Update On trying to get two small schools to be 100% garbage FREE!
If you would like to read the first part here it is first part
In just 2 weeks and 1 email sent to the staff of my school, we have reduced our garbage to 1/4 of what we had going to the garbage bin. In this very short time we have made great steps in getting this school 100% garbage free! WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!!
Also Update on the Worm Composting in the 1/2 Classroom
Today we found our first little baby worms, I was able to get some good pictures of the bin.
With moisture concerns I had, I added a black plastic bag to the bottom of the bin before we started the bin, it has been a success. The bin is not drying out very quickly,the plastic down first then starting the bin works great! after the first tray is full. Then it will be time to add the next one above, should be fine just adding the next one with just bedding and food waste. The first tray is holding alot of moisture, in turn tray #2 will not dry out like the first would have without adding the plastic bag. The worms can migrate up through the mesh to the new tray above. When that time comes, the first tray has alot more composting to do yet!
I was able to get a great picture of a worm egg (cocoon). This cocoon is not very old it is still a greenish colour, it will turn to a dark brownish,reddish colour before the little worms emerge from the cocoon.
Hope you enjoy the pictures, I will update again soon!!! Thanks Jeff
Written by Jeff on March 28th, 2008 with no comments.
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The older farmers in my area sure gave me some funny looks when I started asking them If they had an Old Fanning Mill hanging around their farms. “What in the world would I want a thing like that for”? . They had not used them since the 1950’s. I heard the story from each, about cranking those old things all day, just to clean that grain so they could plant that years crop. Those machines were hard work, what are you going to do with something like that.
I told them, I was going to try and harvest worm castings with one. I had not even seen one before, but had only heard of them. After harvesting all my worm casting by this point by hand, with a little 1/8″ screen all night to get ready for a garden show the following day, I was ready to try anything.
The Orange one on the left came from the farmer next to me, It was made between 1913-1915, by the Young Brothers of Almonte Ontario,Yes that makes this machine about 95 years old. This unit is the first one I got, it is still operated with the hand crank on the side of the machine.
The red one on the right is one I got at a farm sale, the farmer had sold his farm. When I went and looked at it I was very happy to see what I saw. Someone had put an electic motor on it.
Even though the orange one had a crank on it,and made harvesting the castings much easier. If my hands could be free to handle all the used up bedding I was putting through this machine, I could make alot more finished worm castings in a shorter time. After a few adjustments it works great.
I have made a video of the red one in action! Harvesting Worm Castings
Written by Jeff on March 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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2 months ago I started composting with Worms in my local schools.
So far every Monday I am able to get into this School and do Composting with this grade 1/2 classroom, In grade 2,3 and 4 the students take soils in science, so the worm bin fits great into the curriculum. The Students and I started this bin from scratch,
We shreaded egg cartons and drink holders into bedding for the worms.
We added an apple core and a banana peel, and let it sit for a week, then we added a half pound of European Nightcrawlers.
It was very hard for grade 1/2 students to wait to have this bin ready for the worms, Some thought it was a bee keeping hive, and some said it was for ants, and I asked if we should have bees or ants in our classroom with the holes in a bin like this.. They loved to see it was for worms!
My goal is to have a Worm Bin in everyone of the 45 plus schools in our school board. I talked to one of the high school woodworking teachers and he will have 5 bins ready to go by the end of March 08. At this time I am offering these 5 bins to teachers in our board for FREE,
The only catch is the teacher will need to take these bins home for summer break, so they can keep the worms alive to bring them back in the fall,the beginning of the new school year. After the 5 free bins are handed out. The teachers will be able to buy the bins complete with worms for cost from me! My wife and I will teach them how to take care of the bins as well. If there is any questions with the bins, we are only an email away.
I am doing a Pilot project with 2 schools to see if we can make these schools 100% garbage FREE.
Please check back here on a regular basis for up dates to this project.
Thanks Jeff The Friendly Worm Guy.
Written by Jeff on March 10th, 2008 with 7 comments.
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Worm Composting With Red Wigglers or the European Nightcrawler
Indoor composting with worms is great fun for all ages. There is NO smell and in return you get wonderful organic fertilizer, all made by these great little worms. Worms have been called ” the Intestines of the earth”. The bacteria breaks down all the organic matter, and the worms eat the bacteria. Isn’t it great that we could keep all our organic waste out of the land fills, and in turn we get all the fertilizer we need to grow our great organic food.
Since we live in the north, our bins would need to be indoors for all, or part, of the year. As far as bins, there are a lot of options available at our finger tips, from rubber made containers to old wash tubs. The more surface area the better, as long as there is a lid to keep the worms in the bin. There are a couple of breeds of composting worms that can be used here in the north. One breed is called the red wiggler (Eisenia fetida), this little red worm is the most popular composting worm in the world. The other breed is the European nightcrawler (Eisenia hortensis) that is fast making a name for itself as a great composting worm and as fishing bait. Both these breeds require NO refrigeration. If you make a bin with the European nightcrawler, you will have an endless supply of bait worms for fishing.
This is a handful of European Nightcrawlers.
When setting up a worm bin; First decide on the kind of bin of your choice. It will need a lid to help keep your worms within the bin. You will need to have some air flow, but not too much. Too much airflow will dry the bin out too fast. We have drilled holes about 1/8 ” in diameter so that the worms do not crawl out. Start with a small amount of holes that would be good. Remember you can add more if it looks necessary. This takes alot of observing at first. When buying plastic bins (recyclable ones are most ideal for the environment), you can often find bins which already contain holes.
