Get all the dirt on soil here.
Have you seen those counter top composting machines advertised? They are supposed to reduce your vegetable scraps and coffee grinds down to usable dirt for your garden.
I enjoyed Helen Rosner’s New Yorker article about the promises of such machines.
I thought I would share it with you.
This farmer in New Zealand is trying one out to keep his herd warm in the winter months.
Read more here
Worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, is a simple and effective way to turn kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. By using red wiggler worms, you can speed up the composting process and produce high-quality compost and vermicompost that is rich in beneficial microorganisms and nutrients.
There are several benefits to worm composting, including:
Red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida) are the most commonly used species for vermicomposting. They are small, easy to handle, and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and moisture levels. Additionally, they have a voracious appetite and can consume a variety of organic materials, including fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves, and shredded paper.
Before you start worm composting, you will need to gather some materials and set up a container for your worms.
When choosing a container for your worm composting system, keep in mind that it should be large enough to accommodate the amount of waste you generate, but small enough to fit in a convenient location. A 10-gallon bin is a good size for most households.
Your worm composting system should be kept indoors or in a protected area outside, such as a covered porch or garage. Avoid placing your container in direct sunlight or extreme temperatures.
Once you have your container, you will need to prepare it for your worms.
Start by adding a layer of bedding material to the bottom of your container. This will provide a comfortable home for your worms and help absorb excess moisture. Shredded newspaper or cardboard works well for this.
Next, moisten the bedding with water until it feels like a damp sponge. Be careful not to overwater, as too much moisture can drown your worms.
Add a small amount of food scraps to the top of the bedding. Start with just a handful at first, and gradually increase the amount as your worm population grows. Cover the food scraps with another layer of bedding material.
Once your container is set up, you can introduce your red wiggler worms.
A general rule of thumb is to start with one pound of worms for every square foot of surface area in your container. For a 10-gallon bin, you will need about 1,000 worms.
To introduce your worms, simply place them on top of the bedding material and cover them with another layer of bedding. Be sure to keep the lid on your container to prevent the worms from escaping.
Once your worms are established in your composting system, there are a few things you should do to maintain their health and ensure they continue to produce high-quality compost.: To avoid overcrowding and ensure a consistent supply of compost, harvest it from the bottom of your bin every few months.
In addition to fruit and vegetable scraps, red wiggler worms can also eat coffee grounds, tea leaves, eggshells, and some types of paper. Avoid feeding them meat, dairy products, or oily foods, as these can cause unpleasant odors and attract pests.
Your bedding should be moist but not waterlogged. If it feels too dry, mist it with water. If it feels too wet, add more bedding material. You can also add a layer of dry newspaper or cardboard on top of the bedding to help absorb excess moisture.
To harvest compost from your worm bin, simply remove the top layer of bedding and set it aside. Scoop out the compost from the bottom of the bin and use it in your garden. The remaining material, known as vermicompost, can be spread on top of your soil or used to brew compost tea.
There are a few common problems that can occur when worm composting, such as foul odors or pests. If you notice a bad smell, check that your bin is not too wet and that you are not overfeeding your worms. To prevent pests, avoid adding meat, dairy, or oily foods to your bin, and make sure the lid is securely fastened.
Worm compost, also known as castings, is a nutrient-rich fertilizer that is ideal for organic gardening. It contains beneficial microorganisms and nutrients that can help improve soil health and plant growth. As it is odor-free and non-toxic, it can be used indoors as well as outdoors.
Worm compost is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Worm compost can be used as a top dressing for plants, mixed into potting soil, or added to garden beds. It can also be used to make compost tea, a nutrient-rich liquid that can be sprayed on plants as a foliar feed.
Vermicompost tea is made by steeping vermicompost in water and allowing it to brew for several days. It can be used as a foliar spray or soil drench to provide plants with a boost of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. Regular use of vermicompost tea can help improve soil health, increase plant growth, and reduce pest and disease problems.
Worm composting with red wiggler worms is an easy and effective way to turn kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. By following these simple steps, you can create a healthy and productive worm composting system that will benefit both your garden and the environment.
Creating healthy compost is an essential part of gardening. It’s a natural way to enrich your soil, which in turn promotes plant growth and helps reduce waste. However, creating quality compost requires the right tools and techniques. In this blog post, we will discuss the tools and their uses to create healthy compost.
