Here it is...
Showing posts with label urban composting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban composting. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Meanwhile, back at the Wriggly Wranch..
No deer or antelope to speak of this time around. This range/ranch is more of a plastic box with legs that houses eisenia fetida, or Red Wriggler worms. These very squirmy wormies are originally from South America and like to live in the relatively shallow top layer of earth, where they eat decaying organic matter. This fact makes them ideal for vermicomposting (you know, "verm" + "compost"), due to the fact that they are tolerant of living in small spaces like a plastic box with legs.I got my Wriggly Wranch when I attended a Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works- sponsored gardening workshop where eager but yet-ignorant citizens can learn about backyard and worm composting as well as fire- and water-wise gardening and grass recycling. If you attend, you can buy either a biostack or worm compost bin with worms at a subsidized price. Yes, the subsidized price still wasn't dirt (pardon the pun) cheap, but I consider the Wriggly Wranch and my worms worth the $65.00 I paid out.
I set up my little worm condo on my porch at the beginning of November 2008, when we were having some unseasonably warm weather. Setting up the bin involved wetting and fluffing a compacted brick of coconut coir (the shaved outer layer of coconut husk that covers the shell) inside the Wriggly Wranch and then burying the worms, along with some kitchen scraps, in it. Put the lid on and wait and the worms eat the coconut coir and the kitchen scraps and produce a poo poo (aka "worm casting") so full of plant nutrients that any old nasty seed tossed into it will sprout a healthy seedling in just a couple of days flat. The worms can eat almost half their weight in food per day when they're feeling their oats (..or green pepper stems, or mango peelings), quickly producing a finely textured compost in a fraction of the time it takes to compost in the traditional way.
Nevertheless, there are some hazards to avoid:
Hazard A: You need to learn how not to "overfeed" the bin. If you feed the worms the right amount, your bin will smell earthy but not stinky at all. The w
orms like to eat food scraps as soon as they begin to acquire bacteria. (Think of veggies that are starting to get slimy or droopy and brown-looking. This yukky stuff is just perfect to the worms.) Because they like decaying food and can consume it quickly, you'll only be left with stinking food scraps if the worms have too much to eat and can't get to all of the food yet. The worms, if not overfed, will eat the veggies before they can begin stinking and before they start growing mold. Thus, a very clean, stink free bin due to quick "turnover" (consumption, digestion, and excretion by the worms.) If you see mold begin to form in the bin, chances are you've overfed. Word to the worm-wise: be advised that if you put in some freshly trimmed green parsley stems..or fresh anything.., the worms may not eat them for about a week or more, until they start to wilt and go bad. In the picture to the right, you can see the food scraps and coconut coir. At this time, I had a small amount of worms and this amount of food turned out to be too much for them, which I learned when a white mold started to form on the surface of the coconut coir beneath which some of the food scraps were buried. In the left front corner, you see some pumpkin seed sprouts. These were pulled out of the coconut coir where they'd begun to sprout up.
orms like to eat food scraps as soon as they begin to acquire bacteria. (Think of veggies that are starting to get slimy or droopy and brown-looking. This yukky stuff is just perfect to the worms.) Because they like decaying food and can consume it quickly, you'll only be left with stinking food scraps if the worms have too much to eat and can't get to all of the food yet. The worms, if not overfed, will eat the veggies before they can begin stinking and before they start growing mold. Thus, a very clean, stink free bin due to quick "turnover" (consumption, digestion, and excretion by the worms.) If you see mold begin to form in the bin, chances are you've overfed. Word to the worm-wise: be advised that if you put in some freshly trimmed green parsley stems..or fresh anything.., the worms may not eat them for about a week or more, until they start to wilt and go bad. In the picture to the right, you can see the food scraps and coconut coir. At this time, I had a small amount of worms and this amount of food turned out to be too much for them, which I learned when a white mold started to form on the surface of the coconut coir beneath which some of the food scraps were buried. In the left front corner, you see some pumpkin seed sprouts. These were pulled out of the coconut coir where they'd begun to sprout up. Hazard B: Bugs. Little other creatures will also make a home of the bin (especially if you put the bin outdoors for any length of time.) Springtails, fungus gnats, mites, fruit flies, drain flies, and house flies all like the decaying organic matter in your bin and will happily
abide/nest /eat there. Most of these bugs actually help the composting process and do not hurt the worms or the compost. However, if you are like me, you do NOT want house flies and fruit flies and flying things that escape the bin in your house. Don't fear. You can prevent them from getting in there or get rid of them if they do take up residence. When you "feed" the bin, it's important to bury the scraps in the "bedding" (which can be moistened coconut coir, shredded paper, shredded cardboard, etc. on top of or mixed in with the worm castings) to keep fruit flies and the like from laying their eggs on the decaying food.
