Are you wondering what to buy for Christmas?

A worm bin and pound of worms make a great Christmas gift.
I am not alone in this idea। I had someone come by my booth at Common Ground who told me that a worm bin and pound of worms the hot item at Yankee swap. Also, several people purchased worms and a bin from me this year as gifts for mom.

Worm bins need not be expensive or complicated. I think a simple bin is really a lot easier to use (and certainly easier to build!).

In my mind, the perfect gift would be a book on vermicomposting (like Mary Appelhof's book Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System), a pound of worms and a new bin.

If you are already vermicomposting, you can provide the worms and make the bin. If you're an experienced vermicomposter, you can provide a vermi-consultation and skip the book. The more people we have vermicomposting the better.

If you are looking for other gift ideas, I recently created Amazon lists of my recommended vermicomposting supplies, as well as favorite garden tools and books.

You can view at:

WormMainea vermicomposting tools and supplies.

WormMainea gardening tools.

WormMainea gardening book recommendations.

Happy Holidays!

Mark

What’s in Your Worm Bin?!

You may think you have mostly worms in your bin, but you’d be wrong। In fact, your bin is a very complex and diverse ecosystem. You have hundreds of species of organisms working in harmony to turn your food waste into beautiful compost. Your red worms are only a very small population of the other micro- and macro- organisms that inhabit your bin.

Sometimes new users write me with concerns when they notice some populations that bloom in number. Often they fear these organisms will flee the bin and harm houseplants or become a pest in their home. No to worry. These organisms are happy in your bin where they have food and darkness. They are decomposers, so they do not harm houseplants.

What is really interesting is that these species have slightly different environmental preferences and food requirements। This means that depending on the conditions in your bin and what you are feeding, you may have some population blooms of these other species. For example, if you place a lot of sugary fruit in your bin, you will see mites bloom followed by an increase in the number of springtails. When their food supply weans they will die off.

Bacteria

Bacteria are by far the most numerous organisms in the vermicompost system. They break down organic matter to make it available to earthworms and other organisms in the bin. Remember, your worms don’t eat the food you put in, but the rot that is on the food. Bacteria are essential to your worm bin, just as they are in outdoor soil.

Mold & Fungi

In addition to the bacteria, mold and fungi are busy decomposing the organic matter in your worm bin. They are also an additional food source to other organisms in the system, including earthworms. Because they can grow big enough to be seen, these can be a sign that you have more food than the system can quickly manage and the feeding rate should be decreased. Mold and fungi pose no threat to the garden or the animals living in the worm bin, but overgrowth of these can cause irritation to humans with mold allergies. To keep them under control, feed in small amounts and when you see an overgrowth of these hold back on feeding.

Mites

Mites (reddish brown specks about as large as a typed period) are commonly found on the surface of the bin (if your bin is light colored, you can often see them on the sides near the soil)। Mite populations will bloom when you have wet, sugary foods (fruit) in your bin।

Springtails

Springtail are an insect (white or tan) that can be seen fairly easily on the surface of the soil। They are beneficial in the system and have no interest in living plant tissue. Some texts claim that more than 80% of the organic matter on earth passes through the gut of a springtail or sow bug on its journey to becoming topsoil. They are most noticeable after a bloom in the mite population or in nearly finished compost.

Potworms

Sometimes mistaken for young red worms, these are very small white worms. They too are beneficial organisms that feed on decaying organic matter. Potworms are more common when your worm bin is on the acidic side, but they do not necessarily mean that you have a problem. You will see them after adding a lot of citrus.

Tips for keeping your bin running smoothly

Remember: the food waste you add to you worm bin today isn’t eaten by the worms until the other actors in your bin have done their job. Bury your food (adding the amount appropriate to the number of worms in your bin) to bring these organisms in contact with your food to get the process started and next time you have a moment, take a close look at your ecosystem. You may be surprised at the complexity of the system you are maintaining.

As always, your senses should be your guide to vermicomposting. What do you see, smell and feel in your bin?

Cheers,

Mark

What is the best size for my worm bin?

Really that is determined by what works for you in the space you have.

You can buy manufactured bins online or in progressive stores, but I suggest you save your money and make one yourself!

When I respond to this question, I offer the following suggestions and considerations:

Red wigglers don’t typically dig more than 8” deep into a worm bin, so a really deep bin does not work as well as a shallower bin. You want to have the worms all the way to the bottom of the bin to keep conditions aerobic.

Really large bins (30 or 50 gallon size) can be used for worm bins, but they are VERY heavy when full of worms and vermicompost. If you’re planning to move your bin (e.g., take it outside to harvest using the sun), consider a series of smaller bins. If you're not going to move it, these large bins can certainly work.

Small bins can also work. Some people have shoebox size bins they keep under the kitchen sink. This can work, however, you must closely monitor conditions in your bin and be careful what you feed them. In a small bin the worms have nowhere to escape if the conditions become unhealthy. A friend had a wonderful bin until a bunch of limes were added in a layer to the bin after a Cinco de Mayo party. Soil pH dropped and all the worms died. This is also why I recommend you feed in the corners when you are starting.

I find the standard 18 gallon plastic storage totes work well for me. They are reasonably sized to allow the worms to flee from any bad things you may add, they are not too when full, they don’t take up too much space in the room, and they can be stacked. See http://www.wormmainea.com/Worm_Bin_Instructions.pdf for free instructions for building a WormMainea style worm bin).

The size and style of your worm bin is not important. If it works for you then it is best. The most important thing is that you get started with a worm bin.

Cheers,

Mark

Overwintering Red Wigglers Outside (?)

