Environmental Talk

Rebounder, defensive specialist, composter …

…Continued from Part One. You can read Part One here.

In Part One, we learned that building a worm composting box is almost as easy as an Amish barn raising. In Part Two, we’ll explore some of the common problems involved in the care and maintaining of your box of soon-to-be nutrient-rich dirt.

According to The City Farmer, “It is necessary to provide a damp bedding for the worms to live in, and to bury food waste in. Suitable bedding materials are shredded newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, compost and aged manure. ”

Ask your local manure sommelier to recommend a good aged manure. Despite the fact that they eat garbage, worms are very discerning when it comes to manure.

Some good values can be found in the Australian and Chilean manures but the best manure is produced in Washington, D.C. during Presidential election years. Consider treating your worms to a dry, complex manure from 2004 on those occasions where you really want to make an impression on your red wigglers.

When in doubt, consult the ratings in the current issue of Manure Spectator.

Where do you get the worms for your little compost factory?

You can purchase worms online starting at about $25.00 per pound and going up to $55.00 per pound or higher. If that seems too pricey, the City Farmer offers the following alternative: “If you feel adventurous, find a horse stable or farmer with a manure pile and collect a bagful of manure with worms.”

‘Adventurous’ may not be the exact word that leaps to mind when you consider this method but, don’t worry,the farmhands are laughing with you, not at you.

There are a couple of common problems that may arise when you have your own vermicomposting center. “The most common problem is unpleasant, strong odors.”

Well, duh! You’ve got a moist pile of garbage, worms and aged manure in your kitchen. It’s not exactly potpourri.

Let’s play a little word association. When I say “garbage” what is the first thing that pops into your head?

If you live in New York City you probably said, “Mob-controlled trash pick-up.” If you live anywhere else in the country, you might have answered, “Flies.”

And, yes, flies can be a problem. Not to worry. There is a natural solution:

“.. flies can be an occasional nuisance. Discourage them by always burying the food waste and not overloading. Keep a plastic sheet or piece of old carpet or sacking on the surface of the compost in the bin. If flies are still persistent, move the bin to a location where flies will not be bothersome. A few friendly spiders nearby will help control fly problems!”

Now that your house smells like the mens room at Taco Bell and has more spider webs than the Addams Family basement, there’s just one last issue you need to be aware of:

“Taking worms out of their natural environment and placing them in containers creates a human responsibility. They are living creatures with their own unique needs, so it is important to create and maintain a healthy habitat for them..”

Congratulations. You’ve just adopted a couple thousand slimy, spineless creatures that you have to care and feed. It’s kind of like when your relatives come over for Thanksgiving except there’s less noise and no one’s throwing up on the carpet.

In the end, it will all be worth it. You can sleep better knowing you’ve done your part to help save the planet.

Then again, you could just pitch your garbage and pay somebody to plant a tree.

global warming, climate change, vermicomposting, worms, Dennis Rodman, Addams Family, City Farmer, carbon offsets, flies, spiders, Taco Bell