Creating healthy compost requires the right tools and techniques. A compost bin, pitchfork, shredder, moisture meter, thermometer, and compost turner are all essential tools for creating quality compost. By using these tools correctly, you can create nutrient-rich compost that will help promote healthy plant growth and reduce waste in your garden.
If you’re on a budget, don’t worry; you don’t need fancy tools to create healthy compost. Here are some basic tools that you can use to get started:
While fancy tools may be useful, you don’t need them to create healthy compost. With a little creativity and resourcefulness, you can create quality compost using basic tools. Just remember to monitor the temperature, moisture, and airflow of your compost to ensure that it’s decomposing properly.
If you don’t get compost to the right temperature, moisture, or airflow, the decomposition process can slow down or even stop altogether. This can result in the following problems:
Getting compost to the right temperature, moisture, and airflow is essential for proper decomposition and to avoid unpleasant and potentially harmful outcomes. By monitoring these factors and adjusting them as necessary, you can create nutrient-rich compost that will help promote healthy plant growth and reduce waste in your garden.
Composting is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and create nutrient-rich soil for your garden. While traditional composting can be a bit of a hassle, using a compost tumbler can make it much easier. In this article, we’ll go over the benefits of composting with a compost tumbler, how to use one, and some tips for getting the most out of your tumbler.
A compost tumbler is a drum-like container that rotates on a stand. The container has a door that can be opened to add organic materials, such as kitchen scraps and yard waste. The tumbler is designed to be turned regularly, which helps mix the materials and provide oxygen to the microbes that break down the organic matter. As the materials break down, they become compost, which can be used as a soil amendment.
Using a compost tumbler is easy, but there are a few steps you need to follow to get the best results.
Once you've added your organic materials, close the tumbler and start turning it. You should turn the tumbler at least once a week, but ideally, you'll want to turn it two to three times a week. This helps mix the materials and provides oxygen to the microbes that break down the organic matter. If the materials are dry, you can add a little water to help them break down more quickly.
Depending on the materials you use and how often you turn the tumbler, your compost should be ready in four to six weeks. When it's ready, the compost should be dark, crumbly, and have an earthy smell.
Once your compost is ready, it's time to harvest it. Most compost tumblers have a door or hatch at the bottom that allows you to easily remove the finished compost. Simply open the door and scoop out the compost with a shovel or trowel. Be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands.
Now that you have harvested your compost, you can use it to enrich your soil. Spread a layer of compost over your garden beds or mix it into potting soil for container gardening. Compost adds valuable nutrients to the soil, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential for plant growth. It also helps improve soil structure, which can increase water retention and reduce erosion.
To get the best results from your compost tumbler, it’s important to maintain a balance of green and brown materials. Green materials, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, provide nitrogen, while brown materials, such as leaves and straw, provide carbon. A good rule of thumb is to use two parts brown materials to one part green materials.
Large materials, such as branches and stalks, can take longer to break down in a compost tumbler. To speed up the process, it’s a good idea to chop them up into smaller pieces before adding them to the tumbler. You can use a pruning saw or a pair of loppers to do this.
While most organic materials can be composted, it’s best to avoid adding meat and dairy products to your compost tumbler. These materials can attract pests and can also create a foul odor as they break down. Stick to vegetable and fruit scraps, leaves, and grass clippings.
To help jumpstart the composting process, you can add a compost starter to your tumbler. This is a mixture of beneficial microbes that can help break down the organic matter more quickly. You can buy compost starter at most garden centers or online.
Compost needs moisture to break down properly. If your materials are too dry, they will break down more slowly. If they are too wet, they can become compacted and anaerobic, which can create a foul odor. Aim for a moisture level similar to a wrung-out sponge.
There are several methods for composting tree leaves, including:
It is important to make sure that the leaves are shredded as they decompose more quickly and evenly.
Cold composting, also known as passive composting, is a method of breaking down organic materials without the use of added heat. Some benefits of cold composting include:
Overall, cold composting is a great option for those who want to create high-quality compost without a lot of work or attention.
Hot composting, also known as active composting, is a method of breaking down organic materials by adding heat. Some benefits of hot composting include:
Overall, hot composting is a good option for those who want a quick return on their composting efforts and want to ensure that their compost is pathogen-free and weed-seed free. Keep in mind that Hot composting requires more maintenance and management than cold composting and also some materials such as meat, dairy, and cooked food should not be added to hot composting.
Leaf mold and composting are both methods of breaking down organic materials, but they produce different end products with different uses.
