TheWormist - The blog of CompostCritter.com

Solexx Garden Master greenhouse assembly in the Poconos

2012-02-12T11:53:00.000-05:00

Keeping the bed (worm bed) warm for winter.

2011-11-14T07:51:00.003-05:00

This wasn't originally a worm project, but it's turning out to have an interesting application.

Our composting worms aren't really going to enjoy winter unless they can stay ever so slightly above freezing... so what can we do to help?

First off, I raked out my garden beds and put down a fresh layer of newspaper over each bed. Then topped them off with grass clippings and about 4" of composted horse manure.

Then, compliments of my friends at www.WhollyBuckets.com I started putting the Bucket Huts over the soil.

The first set of buckets that I put out had holes in them already for spring seedlings to grow thru, but the others will be left solid until spring to absorb light and hold as much heat as possible through the winter months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkquEOSd8eM

Worms love lasagna.

2011-09-08T16:43:00.000-04:00

The Lasagna Garden method, that is....

In the '70's we called it Sheet Composting. The current trendy phrase is Lasagna Garden... Built in layers as you would do lasagna,,, and YES, worms love tomato sauce!

I just did a batch, but, alas, no pics... There was an unused section of my garden that was knee deep in weeds and quack grass. I pulled it all out y the roots and left it on the surface. Then a layer of cardboard and office paper. Nothing shredded, just a thick layer of paper products. Then I added a bunch of spoiled veggies that I collected. Tomatoes, vines, pumpkins, etc. Then, I mowed the lawn and buried it all in grass clippings.

This is first week of September and it will (did) get a good soaking form the hurricane and then start to percolate. That hot phase will take a few weeks and then the worms from below and nearby will move in to work on the contents through fruition. I'm putting a Solexx cold frame over it to extend the season... That I should be able to get a pic of.

The result should be a 6'x8' raised bed with NO WEEDS! (since everything on the surface will have been hot composted) and many pounds of worm castings.

Tune in soon to see our next articles about Wintering your Worms.

Thanks for reading, Critter

Response to YouTube inquiry:

2011-08-29T10:40:00.001-04:00

I'm curious to know just exactly how much you wind up composting on a weekly basis, when you have all 4 trays going.

sly2kusa 37 minutes ago

Response:

Great question! These are always started with only one tray to establish the worm colony and then materials added to a second tray until that tray begins to mature.

Composting worms do best and they concentrate on the upper 4-6 inches of the bed. the content below that contains cocoons that hatch in 4-8 weeks. By the time your 4th tray goes into service, which could be 8 weeks - 90 days, the bottom tray is ready to harvest. It will be completely converted to castings. Only add fresh food to the top one or two trays. If odors or fruit flies develop just hold off on fresh food for a few days. The worms aren't keeping up with you.

As to weekly volume: the Worm Factory 360 and the Cam of Worms worm farms (CommpostCritter.com)are designed to handle one - two pounds of worms. Worms can consume 1/2 of their weight per day, so when operated properly, which takes two to three weeks with a new farm, each stack should consume one to two pounds of food per day. Within limits...

Food has to breakdown or be a consistency that the worms can eat it... they don't have teeth. Bananas will be ready for the worms within hours. Lettuce can take more than a week. Wet old leaves go quickly. The process for any food can be sped up by microwaving, freezing or shredding. Look for our earlier post about cooking for your worms. It's not a necessity but can speed up the capacity.

Using worm castings in potting soil

2011-07-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

These pics are showing harvesting compost and blending it with coir, worm castings and sand to produce a soft nutritious blend of potting soil for all uses.

2011-06-22T10:16:00.001-04:00

My vermiculture friend in New Zeland, Duncan Carver posted a great response to a reader about the start up cost of a worm system. His website is WormFarmingSecrets so be sure to check it out and subscribe to his newsletter.

In total agreement with him, here is what I added to his comments:

Good Morning, Duncan,

Your first conversation in this newsletter is so 'right-on'!

With tax, 1# worms and either a Can-of-Worms or Worm Factory 360, the
investment to my shoppers is $159.00. ( see CompostCritter )

When I meet someone and talk about worms I tell them "Here's a one-cup
container of castings. Take it home, it's free, and put some on several of
your houseplants tonight. Water them well and call me in one week."

Everybody calls back.

My first suggestion to them is the low-tech Rubbermaid container or a
5-gallon bucket. I have about 20 5-gallon bucket farms which I fill with
compost and worms twice a year and I harvest twice a year... how much
effort is that for 100 gallons of perfectly converted castings, loaded with
cocoons!? Investment? $25 for worms and $5 for a bucket at Home Depot...
( and you can't tell me that you don't see free buckets lying along the road
every day...)

I'm a highly regarded 'dumpster-diver' and I bring 5 gallon buckets home
almost every day... construction sites are the best. I pick up a fair
share along the interstate, but dodging traffic has its hazards.

Larger scale? Bathtubs. I have a plumber friend who calls whenever he
removes a fiberglass tub during a renovation project... I now have 12 and
had to start turning him down. Do I take the time to drill them full of
holes so there's lots of ventilation? ... no... sorry... Do they
produce hundreds of pounds of castings year after year? YES!!

Do I buy worms? I did... Uncle Jim's Worm Farm is my primary source when
I decide to go that way, but most of my worms were free. Whenever I want
to collect a few thousand.

A customer of mine has a horse farm. BIG old manure pile out in a field
that she keeps dumping on and never touches. I go down there several times
each year and collect worms. Around the edges of the pile I rake off the
top layer of dry stuff till I get down to the mucky layer of wet muck, which
is LOADED with worms.

I just shovel the muck into buckets, worms and all. I can fill 20 buckets
(100 gallons) in about 45 minutes.

Let's guess that there's only one pound of worms in each bucket... $25 * 20#
= $500 value. Maybe I'm being too generous... cut that in half... $250
value and 100 Gallons of well composted (vermiposted) manure. It's a one
hour drive each way so that nets out $111/hour for my time.

In 2 hour and 45 minutes I created 20 worm farms. I can be lazy and let
them sit for 90 days and just harvest as castings, or I can dump them into
the bathtubs (or a 4' x 12' pile on my garage floor) and keep adding food
scraps, newspaper and compost for a never ending supply... In the fall I
just add them to my lasagna garden layering system on my outdoor beds.

Let's see... That initial investment, if I went the retail route, was
$159. $159 / forever = $0

Free fertilizer for life???

Today I spread the contents of 6 bathtubs over my front lawn. The grass is
always greener...

The only issue most people have is "That's a lot of work". I have to
ask... "do you have a pile of food scraps collecting in your kitchen, or do
you throw them away?" OK, so you are ALREADY doing the work... Just put
the scraps in your worm bin instead of letting them stink and attract flies
in your garbage can.

Thanks for your newsletters and insight, Duncan! Have a great summer!

Jeff Kurtz
www.TheWormist.com

Feed them and reap - The Video

2011-05-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

Feed your worms BETWEEN THE ROWS!

