We’ve been Vermicomposting for almost 4 months now and it’s been quite a learning experience! We recently moved to a place where we could place our bin outside, so we got a little lazy about smell. Pretty soon, the smell was really bad! Too much liquid, not enough drainage and air was causing anaerobic (sans oxygen) bacteria to grow which causes that rotting smell. Jay has been patient enough to help the bin drain by rotating in paper, dirt and sawdust. Drilling several dozen extra drain holes helped a bunch too! We’ve also been checking out the book Worms Eat My Garbage for more Vermicomposting tips!
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Technorati Tags: compost, composting, Vermicomposting, worm bin, worms, dirt, ryanishungry, sanfrancisco
hey ryan. i just got my worms today, and i’m setting up my box (don’t worry, i’m filming it). good to see where you guys are a few months down the road. it’s neat!
annie
that is so cool!!!!
yeah be careful you don\’t feed them to much at once
like ours, yours might get stinky!
can\’t wait to see your video!
-ryanne/jay
Good for you guys for vermicomposting and for helping spread the word. Eureka, CA author Amy Stewart has written a nice two-page flyer on composting with earthworms. I keep mine posted near my Can-O-Worms setup. http://www.amystewart.com/images/worm-composting.pdf
One thing I like about the Can-O-Worms is that it has a spigot at the bottom for draining off excess moisture… which you can also dilute and use as a fertilizer. You might be able to use the stuff that drips into your lower bin.
I also prefer using coir fiber instead of newspaper because there’s some question about toxicity of newspaper inks. Make sure the newsprint you’re using is printed with “soy-based inks”. You can buy compressed coco peat bricks (also known as “coir”) from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply: http://www.groworganic.com/item_PSO110_Coco_Peat_13_Cu_Ft_Brick.html
Good luck! Oh, and if you get fruit flies, here’s a link for making homemade vinegar traps: http://www.thesnidersweb.com/vettnew/fliesinyourkitchen.htm
hi angela!
thanks for all the advice and links!
we’re becoming experts as the process continues with help from friends like you.
Jay/Ryanne
Yeah, coffee grounds make your compost smell baaaaaad for some reason. Gary won’t put coffee grounds in. Now I can tell him why - because it’s wet and stops air circulating. Hooray!
cheryl
we should have been more clear, coffee grounds are actually excellent for your compost, it’s the really wet coffee grounds that are bad if you don’t have good drainage. the course grounds make it possible for the worms to digest things (it’s like a substitute for their teeth) but if there it too much liquid daily in a bin that’s made of plastic, it will start to get sludgy!
I haven’t watched anything in 3 months, pretty much off of the computer in the summer, but I’m back and finally have some highspeed in the house. It does not surprise me one bit to check in after all of that time and see Dedman playing with worms.