Click the link at the bottom to read more.
A chef/gardener at the facility will prepare meals using organic and local ingredients. Vermicomposting (worm composting) and reducing paper consumption by using cloth napkins are other nods to the environment.
School gardens have been a rising trend in recent years. Many Charlotte schools now grow some form of vegetable and herb garden, with student participation often coinciding with the curriculum.
Worm composting during the winter months can help a spring garden start out right, providing nutrient-rich fertilizer for plants.
Chicago residents interested in composting gathered at the Garfield Park Conservatory over the weekend, to make their own worm bins and learn about the benefits of indoor composting.
Good article about a farmer who is using some different techniques to increase crop production. Click the link at the bottom of the page to read more.
Edwin is thankful to the advancement in today’s information technology like the Internet, where he learned about scientific farming practices. He also learned about vermiculture, organic composting and integrated pest management which he eventually applied in his farm.
Worms can compost kitchen scraps and shredded paper much faster than the aerobic compost process utilized in most commercial backyard compost bins. A vermicomposting (worm composting) bin can be built with a couple of stackable totes, a small piece of window screen, and a drill.
Sitting in the airport terminal LeBlanc had picked up a newspaper where he saw an ad for vermiculture. It turns out worm castings-yes, worm poop-create a superb organic fertilzer and soil conditioner that can be used in gardens, greenhouses and for household plants.
Surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides and a valley on the fourth, Goa Institute of Management (GIM)’s new 50-acre campus at Sanquelim in north Goa is located at the foothills of the Western Ghats. In this nature-friendly campus, all hot water is heated using solar heaters and is cleaned in a sewage treatment facility to be sent to a water recovery pond containing special type of plants and fish. All organic garbage and trashed paper is processed in a vermiculture facility that produces compost for using in its widespread landscape.
This is a great idea. I wish them the best of luck. Click at the bottom to read more about this program.
Where there’s a worm there’s a way.
That’s the hope of Bradford’s Cathy Nesbitt who you may know from her business Cathy’s Crawly Composters. She was recently contacted by Maria Rodriguez, the executive director of Byoearth Guatemala, to provide assistance and her somewhat unique expertise to help the organization set up a vermicomposting operation near the largest garbage dump in that country’s capital city.
“They’re trying to eradicate extreme poverty in Latin America,” Ms Nesbitt said. “It’s a lofty goal, but a great one.”
See if you are eligible for this grant which can be used to set up a composting system. Click the link at the bottom.
The residents of Plymouth City are encouraged to dispose of their food and yard wastes so that these can be composted further (citizens are urged to create more compost). Putting this into perspective, the townsfolk of Plymouth will also get paid if they continued on with this eco-friendly cause. Not only will its people help reduce the amount of trash on their local dumpsites, they will also be partaking in a recycling effort. Now, the city itself is willing to give a $100 grant for those who apply for it. The money can be used for either choice, and that is to buy a ready-made composter, or to build a compost bin of his or her own. Either way, both options are a win-win idea.
Before I get into the story behind these incredible worm composting bins, I have to ask, "Have you ever heard the saying, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is?" Well, you might be tempted to say that about the title of this article, but you would be wrong! Not only are these compost bins available for free, if you look in the right places, the worms are too!
What follows is a story about Justine, a Compost Junkie Tribe member, and her incredible worm composting bins. Actually, Justine isn't even the star of this story (sorry Justine), her 20 year-old "Kootenay Worms" are!
Click the link at the bottom to see what happens when worm compost is added to a banana tree:
Our two plastic worm composting bins are getting rather full. I should have done some emptying in fall, but never got around to it. Worm compost is still great for the indoor houseplants though, and I had a big hole to fill in the banana plant pot. After being away for a few days last week, I came home to find this green mass at the bottom of the banana trees. A multitude of tomato and squash/cucumber seedlings have pushed their way up towards sunshine. The composted material in the worm boxes doesn't exact heat up enough to kill seeds, but that's okay. It's all just kitchen scraps and not weeds.