2011-05-21T09:23:00.002-04:00

Feed your worms 5 21 11

I know... I hear it all the time. "My garden has tons of worms"...

A) I doubt that you have any idea what a ton of worms looks like.

(attitude day, sorry...)

B) Let's calculate. they eat 1# per day per pound of worms. Let's be conservative and say they only eat 1`/2# per day. Did you give your worms 1,000# of food yesterday?

C) If you don't feed them they will leave. Picture this (from an old post)... August 2010. I turned over my garlic patch and found great garlic, dry bedding and NO WORMS!

When was the last time that I fed them? Fall of 2009??? Where did they go??? The adjacent compost heap. The green lawn? Worm Heaven?

This year I'm composting grass clippings and horse manure and putting the kitchen leftovers (microwaved) between the rows. Let's see how we're doing in August this year.

Critter.

How handy is a cold frame?

2011-05-13T16:19:00.000-04:00

At the www.PASAFarming.org conference this winter I picked up on the concept of a movable cold frame aka high tunnel. My greenhouse raised germination rates were 100+% better than what I accomplished indoors under lights. Cosnistent humidity and, as soon as the sun rises, the temperatures in the greenhouse are pushing 90 - 100 for almost two months now.

I also have built half a dozen quanset hut-style cold frames and have started seeds in the ground almost a month before soil temps were suitable locally, and our last frost date isn't for a couple weeks yet.

My camera is packed for the weekend but will post more pics asap.

Worm solution in Kansas

2011-04-23T10:45:00.000-04:00

Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 10:09 AM

Subject: Product details inquiry from Amazon customer Jeffrey L

>I have a question about a possibly slightly different use for your worms. I see, and was familiar with, the Composting Use for these guys, but I was wondering about them in my garden. I just made 7 Raised Beds in my back yard and filled them with 16 TONS of Compost (So Far, Might end up going as high as 20 if it keeps settling) I am about to start moving a living room full of plant starts I have raised out to the beds this, and next weekends.
>
> Point Being: Your guys are said to Love to eat Compost and I certainly have Paid for a Bounty (From their point of view) but one of the reasons for all that compost was the HEAVY, THICK and SOLID CLAY Soil in this part of the Country (Wichita Kansas). I am wondering if they would ever dig down and get into the clay and help loosen up what's below? it kind of sounds like they would stay just under the surface (all fat & happy) and never get down to the depth where they would do ME any good.
>
> Is there another Kind of worm that might do what I am seeking? It just that once my new plants start sending out roots they are going to have 12 inches of Pure HEAVEN..... Then they will hit the Clay.
>
> Your Thoughts ??
>
> Thank You
>
> Jeff

Out thoughts:

WOWser!!! What a GREAT and timely question!!! TheWormist (me) is loving it!

Many thoughts about your question.

A) You are doing a great service to your gardening adventure! I'm going to suggest (if it's not too late) that you google the topic of the Lasagna Garden technique and add layers of cardboard and paper to whatever other compost you are using. I'm originally from the midwest and recall many long hot summers (Not to mention Army Reserve summer camps at Ft Riley...)

The cardboard and paper hold water and create lots of air pockets which keep the microbes (worm snacks) healthy.

B) Let your plants dig down. You are right, the worms generally recommended for composting are going to stay near the surface. Red wigglers, European nightcrawlers... they are all surface feecders. The U of Minn has plenty of accessible research on vatious worm types. If you have a friend in Iowa or IL maybe you can get a bunch of nightcrawlers, but I'd recommend letting your plants do the digging to depths.

This year your tomatoes are going to send roots down something on the order of 15 ft. Plant a few patches (2'x2') of alfalfa... thost babies can reach down 20'. After the plants are harvested the root tunnels turn into water tubes where the surface materials will be filtered down into the depths to feed the plants in future years.

C) Garden Plots only get better. I had a friend who moved his garden from a wet spot to an incline. First year was dissappointing so he almost abandoned it. "Dissappointing" was in comparison to a too wet but 20 year old too wet garden. Year two flurished!

D) Clay loves water... Southern Illinois (my youth years) was called Little Egypt. During the depression they shipped TONS of produce to the northern cities because their farms were doing well. Our yard was SOLID CLAY! zero nutrition and uou couldn't pound a nail into it. but the grass stayed green .

I would like you to stay in touch with TheWormist and also suggest you follow the SAVVYGARDENER who is in KS.

Have a great Holiday weekend and Happy Gardening!

Jeff aka TheWormist

Harvesting worms from a horse farm

2011-04-23T10:05:00.001-04:00

Click HERE for a three slide show <<<

On Thursday I went back to a friend's horse farm to see how the resident population on worms was doing... and harvest a few for my garage farm makeover.

The first turn of the shovel revealed a healthy mass of red wigglers and a few larger companions.

I expect that the adults over-wintered deep in the manure pile where things stayed warm and moist. The guys I was seeing definitely weren't newborns and they were loving the spring temps.

As last year, I found more on the north side of the slope, which I think is because the sun warms and dries the compost on the south slope.

What a great way to restock my bins and garden beds for the summer!

Applying worm castings in your garden

2011-04-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

April 11th - Applying Worm Castings to your garden in spring!

Details are below and more detail at www.TheWormist.com

This is the perfect time of year to apply liberal quantities of worm castings to your garden beds! We are posting a slide show of our application, along with compost and coir, at or blog www.TheWormist.com.

We raked out the surface of the garden beds, added 2-4 inches of unsifted compost over the beds and then added 5 - 10 gallons of castings to each bed. A 6x6 or latger bed gets 10 gallons of castings. The castings are dumped over the compost and will be untouched until the next rain (tonight) mixes the two together Then we will cover with a couple inches of coir to serve as a mulch, hold moisture, and give a nice appearance to all the beds which are visable from the road.

We have added our fresh castings to the website at the CASTINGS PAGE.

Enjoy the day, Critter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Feed the worms in your garden! Feed them and they will come.

2011-04-05T07:33:00.003-04:00

April 4, 2011 - Looks lilke rain in PA. Great day to feed your 'in-the-garden' worms. Purina makes a "Worm Chow" which is special order, but most farm supply/Agway/feed mills can get it within a couple days. Maybe $15 for 40# bag at those stores. I'm not sure of the weight, I lost the lable.

It's pretty easy to clone the same stuff. It's really fine powder consisting of everything they find on the floor of the mill. Use bran, oatmeal, corn flower, all the fines from the bottom of your bags of pet food, cereal, etc. Most recipes add a dash of lime. Fine sand aids the worms digestive system, similar to providing sand to bird cages and chickens.

These moist spring days and nights are great for the soil and your worms. Keep them IN YOUR GARDEN this year by feeding them on a regular basis. Either topfeed, as above, or bury food scraps right between the plants. If you have critter problems (dogs, raccoons) sink a 5 gallon bucket in the middle of your garden. drill holes around the perimeter around the bottom and a hole in the lit to let rain get in. Add your scraps there and the worms will come in to your Inn for meals and then they go back outside to deliver the fertilizer in your veggie's root-zone! There are photos of a container like this at www.TheWormist.com. Scroll WAYYYYY down a year or so.