abide/nest /eat there. Most of these bugs actually help the composting process and do not hurt the worms or the compost. However, if you are like me, you do NOT want house flies and fruit flies and flying things that escape the bin in your house. Don't fear. You can prevent them from getting in there or get rid of them if they do take up residence. When you "feed" the bin, it's important to bury the scraps in the "bedding" (which can be moistened coconut coir, shredded paper, shredded cardboard, etc. on top of or mixed in with the worm castings) to keep fruit flies and the like from laying their eggs on the decaying food.As the weather began to dip below 50 degrees at 
night (which is sort of a minimum temperature for the worms), I brought my Wriggly Wranch inside and put it in a corner of my kitchen by the NatureMill and the trash can. Although the lid was on all the time, there was a thriving ecology of bugs that were living in the bin such as springtails, fungus gnats, mites, and drain flies. I learned that the teeny tiny fast-crawling hypoapsis mites eat fruit fly and fungus gnat larvae as well as decaying organic matter so I decided we should keep those around. Besides, the mites aren't interested in crawling outside the bin because there's no food for them outside. As far as the flying pests, it took about a month and a half of burying food cleanly and vacuuming up fruit flies flying around my kitchen, but I did eradicate the population. (Beneficial nematodes can also be introduced to the bin to eat fly larvae.) Always keep an airtight lid on your compost collection bucket, too, because the fruit flies will begin to lay eggs on that if you expose it to the air.
night (which is sort of a minimum temperature for the worms), I brought my Wriggly Wranch inside and put it in a corner of my kitchen by the NatureMill and the trash can. Although the lid was on all the time, there was a thriving ecology of bugs that were living in the bin such as springtails, fungus gnats, mites, and drain flies. I learned that the teeny tiny fast-crawling hypoapsis mites eat fruit fly and fungus gnat larvae as well as decaying organic matter so I decided we should keep those around. Besides, the mites aren't interested in crawling outside the bin because there's no food for them outside. As far as the flying pests, it took about a month and a half of burying food cleanly and vacuuming up fruit flies flying around my kitchen, but I did eradicate the population. (Beneficial nematodes can also be introduced to the bin to eat fly larvae.) Always keep an airtight lid on your compost collection bucket, too, because the fruit flies will begin to lay eggs on that if you expose it to the air.Hazard C: (And this isn't a big hazard.) Wandering worms. There are certain conditions that will cause the worms to crawl up the sides and up in the lid of the bin instead of stay
ing in the dirt. Avoid too much moisture, not enough moisture, too much acidity, not enough bedding material, and overcrowding/overpopulation. (Worms may also temporarily crawl out of the dirt when the barometric pressure drops due to rainy weather, too.) I've never had a worm actually crawl through the aeration holes in the lid, even though some are small enough to do it, because they like to avoid light and dry conditions. You've got the ideal moisture level if you can squeeze a drop or two of water out of a handful of compost. Add more water or bedding material to get the balance right. Important to have enough bedding material because if the worms are living in a container that mostly consists of their poop, it can be toxic to them. So get a good percentage of bedding mixed with the castings. If you feed your worms lots of acidic food such as tomatoes or fruit, your bin might be too acidic. Try adding garden lime or eggshells to get the ph balance corrected. If your worms have been eating a lot, they'll tend to reproduce and crowd the place. They might be crawling out of the dirt just to get a little elbow room (although they don't really have elbows.)