Kay McKeen of SCARCE in Glen Ellyn demonstrates worm composting, super crayon recycling, and energy bike to Ana Belaval of WGN morning news.
WGN Morning News-Worm Composting-Super Crayon Recycling-Energy Bike
At Atwater Avenue Elementary on January 25th, we had a lesson on composting. We took a bag full of various “trash” pieces and sorted them into recycling, compost or landfill trash. We learned about what compost is, how to best make it from “brown” (the round part inside a toilet paper roll and brown paper towels) and “green” (produce food scraps, grass, leaves) and about what worms do in compost.
Miss Marisa, one of our teachers, brought her red wiggler worms from her compost, and they were quite the hit! Lots of squeals of delight made for a fun afternoon.
Looks like a good workshop for those in the area-click at the bottom for more details.
Grow Native Nursery Westwood is offering a free workshop on worm composting. The workshop will be held on Sunday, February 12th at 11am. Join Stephen Baldonado, horticulturist, garden designer and longtime worm wrangler to learn about one of the easiest methods for composting fruit and vegetable kitchen and garden scraps in this one-hour workshop.
No yard? No problem! Vermicomposting is perfect for apartment dwellers who want to cut down on their waste stream.
To read the full article click the link at the bottom of the page.
The most common compost worms are the tiger worms, such as the species Eisenia foetida, and the red wrigglers
(Eisenia Andrei). In the case of E. foetida or Californian worm this has the advantage of having a high rate of conversion (1:1 from matter organic to compost) wide range of tolerance, supporting temperatures from 18 to 25˚C, a pH from 5 to 8.4 and also is fast breeding (in three months you can duplicate the population within 80% humidity and 20˚C). The species is easy to find and is often used as fishing bait. The type of culture can be a mono or multi species and according to my experience the best option is to have a mix of them due to environmental changes which naturally occur in your culture.
Click the link at the bottom to find out more.
Not all of the displays offered food. Michelle McCarty operates Wonder Wormin’ Vermicomposting systems, promoting the use of compact, efficient home composting systems which use the services of red wiggler worms to turn your household scraps into high-potency plant food.
"A worm whisperer is helping youth at the Boys & Girls Club with their latest venture – worm farming.
Why worm farming, you might ask? The Boys & Girls Club is the proud caretaker of 10,000 and more super and standard red wiggler worms. Steven Blair is the whisperer, and B&GC staff member Whit Caulkins works with Blair and the youth, to keep the worms well-hydrated and happy."
Click below to read more:
Worm whisperer and worms aid Club in fight against childhood obesity
Read more about the Friends in Gasca Gardens by clicking the link at the bottom.
This week, the garden got its first visit from a group of third- and fifth-graders from Kyrene de los Niños Elementary School in Tempe. The children were there to learn about pre-planting, composting, vermiculture and starting seeds.
The kids got a big kick out of vermiculture, which they learned is a fancy term for compost created by earthworms. The worms are used to digest food waste, shredded paper and animal manures to build a rich soil for planting.
"Ten years as an environmentally friendly school has turned out nicely for one east Auckland school.
Pigeon Mountain Primary was recognised at a ceremony last month for its long standing commitment to the Enviroschools programme.
The programme has been running for 10 years and Pigeon Mountain has been involved from the very beginning.
"When I first came to the school it wasn't long before the council brought in some new regulations which were particularly tight around coal fire heating," principal Ginty Bigwood says.
"We could no longer burn our rubbish or have a coal fire boiler so we decided that we would become an environmentally-friendly school and I could see it would be a great catalyst for children's learning."
The school has worm farms, actively recycles, saves energy and has planted native bush, gardens and an orchard."
Click the link below to read more about this school:
Click the link at the bottom to read the full article about this great program.
"So far Shiny Halo Street has worked on energy efficiency and now is implementing worm farms to reduce food waste to landfill from local businesses," he said.
"Shiny Halo St is now working with local businesses to get some pretty big worm farms in operation.