Happy Gardening, Critter.

Heating tape in greenhouse.

2011-04-04T12:24:00.002-04:00

April 2nd, 2011... Afternoon in the Solexx greenhouse! After two weeks of temps reaching down to 15deg f I'm attempting a below ground heating source. My GH is fairly portable and it's currently covering a 8'x8' raised bed (lasagna garden style). I'm burying a waterproof heat tape in the soil and covering with sevral inches of coir. (coconut husks: Coir is a 100% natural and renewable resource you add to soil that will greatly benefit your house plants and garden.)

Will start with early greens and go from here. At my Out of Winter slide show you will see the last month or so of our weather and garden conditions. There's a small cold frame over one end of a plot of potatoes. Let's see how that does!

Assembling a Solexx Garden Master greenhouse

2011-04-02T07:33:00.000-04:00

8'x16''x9'6" height Solexx Master Gardener greenhouse, purchased from www.CompostCritter.com .

5 Minute video of major assembly steps and spring veggies in March 2011. www.CompostCritter.com is located in PA and ships nationally. FREE FREIGHT!

These green houses come is several standard designs with every dimension customizable.

Out of Winter slide show

2011-03-19T15:00:00.001-04:00

Out of winter.

2011-03-19T14:55:00.000-04:00

I am so far behind in writing... let me do some catching up.

My worm system is pretty dormant through winter.   I ususlly move many to my basement, but didn't get that far in the fall.   Will check the basement beds soon and see how they are doing.

Worms go into a dormant state at temperatures below 50deg f.   As long as they don't freesze solid they hibernate until now.   In my garden today I turned over a lasagna bed and it's LOADED with worms, and not all babies.   One of my compost beds is mostly coffee grounds.   About 18 inches deep.   Turning that over I found thousands of worms, so the snow cover definitely kept the layered beds from freezing too bad.

This week being St Patricks day, I planted Peas!    I put my new greenhouse over one ot the lasagna gardens and sunk it in about 4inches into the bedding.   Planted bush beans along the east, south and west sides about 3" apart.   I'm not great at going back and thinning them out, so I just gave them some extra space.

Along the south wall of the GH i put a second row of peas about 12" out and planted onion sets between those two rows of peas.   Then another row of onions another foot south .   There are couple rows of onions in another bed up the hill a bit that went in last week.

My last two weeks of "coming out of winter" is captured on photos in my albums.   Click the highlighted prases to view the slide shows.

Now that we're pretty much past the single digit temps the worm cocoons from last fall are hatching and they'll be looking for food or moving out of the raised beds. Tomorrow I'll go out to the beds that were't layered up in the fall and put a 4-6" layer of compost over them.   That will give the worms plenty to eat and turn into castings during the next month or 6 weeks before we start putting out the more tender summer crops.

If you look back to my story from August when I had NO worms in an onion patch, remember that they need food or they will leave.   Load them up now!

Reducing the high expense of high tunnel coverings

2011-02-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Reducing the high expense of high tunnel coverings.

The USDA defines the Seasonal High Tunnel System as:

“A seasonal polyethylene covered structure with no electrical, heating, and/or mechanical

ventilation systems that is used to cover crops to extend the growing season in an

environmentally safe manner” (Source)

Please click on the above SOURCE link to read other definitions. The policy requires at least 6-mil greenhouse-grade, UV resistant polyethylene cover. Most of the available materials provide only a suggested life of only four years, with no warranty.

We recommend starting with, or upgrading to Solexx greenhouse paneling to cover your greenhouse frame, hoop house or high tower. Available in 3.5mm or 5.0mm thickness (R-values over 2.1) the shatter-proof glazing extends your growing season substantially longer than 6mil plastic with an R-value of only .89. The durability and 10-year warranty provides a more cost efficient investment than replacing cheap plastic several times in the same time period. Considering the potential loss of a crop to hail damage when 6-mil plastic fails,the savings increases further.

Details at www.CompostCritter.com

We ship nationwide at a cost from $1.49/sq ft in 49” width, 8’ or 12’ sheets or custom cut up to 150’ or rolls of 400’ or 900’.

Call for more details or to discuss your options for movable greenhouses: 717-620-9676. Solexx@CompostCritter.com

Insulation values:

Greenhouse Covering	R-Factor	U-Factor
5mm Solexx™ Panels	2.30	0.43
3.5mm Solexx™ Panels	2.10	0.48
8mm Tripple Wall Polycarbonate	2.00	0.50
Double Pane Storm Windows	2.00	0.50
10mm Double Wall Polycarbonate	1.89	0.53
8mm Double Wall Polycarbonate	1.60	0.63
6mm Double Wall Polycarbonate	1.54	0.65
4mm Double Wall Polycarbonate	1.43	0.70
Single Pane Glass, 3mm	0.95	1.05
Poly Film	0.83	1.20

R Factor - the measurement of ‘insulating ability’ of the material. The higher the R Factor number the greater the insulation value.

U Value - the measurement of ‘heat loss’ through the material. The lower the U Value the less heat is escaping.

*Independent testing,Solexx™ with caulked flutes.

We supply Solexx paneling and greenhouses nationwide from our office in Pennsylvania, PA.

Member www.PASAfarming.org, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.

Worms and Heavy Metals - possible remediation success!

2011-01-28T17:09:00.000-05:00

Teams of researchers in Venezuela and Argentina are on the verge of elevating the lowly earthworm to rockstar status when it comes to cleaning up hazardous materials. They are studying the ability of earthworms to remediate soil containing lead, mercury, and other contaminants, and so far the worms seem to be getting the job done.

Worms and Green Remediation

Worms are basically a digestive system that can move about on its own, and humankind has long exploited their capacity for transforming organic matter into rich, nutrient-laden soil through the practice of vermiculture. More recently, at least agricultural operations have begun to adopt vermiculture specifically to prevent piles of rotting food waste from contaminating nearby waterways. This comes close to green remediation, which is the use of alternative techniques to clean up contaminated soil or water, rather than digging out the site, capping it off, or treating it with harsh chemicals.

Worms and Heavy Metals

(Source)
The new research takes it a step beyond, by using worms to clean up metals and other toxic chemicals. One team used worm-produced soil (vermicompost) to absorb contaminated wastewater that contained nickel, chromium, vanadium, and lead. The other team used a more direct method, setting the earthworms loose on soil contaminated with arsenic and mercury. In both cases, the worms removed a significant amount of the toxins, particularly in the case of arsenic.

Is January gone?

2011-01-28T01:44:00.001-05:00

Can this be true! Has it been a month since I've posted anything? Wowser...

Here's my recent discovery, thanks to the Ex who brought something home from the Farm Show...

Water Beads!   A gelatine like bead product which absorbs 600 times it's weight in water ( I made and weighed 30 some batches to measure this.) The material is a polymer, non-toxic (I have the MSDS to proove it) that has been available to florists for years, preserving cut flowers.

