Report

Winter Prep Activities for the Worm Bin

Anatomy of a Worm Composting Bin

New Videos Awesome Quality

No More YouTube

Trying To Determine an Anaerobic Smell

Worms in the Food Waste in the Worm Bin

Recent Comment On My New Podcast

Winter<---->Spring<---->Winter<---->Spring

New Podcast; As The Worms Turn

Frozen bedding still has worms...

Winter Composting With Worms

Mini Worm Bins

USDA PROPOSES RULE UNDERMINING ORGANICS AND SMALL FARMS

The Importance Of Keeping Records On Your Worm Bin

Worms Like Food Waste

Wormn Wednesday Was Wonderful

What's With The Worms Tuesday

Plans for the future

"Weed it and Weep" Found On AACT Yahoo Group

Fruit Flies Are Common In The Worm Bin

Take Action or "Raw" or "Organic Almonds Will Be No More

More Heat Issues

Getting My Product to Market

Busy Time for Worm Bin Composting

Worm Bin Pictures

Build Your Own Worm Bin

All Worms Are Not Created Equal

As The Worm Bin Turns

Be Creative With Your Unique Situation

Learn to Worm

Are Worms Vegetarians?

If You're Worm Composting for Your Gardening Efforts...

The gardening season is just around the corner and the best way to get ajump on the seasonis to start indoors. Get those seeds started while Ol' Man Winteris still raging and you'll beway ahead of the pack.

Use castings in your seed starting mix and you'll have what seems like a miracle right before your eyes.Gardener's Supply Company - Free Shipping on orders of $55 or more >>Rev your engines for a speedy start on the gardening season.You can get some of your best Organic supplies right here!

For all the extras that you won't find on my site, I love to shop at Gardener's Supply. And with free shipping on orders of $55 or more, you just can't beat that.

I'm starting a new Worm Bin Composting blog.

Out in the cold! - Update on the bins...

AACT - What's that?

Nothing Short of Magic

Autumn Works!

See What Your Workers Can Do!

Your Soil is Teaming with Life

What I Do When It's Too Hot!

New Web Site In The Works!

Worm Bin Composting | Maintaining the worm bin

Harvesting a Worm Bin

Worm Bin Composting | After the Bin, What's Next

Worm Bin Composting | Start with the Bin

Worm Bin Composting | The Season Begins

Worm Bin Composting | Why are castings the best soil amendment?

WORM BIN COMPOSTING|What are castings used for?

WORM BIN COMPOSTING|What are castings?

Worm Bin Composting|An Organic Choice

Worm Bin Composting|A Natural Choice

Worm Bin Composting Produces Superior Product Over Conventional Composting

Worm Bin Composting

The gardening season is just around the corner and the best way to get a
jump on the season

is to start indoors. Get those seeds started while Ol' Man Winter
is still raging and you'll be

way ahead of the pack.

Use castings in your seed starting mix and you'll have what seems like a miracle right before your eyes.

Gardener's Supply Company - Free Shipping on orders of $55 or more >>

Rev your engines for a speedy start on the gardening season.

You can get some of your best Organic supplies right here!