"The program will use worm farms that have been built in 240 litre or 140 litre wheelie bins as they can take a lot more food waste than an ordinary worm farm," Mr Edwards said.
Other upcoming sessions are on vermiculture (worm composting) on Feb. 25 and "Back to Back Basics," which will cover both regular composting and worm composting, on March 31.
Great article about sustainable agriculture practices. Click the link at the bottom to read the full article.
A series of environmental best practices adopted by Sula Vineyards, one of India's largest wine producers, has enabled it do away with diesel gensets for generating power, meet 60-70 percent of its water requirement from water harvesting and 40% of it fertiliser needs through vermiculture.
Wiegand said she intends to keep up communication with the new director and is currently working on a project in the Gardens Center: vermiculture compost, otherwise known as worm composting.
Gardening members learn about seeds, fertilizing, sun and shade, chemicals and weeds; everything they need to know to successfully grow their own vegetables. Different units allow the members to have the option of exploring vegetable gardens, community gardens, container gardening, worm composting, a flower garden for butterflies, and a larger garden.Read more: http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/life/allows/6054502/story.html#ixzz1kfm4i9zM
Willi Murray shares the finer details of establishing a worm farm to keep your garden healthy!
Vermicompost may be a new word for many, but it simply means compost created by worms. Typically worms are used to digest food waste, and can be very useful in a home or municipal setting that creates a lot of potato peels, salad leftovers and apple cores. In addition, worms can be used to digest shredded paper and animal manures.The Root of it All: The benefits of worm compost
Read about two women who are going to use worms to "save the world".
When the two worm experts found each other on Twitter last October, they were mutually impressed with each other’s work: Nesbitt’s goal is to open a worm production and education centre in Ontario; Rodriguez wants to introduce vermicomposting to the slums of Guatamala so the residents can grow food in the nitrogen-rich soil produced by worms from organic waste.
Worm composting is available to residents of multi-family dwellings, but no food scrap collection program is currently offered.Read more: http://www.royalcityrecord.com/technology/Bringing+recycling+streets/5978955/story.html#ixzz1k76ucolC
Our first “Student Gardener of the Month,” awarded in November, was JJ Trancoso. Keile Finley was the December honoree for inspiring the incorporation of a worm composting bin to the garden.
It's hard to make vermiculture - not worm culture, but the production of worms - sound attractive, but Harrell does a pretty good job. In a few short years, he has become an Annelid Evangelist.Bragg: Worming his way out of ugly lawn
India is giving its coffee farmers subsidies for green technology used in coffee farming. The request for subsidies is being considered for farmers who use eco pulpers and worm compost beds so that they will have the necessary help pay for the technology. Everyone wins, as not only is this good for conserving resources, but the coffee is less chemically impacted.
Selva Negra feeds coffee pulp to California red worms and collects their waste to use as compost.
The Madison resident has a reputation for unusual hobbies. She's a competitive sailboat racer who brews beer in her kitchen — where she also practices vermiculture (composting with worms) — all the while maintaining a landscape architecture consulting business.
Know Your Madisonian: Landscape architect Kate Stalker keeps busy with unusual hobbiesRead more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/know-your-madisonian-landscape-architect-kate-stalker-keeps-busy-with/article_9d5b77c2-3bd6-11e1-8f38-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1jkV6D2AD
In 2011, the company started five vermiculture plants in nearby villages which provide sustainable employment to the villagers, either by giving them manure for their farm or providing them the means to sell the manure in the open market, with all expertise provided by L'Oréal India.
This is a good video to show how an aquaponics and vermiculture pond is set up:
Club member Marti Snyder said other presentation topics have been Japanese flower arranging, butterfly gardening, worm composting and carnivorous plants.
Chairman of the society and rainwater harvesting expert, Col (retd) SG Dalvi told DNA, “Lunkad Greenland II is a ‘green’ society. We have been recycling wet waste in vermiculture pits. Apart from having an efficient rainwater harvesting system, we are also saving up to 30% on our energy bills by switching to CFLs in all common areas. After implementing this initiative, our society will not give any garbage to PMC at all.”