I started trials of stem cuttings and house plants growing in these beads.   Will post photos shortly.   Today I planted broccoli seeds in several combinations of water beads and Peat moss to see if the water retention keeps them moist thru germination and early growth.

In one set of starter pots I cut the beads open and tried to insert the seeds... clumsy at best.   Will post results soon.

If you have any experience with this prodduct, please share your thoughts.

Feedback from Ms. Rae about her new Garden Master greenhouse.

2010-12-29T05:11:00.000-05:00

Hi,

The wind has been high, but no problem so far, which is great, considering I have not staked the greenhouse down yet. I'm doing that now. I've taken your advise and used 4x4s and then I will stake those down. My greenhouse is in the corner not too far from a 4' high fence which may help deflect the wind. And this greenhouse is bigger and heavier.

Here are some pictures. I apologize for not sending them sooner. I lost my job the first week in November and it threw me. It did give me lots of time to finish assembling the greenhouse though! I am now on unemployment like so many others. It's not so bad, but it is definitely a change after nearly 15 years full-time. I did 90% of the greenhouse assembly myself, with some help here and there--raising the top rail and getting the snap-Ts on. It's much easier to slide them on...

My worm bin is in the greenhouse and even though the thermometer says it has been down to 18F in there, they are still going strong, I think I should bring them in though they are all huddled together near the top layer and the soil is frozen.

I'm looking into the best way to heat it a bit so I can get started earlier. I have a small nonvented gas heater, but I'm not crazy about that. I need something with a thermostat and electric seems the way to go. Have you considered heating?

Rae

How's your greenhouse doing in high winds?

2010-12-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

I want to wish you a happy holiday season and check in on how your first wind challenges went...

My Early Bloomer is going to an AG show in February. I started redesigning it yesterday to be more accessible to people with mobility issues.

The front end wasn't anchored as well as I thought. I have buckets of ashes suspended in the corners. The high wind broke the wire-tie connections at the top of the front door frame... Looks like that was a pretty flimsy thought. I'll see what I can come up with to create a solid connection there. Probably metal hose clamps.

I am also going back and checking all of the 3-way corners to see that they are well secured to the frame tubes. Will either put allen-screws into the screw fittings or pick up some self tapping screws to go right thru the metal and into the tube.

Please send your feedback so I can make suggestions back to the factory and to my customers.

Thanks!!! and have a safe New Year!

Jeff Kurtz
www.CompostCritter.com
570-401-4843

Missouri Dept of Agriculture: Applications Being Accepted Now for Value-Added Agriculture Project Grants

2010-12-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

From ATTRA.org:

December 20, 2010

Deadline to apply is January 28, 2011

Applications Being Accepted Now for Value-Added Agriculture Project Grants

Today, the Missouri Department of Agriculture announced that Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) grants are available to assist farmers with business planning expenses for projects that develop, process, or market agricultural goods.

Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, and applications evaluated on their economic development potential for the agriculture industry, credibility and merit, probability of near-term commercialization and practical application of project results, source and level of matching funds and the geographic location of the project's economic impact.

"We continue to look for new ways to help Missouri's farmers get ahead," said Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler. "This assistance can play a large role as producers seek innovative ways to grow their existing operations and develop new projects on their farms."

Past projects have included feasibility studies for international exports, local meat processing and renewable energy, as well as waste management and agricultural processing. Projects funded in previous years have also included new uses for fruit crops, a technical demand study for biomass markets and the development of business plans for agribusinesses.

The maximum individual grant is $200,000, with at least 10 percent of the available funding going to grant requests of $25,000 or less. Applicants are required to provide a 10 percent cash match toward eligible expenses, which do not include operating expenses, salaries, or capital improvements.

Applications must be received by MASBDA no later than 5:00 p.m. January 28, 2011. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. For more information on the program and complete guidelines, visit mda.mo.gov or contact MASBDA at masbda@mda.mo.gov.

2010 PASA Conference February 2 - February 5th

2010-12-22T11:59:00.002-05:00

From the PASAFarming.org website:

Farming for the Future is an extremely important event for the PASA membership. It’s our chance to learn from field experts and network with interesting people. It’s also a time to gather new ideas for improving our businesses and lives. We have a special opportunity for everyone to help
support this endeavor, with a Friend of the Conference donation. Your taxdeductible gift of $100 enables the conference to flourish!
To commemorate our 20th annual conference, we have a goal of bringing in 10 Friends for each year PASA has been around — resulting in 200 Friends! Members of the PASA Board, Staff and Conference Planning Committee are leading the charge, and we invite you to add your name to this growing list. We will publish our Friends on the conference website and the
names will be proudly unveiled at the conference in February.

Look for the CompostCritter.com Solexx Greeenhouse display. We are not ton the published vendor list but are going to host a 5% off plus 5% to PASA greenhouse offer all four days. Ask for us at the information desk. or call us onsite at 570-401-4843

Solexx greenhouse panels on a 3 ft x 3 ft cold frame.

2010-12-20T11:52:00.002-05:00

Soon to be posted for sale on CompostCritter.com: Grow your lettuce for an extra month in the fall and start at lease one month early in the spring with this bright cold frame! This is a http://www.compostcritter.com/ exclusive design.

This cold frame comes as a kit which can create either TWO 3' x 3' (aprox) cold frames, or one 9' long x 3' wide cold frame. interior height is about 16". Anchor one side with tent stakes and the opposite side can be held with one tent steak hooked over the bottom rail.

Assembly time is between 4 - 6 hours, depending on your attention span. Cutting the Solexx panel to shape the end panels requires a sharp knife and should not be attempted by children. Otherwise the tools required would include: Hacksaw, electric drill or electric screwdriver to install the self tapping screws through the Solexx panels and into the PVC pipe frame.

Slide show of the design and assembly of one cold frame is posted here. <<<

Printable PDF brochure is posted HERE. <<<

Call or email for additional detail or to place an order.

Complete kit including all necessary components for two 3' kits or one 9' kit: $199.95

Factory special components only. (PVC pipe, screws, etc. can be purchased locally) $139.95

Call for details: 570-401-4843

Complete Solexx Greenhouse and Accessory book downloads

2010-12-15T10:08:00.000-05:00

This just in! Two PDF's from Solexx. Read details of all of the Solexx Greenhouse styles and the Solexx glazing panels:

Complete Solexx Catalog PDF <<<

Link below is to a full color PDF of Solexx accessories and applications:

17 page Accessory PDF <<<

To purchase any Solexx product go to our Online Store at

http://www.compostcritter.com/

The latest in Container Gardening is the UrBin Grower!

2010-12-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have several of the Walmart self watering planters, and yes, they don't do a half bad job... but there were no helpful hints nor supplies included.

Nature's Footprint recently released the UrBin Grower, a complete two-bin container gardening system, with 90% of the ingredients that you need to start planting. Just add soil or potting mix to the pumice wicking system and coir with trace minerals that come with the bin.

I put my first bin together about 10 days ago and the herbs are starting to respond!

This is my first experiment with pumice as a 'wicking' material, but the research I have found in the last few days is very reassuring. Here's a link to a 4-page PDF detailing the system.