ing in the dirt. Avoid too much moisture, not enough moisture, too much acidity, not enough bedding material, and overcrowding/overpopulation. (Worms may also temporarily crawl out of the dirt when the barometric pressure drops due to rainy weather, too.) I've never had a worm actually crawl through the aeration holes in the lid, even though some are small enough to do it, because they like to avoid light and dry conditions. You've got the ideal moisture level if you can squeeze a drop or two of water out of a handful of compost. Add more water or bedding material to get the balance right. Important to have enough bedding material because if the worms are living in a container that mostly consists of their poop, it can be toxic to them. So get a good percentage of bedding mixed with the castings. If you feed your worms lots of acidic food such as tomatoes or fruit, your bin might be too acidic. Try adding garden lime or eggshells to get the ph balance corrected. If your worms have been eating a lot, they'll tend to reproduce and crowd the place. They might be crawling out of the dirt just to get a little elbow room (although they don't really have elbows.)Hazard D: Know what not to feed the worms. No citrus. It has too much acid and isn't good for them. No oils or salt, not even a little bit. And just so you're aware, the worms will avoid anything that is so disgustingly rotten and moldy that it looks like a science experiment. FYI white or blackish molds are safer than pink, yellow, green, or other colored molds. A little white or black mold is OK. The others are starting to make penicillin.
Here's a gleeful picture of the contents and inhabitants of my worm bin. This is a cucumber and some junk mail being eaten. The bin has been doing well since its inception and I'm thinking now that I'm going to turn the outdoor traditional compost bin into a worm bin as soon as the nighttime weather gets above 50 degrees outside. By the way..the worms like to ideally live in temperatures from 50 to 80 degrees, but can survive, although not thrive, at somewhat higher or lower temperatures.
WINNOW'S PICK! Currently, I feel that vermicomposting outshines the competitors (porch traditional compost bin and NatureMill) as the glittering ideal in composting methods! Its advantages include: 1) stink-free when done right 2) best compost (finely textured, most aerated, most plant nutrients) 3) can be located in a kitchen without offending humans 4) can be fairly bug-free when done right, 5) nice by-product compost tea, 6) quickest composting time (just as fast as the NatureMill without the smell). Now if that's not enough to motivate you to get yourself some worms, I don't know what will. :)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Urban Compost/ "You're doing WHAT with your garbage?"
You're wondering what in the world made me decide to pursue composting with such fervor. How does an apartment dweller go about composting? Why do I rip the plastic window out of my junkmail, shred it, and keep it in a bag along with dryer lint and other odd shreds of paper? Why do I hoard (yes, I even fish them out of the trash) apple cores, carrot tops, banana peels, green pepper stems, and slimy vegies-in-transition from the crisper tray in the fridge? And what about asking the man at the cutting table at Home Depot if I can have a couple of buckets of his sawdust? What's behind this composting thing of mine?
Well, there are many benefits of compost: It keeps our landfills free of methane and acidic leachate. Methane can leak into pockets of soil, possibly contributing to explosions and acidic leachate can assist in making other soil toxins more mobile and thus more dangerous. When incorporated into soil, compost provides nutrients to a plant's growing area and increases the soil's drainage and ability to retain moisture. It can even promote resistance to pests and disease in plants. Compost has been shown to help prevent soil erosion, clean up contaminated soils, and prevent pollution. Compost takes that which is essentially refuse (rotting/ inedible food or lawn clippings, junk mail, paper waste, dead leves, etc.) and makes it into something beneficial to our ecosystem!
Oh! I'm environmentally-minded! Working for the health of the planet, doing my part to be "green." Well, yes. I think so. I like the idea of doing what's good for the earth, not being wasteful, and being resourceful. I think those things are important. But to be truthful..I suspect this is primarily a genetically-motivated behavior.
I think it's a gene. A gene probably inherited from my mother (I doubt it came from my left-brained accountant father). The mother who reupholsters couches she retrieves from the side of the road which wind up part of the living room furnishings. The same mother who used to "dump in the dumpster"--a term we children (ahem!) affectionately coined for a certain tendency to check dumpsters for things that really didn't need to be thrown away. (By the way, it was never embarassing for us to sit--or rather slink down--in the car while she did this.) Asking the produce stocker at the grocery store, did he have any vegetables that had passed their prime and were going to be thrown away that she could have to feed to her goats and rabbits (..or her children)? Cutting the mold off the cheese and using the still-good part, or cutting the mold off of any food item and using the still-good part. This mother has raised "bummer lambs" (who got sick and died despite her amateur veterinarian skills), goats who had goats and whose milk I did not like, dozens of rabbits, and one border collie who she intended to train to herd the bummer lambs. We butchered some of the goats and rabbits for their meat, although we kids didn't like eating our pet rabbits, but others (like the bummer lambs) I think my mom decided to raise for inexplicable reasons. I think my dad (who always shook his head in confusion but was patient nonetheless) asked her what the purpose for raising bummer lambs was and she used some type of non-sequitur explanation involving Pepper (the border collie) being a sheepherding dog and the fact that bummer lambs need to be raised by humans because their mothers rejected them. Did I mention the time she dug out a root cellar underneath our house in Colorado? Anyhow, you get my drift. Although when I was a kid, and especially when I was a teenager, I wanted desperately for her to stop all these things and just wanted her and us to be "normal," I guess I have eventually inherited an "unconventionality" gene from her that makes me think compost is...cool and fun.
