Vermiculture

Vermiculture (Vermicomposting)

 

 

Heads up gardeners!  This post is about using worms to compost your garage.  It seems the little critters like your table scraps and your plants love their worm manure.

 Vermiculture defines the concept.

Vermicomposting defines the process.

 A search online will get you more information than you’ll ever need, but here are the basics.

 Get a tray about 16” x 16” x 6” and line it with moist shredded newspaper.  Mix in a little potting soil, just for fun (OK, it’s to help the food breakdown).

 Add the worms.  Red Wrigglers are supposed to be the best.  They cost about $25.00 per pound.

 Mix in your food scraps and let the little beasties have at it.

 
Well, there’s a little more than that.  The tray must have a porous bottom or the worms will drown.  So use a two tier system, where the bottom tray collects the “worm tea” (A polite way of saying worm pee).  Drill holes in the bottom of the top tier.

 Most people use several worm tiers above the base, to allow the worms to climb up as new tiers are added, making it easier to harvest the compost in the lower tiers.

 And of course, you’ll need a lid to keep the critters in the composter and out of your house.

 Which brings up another point.  Vermicomposting can be done indoors, making it good for apartments and other urban settings.

 You can make this system yourself.  For an example see www.instructables.com/id/5-dollar-12-hour-worm-composting-bins.

This is in keeping with my last blog:

 

Start where you are,

Use what you have,

Do what you can.

 Some of us, however, want a ready made solution.  There are a number of vermicomposters on the web.  The one illustrated is a Worm Factory 360.  It sells for about $110 from a number of sites, including Amazon (worms not included).  Many suppliers toss in other inducements, like planting software or vermiculture ebooks. Shop around, before you buy.

Missing post?

I would have sworn that I posted entries since the last one listed.  I must be getting senile.

I've been reading some survivalist posts.  When I was an active backpacker many years ago, survival meant staying alive if a disaster struck while in the wilderness.  Today, survival means many different things.

Some people are worried abut natural disasters, like Katrina, Fujiwara, or Three Mile Island.  Others are worried about an economic collapse.  Some think the the end of the world as we know it will happen, as the government fails and we are thrown into anarchy.

Whatever the reason, people are hunkering down and setting up survival conditions in their homes.  This may not be a bad thing, as one person noted.  When he was laid off, his family had six months of food to live on.

People are also starting to think about self sufficiency, learning new homesteading skills and growing their own food, even setting up chicken coops.

Many years ago, I had read that rural poor live better than urban poor, because they can grow some food and keep some "free range" chickens.

A few people are starting to look at urban survival.  There are articles on growing food on your windowsill and how to repair worn clothing.

I think this may be a healthy trend, but one that may not last as the recession fades.