The two-bin system is a $119.00 package and creates a permanent 'square foot' garden for you. The bedding never needs to be replaced. Just fertilize as you would a raised bed during the season.

If you have tried this please let us know your results.

Happy Gardening! Jeff

Feedback on assembling a Solexx Early Bloomer.

2010-12-08T15:04:00.001-05:00

Now that we bought our Early Bloomer greenhouse from www.compostcritter.com, we were able to work for two afternoons on the weekend following Thanksgiving, just a few hours each day. Basically I was able to build the entire frame (through step 7, I think), and put the outer skin on the front wall around the doorway. Patricia assisted me with measuring, holding, etc the first day, and spent the second caulking the ends of the roof sheets (she finished 3 of the 4). I took your advice and relied on packing tape to be my assistant while she was caulking. Basically we have found it to be pretty easy and the instructions self-explanatory (other than a little initial confusion over how to use the yellow straps, and what to measure while using them...finally figured it out). As easy as I am finding it, assembly is a bit more time-consuming than I thought it would be, though. Part of that is due to short afternoons this time of year, and taking a slow, thorough pace...not to mention dealing all the while with a curious 6-year-old who wants to take pictures, ask questions, watch closely, and help out LOL. We do have a lot of pictures of what we have done so far...we'll get those uploaded somewhere in the near future...

We haven't been able to do any more since then since Patricia had to go out of town unexpectedly, but hope to pick up this weekend. I expect only 2 - 3 more days of work to finish (more like half-days, it seems we usually don't get started until the afternoon), then maybe one more day to anchor the greenhouse and prep the ground under it (final leveling, weed barrier, gravel).

Chuck G.

Three videos about composting and the Worm Factory 360!

2010-11-24T07:40:00.000-05:00

Just released by the manufacturer! Take a look at three brief videos of various composting methods including information on how vermiculture works.

Click HERE to view the YouTube videos <<<

When to start worm composting?

Composting with worms is something that you should do all winter to have plenty of castings ready by spring, whether you start seeds early indoors or buy seedlings to plant directly in your garden.

If you are going to buy seedlings, as soon as you get them home you should put a layer of castings diredtly on the soil in the containers and water them. You will see a response within just two or three days. Then put castings in the hole before you set the seeding in the soil.

You can boost the health of your houseplants by applying castings to the surface of the soil at least monthly, and adding castings to your watering can to create a liquid fertilizer. If you water your african violets from the bottom, be sure to add castings to the water container at least overnight before soaking your violets.

What to buy your gardening friends for gifts?

A Worm Factory 360, of course! Shop online at CompostCritter.com <<< The unit ships from WA state, so allow 7 days to the east coast for UPS delivery. If you are buying worms for your new Worm Factory 360 you should order worms to arrive at least two days after your composter. This gives you time to put them in their new home without being rushed. Also, tell anyone who receives a Worm Factory 360 to LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON for the first 24 hours that your worms are in the bin... When they don't know it's their new home they tend to wander.

It's also a good idea to start 'aging' some food scraps when you order your Worm Factory 360 so that they have started to breakdown by the time your hungry worms arrive. As long as you keep the food scraps buried you'll never have orders from your vermiculture composter.

Please call us any time with questions. We love to share our experience with other gardeners!

717-620-WORM or email jeff@compostcritter.com

Happy Gardening! and, being the day before, Happy Thanksgiving!

Jeff. aka: TheWormist

Great research on the creation and application of Vermipost

2010-11-10T07:41:00.001-05:00

I just found this paper posted on Bentley Christi's blog... Very nice information with photographs about various feeds for worm farms and on the use of worm castings and vermipost tea. Shows about a 40% blend of castings in soil is top for plant growth.

Click the article title below for PDF.

More detail on The Conversion of Organic Wastes into Vermicomposts and Vermicompost ‘Teas’ Which Promote Plant Growth and Suppress Pests and Diseases.

This just in from savvyGardener.com

2010-11-03T21:51:00.000-04:00

Fertilizer Finale...
A November application of fertilizer is extremely important to keep your lawn healthy and looking good this fall and next year. Late fall Nitrogen promotes good root development, enhances storage of energy reserves, and extends color retention this fall. Most of the benefits from late fall Nitrogen will be seen next spring and summer with earlier green-up, improved density, and improved tolerance to diseases and other stresses. Apply near or after your last mowing of the year, but while grass is still green. Timing is not overly critical as there may be a month or more between your last mowing and the time the grass turns brown or goes under snow cover. Generally Thanksgiving is a good target fertilzing date but because it's so late this year we'll shoot for any time in the first few weeks of November.

What's so nice about Solexx?

2010-11-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

Use Solexx™ for your custom greenhouse project.

Now with a 10-Year Warranty!

From the home gardener to commercial nurserymen, growers have found Solexx to be the perfect greenhouse covering for so many reasons and now there is yet another one. The material has been in use for over 20 years now and the manufacturer is so confident in it's longevity that they have changed the warranty from 8 to 10 years!

If you don't know much about Solexx, we've listed 4 of the top qualities that make Solexx different (and better) than the rest.

Check our online store at CompostCritter!

The top 4 reasons growers prefer Solexx as their greenhouse covering:

1. Diffused Light. The light created with Solexx covering is perfect for your plants. As light passes through the Solexx panel, it is diffused (spread out) and scattered throughout the entire greenhouse. A glass greenhouse produces direct light which means the light reaches mainly just the top surface of the plants. The objects (plants, etc) cast shadows in your greenhouse, so not all of your greenhouse can be utilized. In addition, the direct light can burn the leaves of your plants. With Solexx the light reaches even the bottom leaves of the plant, so plants have more energy for photosynthesis. You can utilize your greenhouse space to it's fullest since the light is diffused - even plants on the lower shelves will be getting the light they need for growth.

2. Insulation. What good is a greenhouse that doesn't hold in the heat? Sure, there are lots of greenhouse coverings that let in the light, but when that light goes behind a cloud, temperatures shift quickly. Extreme temperature shifts can stunt your plant's growth. Solexx helps to keep temperature changes regulated. When the outside temperature changes, the temperature inside your greenhouse shifts gradually. Solexx has the best insulation rating in its class to keep your plants protected and save you money in heating costs. See how Solexx compares to other greenhouse coverings.

3. Easy to work with. With Solexx you can really get creative. The panels are very strong, yet flexible. They will follow the steepest of curves or you can even score and fold them over a peak or an edge without cutting the panels. Solexx is also easily cut with a sharp knife and a straight edge - there is no need for power tools. One big advantage of Solexx is that it is available in continuous rolls, 4'1" wide and up to 900 feet long, so you can cover your greenhouse with a minimal amount of seams. Fewer seams provide better insulation and less work!

4. Extremely Strong and Durable. Solexx stands up to harsh weather conditions. Whether it be strong wind gusts, hail, or a heavy snow load, you can count on Solexx to keep your plants protected.

Now offering Solexx Greenhouses!