Oh, and by the way, I also cut the mold off the cheese and use the still-good part.
So HOW does an apartment dweller compost? I'm about to tell you:
I wanted to start a porch composting bin. Got the idea for this from http://www.balconycompost.com/ only I made it a 25 gallon Rubbermaid container instead of a 5 gallon storage bucket. Punched holes in this using some scissors (holes in the bottom and the lid, too.) Then it's ready to fill up:
First, I put in some old nuts that were rancid and had been sitting in the pantry too long. And some popcorn seeds that didn't pop.
Some stale chips.
And some rice that had gotten infested with weevils.
Kitchen scraps. These are trimmings, peelings, stems, food that's gone too yukky for human consumption, etc. (Here's a link that explains what types of food waste can be composted). Plastic containers like the baby spinach container you see make great collection buckets for compost until you're ready to empty them. Just find one that is airtight. Throw it out and replace with another one next time you buy something in an airtight plastic container.
Next the stale chips...
Well, there are many benefits of compost: It keeps our landfills free of methane and acidic leachate. Methane can leak into pockets of soil, possibly contributing to explosions and acidic leachate can assist in making other soil toxins more mobile and thus more dangerous. When incorporated into soil, compost provides nutrients to a plant's growing area and increases the soil's drainage and ability to retain moisture. It can even promote resistance to pests and disease in plants. Compost has been shown to help prevent soil erosion, clean up contaminated soils, and prevent pollution. Compost takes that which is essentially refuse (rotting/ inedible food or lawn clippings, junk mail, paper waste, dead leves, etc.) and makes it into something beneficial to our ecosystem!
Oh! I'm environmentally-minded! Working for the health of the planet, doing my part to be "green." Well, yes. I think so. I like the idea of doing what's good for the earth, not being wasteful, and being resourceful. I think those things are important. But to be truthful..I suspect this is primarily a genetically-motivated behavior.
I think it's a gene. A gene probably inherited from my mother (I doubt it came from my left-brained accountant father). The mother who reupholsters couches she retrieves from the side of the road which wind up part of the living room furnishings. The same mother who used to "dump in the dumpster"--a term we children (ahem!) affectionately coined for a certain tendency to check dumpsters for things that really didn't need to be thrown away. (By the way, it was never embarassing for us to sit--or rather slink down--in the car while she did this.) Asking the produce stocker at the grocery store, did he have any vegetables that had passed their prime and were going to be thrown away that she could have to feed to her goats and rabbits (..or her children)? Cutting the mold off the cheese and using the still-good part, or cutting the mold off of any food item and using the still-good part. This mother has raised "bummer lambs" (who got sick and died despite her amateur veterinarian skills), goats who had goats and whose milk I did not like, dozens of rabbits, and one border collie who she intended to train to herd the bummer lambs. We butchered some of the goats and rabbits for their meat, although we kids didn't like eating our pet rabbits, but others (like the bummer lambs) I think my mom decided to raise for inexplicable reasons. I think my dad (who always shook his head in confusion but was patient nonetheless) asked her what the purpose for raising bummer lambs was and she used some type of non-sequitur explanation involving Pepper (the border collie) being a sheepherding dog and the fact that bummer lambs need to be raised by humans because their mothers rejected them. Did I mention the time she dug out a root cellar underneath our house in Colorado? Anyhow, you get my drift. Although when I was a kid, and especially when I was a teenager, I wanted desperately for her to stop all these things and just wanted her and us to be "normal," I guess I have eventually inherited an "unconventionality" gene from her that makes me think compost is...cool and fun.
