Composting Surprises

There has been some recent press about composting, including an article on surprising items that can be composted: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/surprising-compost-items.html

This list (compiled by PlanetGreen) has good information on OUTDOOR composting. While you could try some of those items in your worm bin, I generally recommend that you stick to the basics shown in the figure on the second page of my welcome to vermicomposting handout: http://db.tt/GS5flJD9.

Cheers,

Mark

Local oatmeal

Our pre-Holiday CSA share box included a bag of best oatmeal I've eaten.

It was from Aurora Mills (Linnaeus ME).

I eat oatmeal almost every morning in the winter (I LOVE IT!). And when I remember, I use the presoak (overnight) method to make it more digestible and cook faster in the morning.

I find the Aurora Mills product to be superior to any other oatmeal (Irish, steel-cut, etc.). it just tastes great.

If you're intersted you can reach them at Auroramills@myfairpoint.net

Here's their label

Cheers,

Mark

A great product that solves a problem

The Right Mat (www.gomlf.org) Especially, http://www.gomlf.org

One of the results of the new federal whale rule mandating the use of sinking groundlines is the new abundance of unusable floating groundline.  GOMLF has been buying back floating groundline from lobstermen since May of 2007 as part of the Bottom Line Project and during that timeframe, clever individuals and companies have found a unique way to re-use the float rope without any possibility of entangling a whale:  woven doormats.

In March 2009, GOMLF made over 150,000 pounds of the float rope available to doormat makers in the Waldoboro (Maine) area.  Since then, other enterprises throughout the state and region have also been cropping up, and float-rope doormats are beginning to appear on some of the finest porches in New England.  Our groundline buy-back program continues, and more than a million pounds of lobstermen’s rope may be used to make doormats!

Their doormats make a great gifts. Mail a check for $40 + $10 shipping ($17.50 shipping for two) and you can get one for yourself. No two mats are alike and each features the colorful rope used by Maine lobstermen – stripes or solids – often complete with barnacles, which aid in boot-scraping!  Mats are best for outdoor use and should not be placed on slick surfaces.

Here is a picture of ours.

Cheers,


Mark

Preserving Summer: Canning Blackberry Jam

Thank you to my friend Celina for sharing her family blackberry patch!

We tried a new blackberry recipe this year: blackberry-port jam. It came from Better Homes & Gardens Canning Cookbook (August 2011).

4 cups blackberries
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vintage port (we used Sandeman)
1/4 teaspoon groiund cloves

Gently crush berries in a cookpot while heating. After crushing slowly add sugar so it dissolves. When all sugar has been added, then add the port and cloves. Bring to a full rolling boil (stiffing constantly) and continue heating until the mixture sheets off a metal spool. Leave 1/4" headspace in canning jars.
Makes 5 half pint jars.

Some beautiful Maine blackberries

Just thick enough to sheet

We use the boiling water bath method

Bert is carefully filling the jars

Jars are filled and boiling

The finished product: blackberry jam to enjoy for the whole year

Our final product! Blackberry jam to enjoy all year.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Great deal on the GeoSpring water heater

I just saw this today.

Lowe's has discounted the GeoSpring water heathers.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_79425-83-GEH50DNSRSA_0__?productId=3127075&cm_mmc=email_promo-_-20110915-_-banner-_-$600_off_water_heater

Follow-up on Air-source Water Heater

As a follow-up to my post from last October (http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-heater-wrap-up.html), I am providing an update on my experience with the GeoSpring water heater.


The air-source heat pump is working great.  I haven't purchased oil since February 16, and since last May (May 2010) we used only 370.1 gallons of oil. That is a 28% savings (370 gallons vs 517 gallons [average from previous 2 years]). I realize that not all of that is due to the GeoSpring-- we did a lot of air sealing in 2010. But, my boiler has been off since May 15, 2011.

How has this impacted electricity use? That was my biggest question, too.

Here are my results of my electricity consumption for 2011, 2010, and 2009 (in KWH/day):

Month	2011	2010	2009

May	17	18	17
June	19	21	18
July	18	26	20

Do you see a difference? Neither do I!

I think this may be due to replacing the dehumidifier with the GeoSpring (which cools and dehumidifies while it heats the water).Same number of people in my house. Still taking hot showers.

I think this is wonderful. Since I typically used around half a tank of oil each summer (May to October), I am saving around $340/year (100 gallons * 3.40/gallon). The GeoSpring cost me around $2500 (for unit, installation and less state rebate). The ROI is 7 years, assuming oil prices stay level (something I very much doubt). I can live with that. Realize that we had to have a lot of electrical work to accommodate the installation-- your ROI may be lower!

I see this as a very successful energy saving investment. I hope more people consider this as an option.

Cheers,

Mark

Update on Doggie Dumpster

I've gotten a lot of responses to my Doggie Dumpster post. It has been about year and some of findings and expectations are surprises. Here is a summary of my communication and what I've learned:

1. I thought the doggie dumpster would fill up really quickly. It didn't and I haven't had to move it. I attribute this to at least 2 factors. First, my town put a garbage can at the end of the trail (more people are cleaning up after their pets and using the trash can)-- so I am putting in less waste than I expected. I have an addition once a week or less frequently in Spring and Summer and maybe once every few weeks in the winter (we had a lot of snow cover this year so dogs were walked in the street). Also, while the dumpster filled over the winter, it shrank (and continues to shrink) again when the weather warmed up. I put another half pound of worms in the doggie dumpster in early May. I think the material is draining away into my subsoil. I am on sandy soil, so this is my best guess. If I were on clay, I suspect I would have had to move the doggie dumpster by now.

2. You could use the doggie dumpster for cat waste, but I can think  of at least 2 cautions. Cat waste can harbor pathogens that are hazardous to pregnant women. Also, the clay that is commonly used for cat litter can quickly dry out a worm bin. I learned there are other materials, such as corn cob litter. These may be better alternatives if you plan to compost cat waste. 

3. I've had some lively discussions about harvesting compost from the dumpster for use in planting beds, and I agree that you could do it if you were really careful. However, I maintain my general recommendation that the material in the dumpster should remain in the dumpster and that the dumpster be moved when (if?) it fills up. I just don't think it is worth the risk-- better to put your doggie dumpster in your perennial bed or orchard.

4. Other critters. All kinds of insects and bugs are commonly in my doggie dumpster. Last summer a large spider spun a web across the inside of the dumpster lid. I commonly see sow bugs in there also.  I also have some evidence of a larger animal (?) chewing on my cover. I don't know what it was (mouse, chipmunk, squirrel) but some animal chewed on the lid in January. I saw no evidence that they dug in the pile, but who knows. I keep the lid closed and I have not found it open.

5. I've been putting sawdust (winter) and compost  from my outdoor pile (the rest of the year) in to cover the additions of dog waste. My outdoor pile froze and I elected to put sawdust in to cover the winter additions when I could not access my compost. This seemed to be OK, but I didn't make a lot of additions this winter. Sawdust has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio. To have efficient composting you would have to balance that with a nitrogen-rich material (like grass clippings).

Cheers,

Mark