2010-10-06T04:09:00.000-04:00

Extend your garden season into the fall,,, and begin 60 days earlier in the spring. ( If, indeed, you ever take a break)

We are now the Pennsylvania authorized supplier for Solexx Greenhouses!

Prices starting below $700 delivered, these kits will give you gardening enjoyment for 12 months of the year!

Call or email for details

Jeff

717-620-9676

Add worms to your garden NOW to feed the soil for spring planting!

2010-10-02T13:06:00.001-04:00

I discovered, in August, the results of not feeding my garden resident worms since spring.

And I want to credit Bently Christi for having the perfect solution. I'll talk more about the Bentley Trench concept later, but first... the discovery!

Mid August in PA was scortching hot and dry. I watered my garden plenty, and being on the north side of a mountain in a protected valley, our grass was recovering from the dormant summer heat pretty early.

I went out to harvest my garlic patch. About 2' wide and 4' long, planted in October with plenty of castings, and mulched in straw and fallen leaves. The garden bed has been a lasagna garden style for about three years and if really loose, and well drained. The garlic had done pretty well.

As I started raking out the garlic I was watching to see hwo the worms were doing. Big Problem... NO WORMS! Not like 'just a few worms'... there were NONE at all.

Sol what gives? this spring when I opened the garden from winter it was LOADED with worms. So let's think about the cycle here... One pound of worms eats about one pound of food per day. Let's say there was as little as one pound in the 8 sq ft area. All that compost from last winter was there for them in the spring, and they munched it down and left the castings that nurtured a fantastic yield this year... now, 120 days into the season that pound of worms ate 120 pounds of compost and went looking for greener pastures... right outside the garden. My guess is that they moved into the adjacent compost pile and are down below the hot zone enjoying the 3 inches of rain we had this week.

OK, so the fix: The Bently Trench. I'll point you to his blog later, but here's what I did:

Excavate the top 8" of the garden bed. That pretty much gets me town to the original soil surface. Not a terrible deep bed, but it will get another 18 inches of compostables before winter. Lay down a layer of cardboard and newspaper. Dump in about 10 gallons of vegetables from the produce vendor at the farm market. (I get their trash can contents every weekend). Add 10 gallons of worms and vermipost from the worm farm in the garage. Rake the garden bedding back over the surface and soak it well.

Now there are probably 4 pounds of worms with plenty of food for a few weeks and a new home for winter.

I'm putting arugula there this weekend for a fall crop and will layer it up with more cardboard and compostables for winter. By spring there will be a thriving worm population again, and a great accumulation of castings!

You can find Bentley's worm trench conposting study on his blog: RedWormComposting.com.

If you are short on worms you can order them from my place at www.compostcritter.com .

Jeff yes, photos of my adventure will be posted shortly.

Composting logo needed!!!!

2010-09-06T07:44:00.001-04:00

Logo Contest!!! My Champion Composter has been a loaner from my friend Jim Shaw. Please tell your graphic friends that I'll give a $50 gas card to the person who produces the cutest new logo for me! Duplicate prizes may be awarded. Contest ends Sept 15th, so get those marking pens going!

Free worms with Worm Factory 360 composter!

2010-08-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

One pound of Red Wigglers free with purchase of a Worm Factory 360 composter!

See videos and slide shows of the Worm Factory 360 worm farm below this post here on www.thewormist.com. Read articles and research papers on how to start a worm farm and how to grow your own worms at CompostCritter.com .

Free shipping, Live Delivery Guarantee!! What more could you ask for?

Not available on our website. Order by phone or print a coupon and bring to our stand at the Farmstead Market in Palmyra, PA .

Phone orders call 717-620-9676 or 570-401-4843.

Offer good thru

God, St. Francis and Lawn Care

2010-08-10T16:23:00.003-04:00

A received this from a friend and just HAD to share it with you:

GOD:
St Francis, you know all about gardens and nature.

What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions,

violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan.

Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon.

The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds.

I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles.

St FRANCIS:
It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites.

They started calling your flowers "weeds"

and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD:
Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful.

It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms.

It's sensitive to temperatures.

Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST FRANCIS:
Apparently so, Lord.

They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green.

They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD:
The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast.

That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST FRANCIS:
Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD:
They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS:
Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:
They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST FRANCIS:
No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD:
Now, let me get this straight.

They fertilize grass so it will grow.

And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST FRANCIS:
Yes, Sir.

GOD:
These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer

when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat.

That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS:
You aren't going to believe this, Lord.

When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses

and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:
What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees.

That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.

The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer.

In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep

moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.

ST. FRANCIS:
You better sit down, Lord.

The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle.

As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles

and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD:
No!? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots

in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST FRANCIS:
After throwing away the leaves,

they go out and buy something which they call mulch.

They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD:
And where do they get this mulch?

ST FRANCIS:
They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD:
Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore.

St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts.

What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE:
Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a story about....

GOD:
Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

2010-07-26T23:48:00.000-04:00

To: vermipostpro

Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 11:35 PM

Subject: worm questions

We received our worm order in good condition and have added them to our new 4 layer "Worm Factory - Upward Migration Composting Worm Bin System." Unfortunately, we have lost the instructions that came with the factory. We are in need of directions on how to manage the composting process .. such as, how do you know when the layer is completed and it is time to add another layer? We are using coir and shredded paper for the bedding and are rotating the site for placement of the kitchen scraps/food. Your worms seem very happy in their new home!
Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance...
Bob & Rita (new worm farmers)

Answer:

Thanks for asking... This isn't everything, but a one page of instructions is attached. there is a video on my website. Google for CompostCritter or VermipostPro.

Start with one layer and wait 30 days. you will see it start to transform to Vermipost (in process) to castings (fruition!). In the meantime you can be harvesting castings by the sponful or handful for your garden and houseplants.

Start tray #2 whenever you feel like it and let tray #1 simmer...

Babies will hatch in #1 (from cocoons) and crawl up to tray #2.

Do they all crawl up? No, some hang out in the dungeon.

Why do some go to the bottom i the water tray? They are kids,,, let them play!

And, have fun!

Jeff

TheWormist

What to plant in your vegetable garden in July?

2010-07-16T15:16:00.001-04:00

The season is far from over!! Here's a list of veggies that are perfect for this time of year:

Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Chard, Lettuce, Radish, Squash and (yes!) Sweet Corn!!

At my place the arugula and kale from spring have gone to seed and I'm pulling them out and replacing with new lettuce and a second crop of beans. All my spices are in bloom and setting seeds. Garlic is finishing off. onions have just gone to seed. Tomatoes are huge, but not ripe. The tallest indeterminate varieties are right at 6 ft tall and climbing up fences. Here's a zucchini growing in one of my lasagna gardens loaded with worm castings:

Grab a rake and freshen up the bare spots to sew again. A cloth shelter staked must off the ground will help keep the seed bed from drying out as quickly while things germinate an get started.

Why become involved with vermiculture on an agricultural scale?

2010-07-08T06:11:00.002-04:00

Ruth Hockley asked me to do an article for Care Farmers’ newsletter, so I’m going to create some recommendations from scratch on nurturing your worm population and using worm castings and vermiculture around your home. You can see my research at www.TheWormist.com .