Without fail I get questions this time of year about keeping worms outside: Can I (How can I) keep my worm bin outside over winter? What about the garage/shed? etc.

I do not take my worm bins outside except to harvest, but here are some tips and tricks reported by others and my own observations about keeping red wigglers outside in cold weather.

First, the facts. You cannot vermicompost in freezing conditions. Red wigglers will die if the soil they are in freezes. I know they can become dormant and cocoons can survive, but in general most will die and your vermicomposting will cease when the pile freezes. In reality, when your soil temp drops down to 40F and below, your composting is so slow as to be stopped. Just like your fridge, things below 40F decompose very slowly.

In my 10 years of vermicomposting I have had worms survive outdoors only one year. It was in my outdoor composter (Earth Machine http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:MI_dfU_Gk4cwsM:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HGE6GMJQL._SL500_AA280_.jpg ). It was 3-4 years ago. We had a relatively warm winter with no long cold spells and little snow cover. I went outside in early March and I took the lid off and discovered 3 red wigglers hanging out in the warm condensation on the lid. First and last time ever. I can only guess they were dormant and found a spot they could survive (not a deep freeze year and sun warmed the container just enough?). Typically, the Earth Machine is a compost popsicle. I wait until early April for the soil temp in the outdoor composters hit 50F, then I bring a bunch of red wigglers out to get them going. I am really bad about mixing the outdoor compost piles, so I sacrifice some red wigglers to do the work for me.

So if your bins are outside, you have 3 options: 1) bring your bin indoors, 2) start over with new worms in an indoor bin, 3) insulate and heat your bin to keep it from freezing.

I cannot use option 1 because of Bert's rules ("No bad smells and not bugs in the house"). Outdoor bins typically have insects, so that rules that out for me. If you (and your family) are OK with that possibility, then option 1 may be for you. These two options are pretty simple.

The more difficult proposition is option 3: keeping the bin outdoors and keeping it from freezing (and ideally between 60-70F).

You could with a big enough pile continue to add a hot manure to keep the soil warm enough. The key would be hot but not too hot (a pile rather than an impermeable enclosure like a bin or tub). I know my brother's horse manure windrow in Northeast PA works year round. They add to it frequently and it can be found steaming with active red wigglers year round. Reportedly, chicken or pig manure will also work.

Others have reported heating/seed starting mats under plastic wading pools in the shed with a styrofoam cover work. This would keep the soil temp relatively constant.

Another person proposed digging a pit below the frost line and insulating the sides and top with closed cell foam insulation and a trap door lid. Then piling hay bales over the door. I don’t know whether this was successful, but my frost line here is fairly deep and it wouldn’t be practical. Also, this would not make sense to me because one of the reasons I started vermicomposting was to NOT go outside to compost in the cold weather.

If you have experience with any of these, please leave a comment.

As for me, I will continue to compost indoors in my basement.

Cheers,

Mark

Leaf Blowers are Evil!

There are few things I hate more than a leaf blower. They are loud, smelly, and potentially dangerous to your health.

In my mind, raking leaves in the fall is an enjoyable, peaceful event that marks the end of summer. The sound of the leaves and the rake moving over the ground, the crunch of the leaves when a child jumps into the pile, the smell of crispy fall air.


Using a leaf blower may be faster, but is it worth it?



All these are lost when you are holding a leaf blower. The electric ones pollute far less than the gasoline powered models (which can be 80 times more polluting than an automobile! http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei15/session5/fitz.pdf).

Leaf blowers stir up settled dust, mold, and allergens settled on the soil, making these airborne can cause problems for people with asthma and allergies.

Also, leaf raking is great exercise for you.

Worm compost tea vs. worm bin drainage

If you're reading my blog, then you probably know that worm compost tea is great for your plants. I want to make a distinction though: worm compost tea vs. worm bin drainage.

In my mind, worm compost tea is distinctly different from the liquid that drains from some bin designs (what I call worm bin drainage).

Worm compost tea is made by separating the vermicompost from the worms and steeping the worm compost in water to make a tea. My website has complete instructions for brewing up your own worm tea: 1# of vermicompost in a 5 gallon bucket of water.

I don't mean to say that the drainage from a worm bin would be bad for plants. From what I have read it is great fertilizer; however, I'd be concerned about putting it on edible veggies because you do not know what is in it. I have also found a variety of different reports on how to use it ranging from straight (undiluted) to diluted to the color of straw. If I were to use this on salad and other greens I probably diluting it to straw color and bubbling air through it for 12-24 hours using an aquarium bubbler.

If anyone has experience using worm bin drainage, I'd love to hear how you prepare it for use.

Cheers,

Mark

Meeting fellow vermicomposters-- Anyone can vermicompost

I thoroughly enjoy meeting other vermicomposters (new and old). While I do mail worms, I prefer to meet people who are buying from me. This saves them money and allows me to spend a few minutes educating so they get off to a good start.

When I started WormMainea, I assumed those who visiting my site and contacting me would be a narrow portion of the population, Essentially, people a lot like me: frugal, eco-minded people looking to experiment with a different way of composting that allows you to compost inside in the winter.

Well I got it completely wrong! I meet all sorts of interesting people ranging from back-to-earth retiring hippies who want to vermicompost again to apartment-dwelling professionals who want to reduce their waste, from former Everest climbers to college students, from monks to manufacturers of skate-chic clothes, and everything in between, including some frugal, eco-minded composters like me.

I am continually amazed by how many people are interested in vermicomposting and the cross section of the population that contacts me. I enjoy talking with them about how they found me and how they became interested in vermicomposting.

Cheers,

Mark