Leaf mold is made exclusively from leaves, typically from deciduous trees such as oak, maple, and beech. The leaves are shredded and left to decompose for one to two years, producing a dark, crumbly, soil-like material that is high in organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. Leaf mold is an excellent amendment for gardens and can be used to improve soil structure, increase water retention and provide a slow-release source of nutrients.
Composting, on the other hand, involves a wider variety of organic materials such as yard waste, food scraps, and manure. The materials are mixed together and left to decompose for several weeks to several months, producing a dark, crumbly, soil-like material that is high in organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. Compost can be used as a soil amendment, to improve soil structure, as a mulch, and to fertilize plants.
In summary, leaf mold is a specific type of compost that is made only from leaves and takes a longer time to decompose than regular compost, but it’s ideal for amending soil and can be used as a soil conditioner. While compost can be made from a wide variety of materials and can be used in many ways in gardening and farming. Both leaf mold and compost are beneficial for plants and soil, but the choice depends on the specific use and the materials available.
A common tool used for leaf composting is a leaf shredder. A leaf shredder is a machine that grinds up leaves into small pieces, making them easier to decompose. This can be done manually with a rake or a lawn mower, but a leaf shredder can be more efficient and effective.
There are different types of leaf shredders available on the market, including:
It’s important to consider the size and volume of leaves that you need to shred and your budget when choosing a leaf shredder. Also, check for the safety features, like overload protection, and the warranty of the product.
Vermicomposting or worm composting has gotten very popular. Setting up a bin is super easy, it just takes a trash can or stroage container, some shredded newspaper, a little water, the food scraps and of course, a pound or two of worms. So long as you do not overfeed your worm bin food scraps, you will have a healthy fresh smelling compost bin. The worms will acclimate and multiple which will require incremental increases in the amount of food scraps you give them.
If you would like to set up a worm bin please refer to our instructions at Setting Up Your Worm Bin.
The popularity of worm composting has increased so much that the American Chemical Society produced this informative video for the Washington Post explaining how earthworms aid in the decomposition of organic matter to produce nutrient-rich compost.
Some things I learned from this short video:
All of this happens to create worm castings which is nutrient-rich plant and tree loving soil by another name.
Another fun fact: Earthworms consume a 100% fiber diet. If human were to do that, we get seriously constipated. But the worms can do it because their digestive system incorporates all the enzymes they need to breakdown the organic material.
If you have ever been curious about vermicompost or composting with worms, you must watch this short information packed video. You’ll never look at a worm with disgust again. These little creatures are powerhouse workers.
If you thought you had an efficient composting system, you’ve got to read this article Elizabeth Royte wrote for the New York Times entitled The Compost King of New York.
The New York City Sanitation Department has instituted a Zero Waste program that asks residents to separate their food scraps and yard waste in separate brown bins which are collected curbside or via neighborhood collection bins. This waste is picked up separately to reduce the amount of methane producing refuse in the sanitation landfills.
Royte was curious where the food scraps she was leaving at her curbside or others were depositing in the various receptacles around NYC actually went.
She followed the trail and her findings are in this article for the NY Times. Royte visits a farm that accepts food scraps and produce waste from grocery stores. The organic material is composted in the familiar methods. The some of the resulting soil is used on the farm while the rest is sold by the cubic yard to help offset the farm’s expenses.
Elizabeth Royte will also introduce you to a man who is convinced his $50 million investment into an anaerobic digester will reap profits from the renewable fuel he will produce at his massive complex in Yapank, New York. The rotting of organic matter combined with sewage also collected will generate a biogas that will be captured to power his plant and possibly provide heat and electricity for surrounding homes. There is an unending source for raw material since New York City pays him to take the food scraps that sanitation trucks collect curbside each week.
You will also meet a man who has been studying rotting things his entire career and he will explain carbon benefits of composting versus anaerobically digesting organic materials.
If you are into composting as I am, you will find this article fascinating. Elizabeth Royte has written three books available on Amazon.
Royte has also published an article for Audubon about neonicotinoids and how the pesticide linked with bee decline might also be threatening birds.
Photo credit: Death To Stock Photography
We’ve written about it many times that composting your leaves each fall will do more for your garden than any store bought fertilizer ever will.
Mike McGrath, hosts a weekly radio program on WHYY in Philidelphia called “You Bet Your Garden.” In this Ted Talk, Mike explains why you should be compost your fall leaves and not put them out for the trash collection.