The greatest motivator for why to get involved with vermiculture is the results you will see in your garden, produce and houseplants. I have been working with this product for three years and have yet to hear a disappointing story about the results.   Tomatoes that thrive and produce twice what was expected. (see slide shows of my garden this year at www.thewormist.com). African violets that seemed normal until four tablespoons of castings were added.   Christmas cactus that had not bloomed but came alive when castings were added.

My best year for quality worm growth was actually two years ago when I was fairly new at this.   Being inquisitive about a new venture, I had 6 or 8 Rubbermaid totes going in the basement and I feed and watered them every day or so.   I could run my fingers through the ‘vermipost’ (material in progress from raw food to castings) and the worms were as dense as ground beef.

This year my volume of castings production is way up. Not nearly a commercial scale, but enough to sustain a decent retail volume at the local farm market.

CAPTURING A WORM COLONY:   At the invitation of a friend with a good size horse farm, I went exploring to see if I could harvest a decent quantity of worms from her manure pile.

The red wiggler (Eisenia foetida) is nicknamed the ‘manure worm’.   Most manure piles in Pennsylvania have plenty, unless the pile has been allowed to completely dry out... and even in this heat, you will be impressed when your start exploring.

I began at the edge of the 10’ tall pile, with a rake.   Combing back the dry manure on the surface until I reached the wet dark layer about 3 inches thick, above the clay soil.   This layer was LOADED with wigglers.   I didn’t count the density, but am guessing the population was about 500/square ft.   In retail numbers, that’s about $15.00 worth of worms, and $50 worth of castings when finished.

Shoveling that layer into 5 gallon buckets, I transport them back to my place and dump them into my worm bins.   Most of my bins are fiberglass bathtubs, with the larger bins being on the dirt floor of my garage, 4’ wide by 12’ long. There I cover them in a couple inches of compost and feed them vegetable scraps from the farm market produce stand where I have my organic gardening display. (Farmstead Market, Palmyra, PA).

Doing this on a large scale isn’t fast, but getting there could take only a couple years.   A nurtured worm population will double in 90 days.    If I collect 20 buckets per week, that’s 20 * 500 = 10,000 worms (10 pounds) which will eat 10 pounds of food per day.

The produce stand creates 200# of scraps per week.   28 # per day, so I need 28 pounds (28,000) of worms to process that.    Those veggies are mostly water, so let’s say that produces 5# of castings per day.   $10 at retail.

And the worm population doubles in 90 days, so that’s 28# * $15 in 90 days. $420.

90 days = $420 in worm livestock growth and $10/day*90= $900 in castings. $1300+ and the worms are doing the bulk of the work! All you are doing is hauling out the trash.

Harvesting worms can be fairly labor intensive, although there is equipment available to simplify that.   And the same goes for castings.   The castings that I sell retail are sifted twice to a pleasing consistency.

If your income is based on growing vegetables, the BIG reward will be in reduced plant disease and boosted production. I don’t have significant data on productivity, but if you do a bit of Internet research you are going to see numbers like 100% boost in tomato production. What would THAT be worth to you?

Here’s wishing you a great growing season, and please give me a call if I can help you benefit from vermiculture in your Ag operation.

Jeff Kurtz
The Wormist
www.thewormist.com
717-620-9676

Video or vermiposting on large scale.

2010-07-08T00:22:00.000-04:00

Bentley Christie's good vermi-friend Allison Jack recently put together a FANTASTIC video all about vermicompost (and vermicomposting in general).

Original article from Bentley's website can be seen at www.redwormcomposting.com.

The video is linked from the video-bar to the right of this post.

Worm castings for organic gardening.

2010-07-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

Now you can purchase worm castings from us online!

Bear with me, I'm creating the store page tonight at www.CompostCritterStore.com

These castings are from the bins here on my farm. Created by red wigglers who dine on veggies, coffee grounds, compost, cardboard and horse and rabbit manures. I also add plenty of cardboard and wet leaves (when in season).

The castings are sifted at least twice, down to a 1/8" screen. There are miscellaneous bits of leftover particles and some seeds, mostly tomatoes... Those are free.

You can purchase these castings on Friday or Saturday at the Farmstead Market in Palmyra, PA, or online at our website. Online you can purchase a box of 24 cups (some settling may occur during shipping) for $19.95 + $10.70 postage, anywhere in the US. Still less than the typical $2/cup retail average.

Farm stand prices run from $1/cup, $10/12 cups, $50/80 cups (5 gallons).

We ship castings with a fair moisture level to maintain the microbial life forms... If the package is left in the sun a 'funky' odor may develop. Let it air out for a day or so and all is well.

Castings do contain worm cocoons so you will be populating your garden or containers with red wigglers!

How does my garden grow? - 90 days in slide snows.

2010-07-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

May 4th Garden Update

June 13th Garden Update

June 29th Garden Slide Show

July 3rd Garden Slide Show

What to do with LOTS of compostables?

2010-07-06T21:14:00.000-04:00

My explorations have led to an interesting weekly haul of compostables:

150# coffee grounds from a quick-mart.
4 40 gallon trash bags of veggie scraps from a produce stand. Aprox 70# each. Mostly tomatoes and melon rinds.
20 5-gallon buckets of horse manure loaded with red wigglers. <<< slide show of excavation

The veggie supply has doubled from winter months.

How would you handle this mix?

I had been adding it to my bathtub bins, but it's creating too much depth too fast to be workable. AND one bin heated up really bad... I think it was the coffee grounds, which I hadn't been adding in this mix.

This weekend I just resorted to starting a 4' wide x who-knows-how-long bed on the dirt floor in my garage. Like Jay Myers does, but haven't framed it in yet.

I hate to just dump it into my outdoor composting system... would like to capture the worm population for casting production.

Suggestions?

2010-07-06T20:32:00.000-04:00

In response to Bentley Christie's blog on Lasagna Garden's, I posted this reply about my own experience:

The article on Lasagna Gardens was great! I started using that method and preaching the benefits about two years ago. I had seen the topic in a newspaper article and had to try it.

I've now converted about 6 garden beds at my place to this method. Complete with adding a full new 'tier' to each last fall.

Weeds (when they do show up) pull out with a twist of the wrist. Planting tomato seedlings in trenches this year didn't even require a shovel, just scoop out the trench bare handed. Of course tons of red wigglers helps that also.

Lots of photos on my blog www.TheWormist.com .

At my stand at a farmer's market near Hershey, PA I profess that this is the ONLY way to go! Abandon the rototiller and shovels. For new gardeners who are looking to start from scratch I recommend a 12 x 12 (max) garden the first year, with a 12 x 12 'lasagna' sheet composting bed where they plan to expand next year. Starting small encourages them to focus on doing a few things right and not getting too spread out as a beginner.

From my hairdresser to the local minister's family, everyone who has taken on this type of garden is bringing in rave reviews of a first year success. Of course, both of them have worm bins going also! Smart cookies!

Keep up the great experiments and posts!