Oh, and by the way, I also cut the mold off the cheese and use the still-good part.
So HOW does an apartment dweller compost? I'm about to tell you:
I wanted to start a porch composting bin. Got the idea for this from http://www.balconycompost.com/ only I made it a 25 gallon Rubbermaid container instead of a 5 gallon storage bucket. Punched holes in this using some scissors (holes in the bottom and the lid, too.) Then it's ready to fill up:
First, I put in some old nuts that were rancid and had been sitting in the pantry too long. And some popcorn seeds that didn't pop.
Some stale chips.
And some rice that had gotten infested with weevils.
Kitchen scraps. These are trimmings, peelings, stems, food that's gone too yukky for human consumption, etc. (Here's a link that explains what types of food waste can be composted). Plastic containers like the baby spinach container you see make great collection buckets for compost until you're ready to empty them. Just find one that is airtight. Throw it out and replace with another one next time you buy something in an airtight plastic container.
Bottom layer should be browns and preferably have some bulk...these nuts are OK but it would be better if I had more of them.
Next the stale chips...
Next the rotting food scraps with the rice underneath (rice is a "brown.")
I added some dryer lint (very compostable and considered a "brown.")
Lastly, shredded junkmail, newspaper, torn up brown paper bags, torn up paper towel or toilet paper tubes...basically any paper that doesn't have a glossy finish. These are "browns."
Ok, so these sat on my porch for a while. I added more greens (about 7-8 more baby spinach containers full at a rate of almost 1 container per day) and a little more shredded paper. I tended to pull back the newspaper layer and add the greens to the green layer because I was trying to see if I could get the bin to heat up and start hot composting. (I believe I got the green layer too thick and should have added some brown layers in between.) Then I went on vacation for Thanksgiving for about six days. When I came back, the compost was putrid. Nasty nasty. TOO many greens! It did NOT smell like compost and it wasn't composting due to too much nitrogen (which comes from the greens) and not enough carbon (which comes from the browns) and it had probably become anaerobic. I rectified this by adding a lot of sawdust and a lot more shredded paper and continuing to stir and monitor the smell about daily when I added more of our greens every day. I now have a better balance on adding stuff to the bin and I make sure that for every bucket of greens I add, I also add a bucket of combination sawdust and shredded paper. Here's the way the compost looks right now and the good thing is, no more putrid and it smells like it's composting finally.
Lastly, shredded junkmail, newspaper, torn up brown paper bags, torn up paper towel or toilet paper tubes...basically any paper that doesn't have a glossy finish. These are "browns."
Ok, so these sat on my porch for a while. I added more greens (about 7-8 more baby spinach containers full at a rate of almost 1 container per day) and a little more shredded paper. I tended to pull back the newspaper layer and add the greens to the green layer because I was trying to see if I could get the bin to heat up and start hot composting. (I believe I got the green layer too thick and should have added some brown layers in between.) Then I went on vacation for Thanksgiving for about six days. When I came back, the compost was putrid. Nasty nasty. TOO many greens! It did NOT smell like compost and it wasn't composting due to too much nitrogen (which comes from the greens) and not enough carbon (which comes from the browns) and it had probably become anaerobic. I rectified this by adding a lot of sawdust and a lot more shredded paper and continuing to stir and monitor the smell about daily when I added more of our greens every day. I now have a better balance on adding stuff to the bin and I make sure that for every bucket of greens I add, I also add a bucket of combination sawdust and shredded paper. Here's the way the compost looks right now and the good thing is, no more putrid and it smells like it's composting finally.When I turn it, I can feel heat in the center when I put my hand close to it. However, it's not heating up to the point where it's steaming. One reason could be that it's too small. Most sources say the pile needs to be 3 feet by 3 feet in order to start heating. However, I have heard that you can hot compost in smaller volume. I do have a lid (with holes in it) on this bin, which might help insulate it. On the other hand, it is December (as I'm finishing this post) and colder weather is another factor contributing to the pile not heating up enough.
I will post updates on how this method works as I continue to use it. I will also be posting on vermicomposting, using a NatureMill, and using a ceramic planter pot on the porch for composting.
I will post updates on how this method works as I continue to use it. I will also be posting on vermicomposting, using a NatureMill, and using a ceramic planter pot on the porch for composting.
So that's the skinny (so far) on my "urban composting" efforts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