New Village Charter School in Los Angeles is seeking $1,085 to set up a worm composting program on school grounds. The school says it will use waste from lunches and snacks for composting.
Shuswap in Transition has already held a number of activities and events, including workshops on worm composting, making window coverings more energy efficient, bringing Mason bees to your garden, soap making, cheese making, and making ‘green’ cleaners and personal care products for the home.
Weekly topics are: Jan. 7, holiday plant care; Jan. 14, how to prune roses; Jan. 21, time to start tomato seeds, and Jan. 28, worm composting. Along with weekly topics, additional information will be available.
If kept out of the landfill, this food waste could decompose naturally in a backyard composting bin or an indoor worm composting bin (a personal resolution) to create beautiful, rich, healthy compost, or what some call “gold for gardeners.”
Vermiculture involves buying worms and a bin, filling it with a mix of compost-ready vegetables or fruit and shredded newspaper and letting the worms break it all down.
"This material is fine, salty clay without a lot of organic matter," explains J.T. Wick, a principle with Berg Holdings overseeing the project. "We mix worm castings with it to create fertile soil."
While traveling in the North West I met Peter Paul who showed me the most amazing, and amazingly simple, idea for an outdoor composting-bin. Using the help of worms to break down food matter, and even meats, Peter shows you a couple of simple methods to making great homemade compost.
Not only that, this method creates a vibrant composting tea that gave Peter 7 ft. tall tomato plants! He also sometimes trades his "worm juice" for different items, even an iPhone (LOL)
Cheap and Simple Worm Composting on your Homestead With Marjory Wildcraft
A fast look at the worm composting bin after 2 weeks. The worms seem to have adapted very well and are active and eating the food scraps. I will be adding what I call a "pulp burrito" for the worms to munch on...it consists of fiber pulp from my juicer that I wrap in a few layers of newspaper and freeze. I add this frozen worm pulp burrito to the bottom part of the bin and cover with bedding. Being frozen, the food should not attract the fruit flies and it being that it is pulp and already broken down, the worms can go through it faster & eaiser. I'll try and post another update in a few more weeks. Thanks for watching!
Feeding the worms up a treat as we don't think the Mangels will flower in our climate... Most impressed with their processing of the Horse manure they were given about 2 months ago...
"Is 8 days after the big feed so I thought I would give you a look as I forgot to take all the photos to post on the blog..."
This is the 4th worm i helped hatching out of its cocoon. I suspect there were more worms hatched before i noticed the movements in the cocoon. So it's probable that the cocoon gave rise to more than 4 baby worms
We put only dry leaves, fruit peelings and eggshells into our drum composter.Yet when we open the drum to dump the compost, it is loaded with worms.We are completely perplexed as to where and how these worms find their way into the composter.Some are large and some are babies.
"Stay busy with fun projects.
I know some people who get the so-called winter blues because all the things they love to do involve being outside in the summer—so they end up feeling incredibly bored all winter, claiming there’s “nothing to do.” I say hogwash. Winter is a fantastic time to tackle cool, new projects. Whether you want to take on a big project like building an earth oven or try something a little smaller like setting up an indoor worm composting bin, sending handwritten letters to old friends, or knitting a hat, I bet you can find several activities that you’ll truly enjoy."
If your town doesn’t have a compost pick-up program, check with your local municipality to see if they provide bins or classes to help residents compost on their own. If you have some outdoor space you can separate out all your scraps (minus meats and citrus) and throw them in a compost bin. Worm composting - also known as vermicomposting – is great for smaller spaces and is an easy way to speed up the compost process, producing a rich fertilizer for your plants or garden. It may seem gross at first but I can assure you, those little guys work hard and your plants will love you for it. And if the whole process just seems like too much for you, there are businesses like Compost Cab that will collect the compost for you for a small fee.
She will offer advice on how to compost household garbage and will briefly cover vermin composting (worm composting), as well.