Next you can add bedding to your worms new home. Get a bin ready before buying your worms. This will make it easier and food scrapes can start decaying and becoming food before they arrive. Add some food scrapes, in different sections of the bin. Then add the shredded paper on top. Before you add the paper, will need to soak it in some water and wring it out by hand. You should be able to squeeze hard and only get 2 or 3 drops of water out of it. If there is more, then it is too wet. Then spread it all over the bin. Fill it about half full. Always put the scrape food underneath the bedding, this will keep any odour of the decaying foods from escaping. Once the worms eat all the remains of the food it will then become odourless. Burrying the food will also help the scrapes to heat up and rot faster. I suggest using small portions of different types of food at first, to experiment and observe how fast the worms eat the food and how much to put in the bin. Once you have observed the bins enough you will know just by looking. You get to know your worms just like getting to know any pets diet. There is lots of learning as you go, but it is fun!
Time to add your worms. Find a reputable supplier and start with at least half a pound, or a pound of worms. When they arrive add them to your bin. The arrival is the fun part, especially when you are waiting for them to come. Leave the lid on when not observing. Leaving a light on in the room will help to settle them down into the bedding. Some worms will crawl up the sides. That is alright, do not worry. Worms will stay in the bin, as they don’t like light for long periods of time. They may just want to explore their new environment.
Taking care of the conditions of a worm bin environment is alot like taking care of a plant or a pet. If you notice it is too wet add more dry shredded paper so that it is damp not wet, or add a spritz of water from a water bottle when it is too dry. Add food to bin as it is getting eaten. The more variety the better, and given at different intervals. This gives the worms a good food supply and choice. The bacteria will produce faster in some areas than others and leaves them with a constant supply of food. Shredded cardboard is a great thing to add to the bin, just rip it up into many small pieces.
Egg shells will help the worm in digesting it’s food, as they have no teeth. So,dry and then crush egg shells into your bin in fine bits. Add things like fruit and vegetable food waste, such as banana peels, apple cores, potato skins, grains( including rice, stale cereal), tea bags, coffee filters, and coffee/tea grounds. Do NOT add things like onions, acidic fruit (eg.oranges, lemons), meat or poultry, bones, milk or milk products (no chesse,yogurt,etc.), or anything that is not organic(eg. plastic, cans, glass, cleaners). When you become more experienced in vermicomposting you may add SMALL amounts of acidic fruit.
Now you are ready to help keep the earth green. After everything is turned into worm castings (poop) in about 4-6 months, it can be used to fertillize your soil for house plants, garden crop and for starting your seeds. You may want to make a big drum of worm tea for your garden or your lawn. This could be done by adding water in a large container, or barrel, and soaking a bag of castings in it, for 2 days. Using an aerator (like a fish Bubbler for instance) will help the microbial count (which is better for your plants) is a bonus and will further develop the growth of your plants. Applying this to each plant from a watering can is easy. Worm tea will improve the growth of small trees, flowers and shrubs, vegetable gardens and house plants.
For starting seeds, a teaspoon of vermicompost castings added to each hole with the seed is a great boost to the plant. This will ensure all the nutrients needed for good growth along with a sufficient amount of water on a regular basis. If you want, experiment in the garden with the vermicompost. Plant seeds with it and some seeds without. Compare the difference. We find the extra experiments add some more excitement with watching the garden grow.
For house plants, you may want to top dress the vermicompost or use worm tea. You may also want to do this for trees and shrubs or in your garden. A gardeners choice. Whatever works best for each person.
You now have a good idea how to start this project. The Friendly Worm Guy
Written by Jeff on March 2nd, 2008 with 6 comments.
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by the Friendly Worm Guy
Jeff Sonnenburg
OK. A week has not past since I posted the first part of the story, Remember these are the very same as they appeared in the weekly news paper. Enjoy…. Jeff
Well, a week ago I told you we could keep a lot of organic waste out of our landfill sites with the little composting bins in our homes. Lets say there were 1700 homes in our community, and half the homes had a bin with worms eating 5 pounds of table scraps , etc per week.
850 homes X 5 pounds per week =4250 lbs per week,then you X that by 52 weeks, for a grand total of 221,000 lbs of garbage that stayed out of the landfill in just one year.(Stay away from meats and dairy products, they make ODORS if not eaten fast enough).The bin also gives us 110,500 pounds of Casting that went on indoor, outdoor plants, flowers, lawns, trees and shrubs in one year..
The fact that earthworm castings are created by nature for the purpose of promoting plant growth, why do we need chemical sprays for our plants and trees when there is worm castings and worm tea. This great fertilizer is all made by those tiny little worms.
I once read that earthworms were responsible for bring 25,000 lbs of castings to surface on 1 acre of land per year.That was in a warm weather climate of course, but never the less, isn’t that incredible!!!Worm castings can be mixed 1 part castings and 3 parts of potting soil.
Worm Tea is the liquid at the bottom of the composting bin, or by taking worm castings and soaking it in chlorine free water overnight.Worm Tea is the best all natural liquid plant food available and has NO ODOR.
Some good facts about worm tea: the microbes within the worm tea turn organic matter into humus. This humus stores energy for later use, a natural fertilizer.When using as a fertilizer, the worm tea should by mixed 1 part worm tea to 50 parts water. Worm tea directly applied to a compost pile will speed up its ability to break down plant material into compost. This in return forming more humus witch can be used as a fertilizer.
Hope you enjoyed this article about worm facts, and last weeks article about the new worm the European Nightcrawler…
Written by Jeff on March 1st, 2008 with 1 comment.
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