Jeff Kurtz

Cooking for my Worms

2010-06-20T05:03:00.002-04:00

Who ever thought it would come to this!!!

Now I promise you,, this does not include wasting time...

There is a slide show (to the right) that chronicles this.

Breakfast time. Frying pan on the stove. 2 tbs grapeseed oil. dash of garlic. Peal a potato. Slice, add to pan. (>> peels go to a pyrex bowl <<)

Slice an onion. Add to the pan. (>> skins go to the pyrex bowl <<)

Break two eggs into a cup. (<< shells crushed , go to the pyrex bowl. <<

Second cup of coffee... mmmmmm... (grounds and filter to to the pyrex bowl <<)

Organize the frying pan. veggies to the left, eggs added on the right. Sip coffee 5 minutes.

Pyrex bowl to the microwave - 60 seconds.

Let cool, add tot worm factory beside the trash can.

DONE! The microwave breaks the biological cell structure which is keeping the veggie trimmings alive and the worms and microbes can start composting immediately.

Not to mention that I', sitting down to a yummy breakfast!

Bom Appetite!

7-day Results Guarantee

2010-06-20T04:42:00.000-04:00

My Mentor, Jay Myers cautioned me when I told a visitor to the Pennsylvania Garden Show that she would see results within one week... (after applying worm castings to the surface of a house plant and watering).

Well, folks,,, I received more positive feedback on the results of my wager this weekend at the Farmstead Market! Linda, who runs the pottery stand in Building I, took castings home last weekend and reported back to me on Saturday. "I can't believe what my tomatoes and house plants did in one week!"

My own garden is starting to thrive, with the tallest tomato (indeterminate) just reaching 4' tall. Will try to get a slide show posted today.

Question: How do I boost production fo strawberries and herbs?

2010-06-17T04:46:00.001-04:00

From Dr. Matt: "I would like to hear of ANY way to improve the growth of my strawberries (currently I’ve got them in two 3-4 gallon pots with a mixture of your compost and potting soil); they have nice foliage but are not producing any fruit as of yet.

I’d also like to know if there is anything I can do to help my sweet basil plants along the way to proliferate faster (all were planted with a cupful of worm castings placed strategically at the bottom of the ‘hole’ then surrounded with compost and dirt on top.)"

Here's my suggestion: Let me stray from the Vermipost toipc to a liquid organic fertilizer. AGGRAND (www.reykurag.com) is an American made liquid fertilizer which offers outstanding results. This summer I'm going to take one garden plot and suppliment it with AGGRAND products to photographically capture the difference between that and straight worm castings. Unfortunately I didn't plant anything in raw soil for an 'untreated' comparison.

Here's what AGGRAND recommends for strawberries:

Small Fruits Strawberry:

1st application: Foliar feed in early spring after leaf formation with 2-3 oz. 4-3-3 in 1 gal. of

water (only if leaves are light green to yellow) otherwise use 1-2 oz. 0-0-8.

2nd application: Foliar feed in late summer with 1-2 oz. 4-3-3 in 1 gal. of water.

New Planting: Broadcast 3-4 oz. 4-3-3, 3-4 oz. 0-12-0, and 1-2 oz. 0-0-8 in 1 gal. of water

on 100 sq. ft. before final seedbed preparation.

Water in transplants with 2-3 oz. 4-3-3 or 1-2 oz. 0-0-8 in 1 gal. of water on 10-15 ft. of row.

Herbs:

Leaf Crops (i.e. lettuce, celery, spinach, herbs)

1st application: Band 3-4 oz. 4-3-3 and 1-2 oz. 0-0-8 in 1 gal. of water on 10-20 ft. of row or

30-60 sq. ft. during planting.

2nd application: Foliar feed 2-3 weeks after transplanting with 2 oz. 4-3-3 in one gal. of water.

3rd application: Repeat 2nd application every 3-4 weeks until harvest.

Soil applications: Use 2-3 oz. 4-3-3 and 2-3 oz. Liquid Lime in 1 gal. of water on 15-20 ft.

of row or 45-60 sq. ft.

As for worm castings, I suggest 1/2 cup of castings buried with each seedling or layered along row of seeds. Then ad 1/2 cup per plant monthly. Water deep weekly.

Question of the week... To Wet or Too Dry?

2010-06-16T22:50:00.001-04:00

Question of the week: "I have had my worm factory for almost a month... very frustrating!   First it started to smell like rotting food, that went away and Then it was either too dry of too wet.   Now it's like a swamp and all the stuff I put in has disappeared.     What do you suggest?"

The Wormist: The early smell was from putting too much fresh food in too quickly... Your worms couldn't keep up... If the smell is gone than they are doing fine.

First too dry, then too wet? I might suggest you are creating a "watched pot". Things don't happen fast with composting. If it looks dry, and shredded newspaper is a good way to measure that, then add water. Enough so that things look damp. If you have good drainage, like with a purchased worm bin, then it's impossible to hurt the worms by overwatering. It may look like a swamp, but the worms don't care. If you don't like the swamp look, add more shredded newspaper, cardboard or dry compost.

When you make an adjustment, then wait a WEEK before worrying again... give the system and the worms time to adjust.

Note to audience: I took her swamp and turned it over on top of one of my trays and after one week everything is working and looking nice!

Jeff

So If the worms will eat anything organic, why don't they eat my garden plants?

2010-05-13T21:11:00.002-04:00

Question from Susan in Palmyra: "If the worms will eat anything organic, why don't they eat my garden plants?

Great Question!!! I can do 30 minutes on this topic without stopping to breathe!

Worm's won't eat anything that is still alive. I don't know what triggers this knowledge (that the banana went to veggie heaven), Probably the microbes that start working on dead stuff.

Example: You peel a banana and leave it on the counter (or your kid leaves it under the bed...) and you know it's dead by dawn. The worms will go right after it. Ditto Apples, Pears, Tomatoes.

I can put a leaf of lettuce in the worm bin on Saturday and it doesn't know it's dead for more than a week. The following weekend I go back to the market and it's intact... while the worms knocked off 5 tomatoes and the bulk of the watermelon rinds.

The following weekend the lettuce is gone. It seems to live off of it's internal moisture for quite a few days.

Now scroll down to a prior post about cooking for my worms. Micro wave the lettuce and it's gone in two days.

Not then, let's take this out to your garden... The tomatoes, potatoes (Dear Gerald Ford, are there 'e's in those words?) growing there... your worms are wandering around looking for stuff to eat. All those roots are alive. They munch up the leaves you used for mulch and when that's gone (or so dry that they crunch like a taco chip...) the worms migrate to your lawn where there is always dead stuff left from your mower.

Their castings (fertilizer) is in the lawn while your garden could really use the nutrition.

In the midwest, in our folk lore, was the story about Iroquois' (I can spell Iroquois but not spell indian...) burying a fish with each kernel of corn. On the spot composting and worm feeding!!! Feed the worms IN YOUR GARDEN and they will hang around and be delivering the castings (and associated microbes) right into the root zone of your veggies!!!!!

Just think... your ChemLawn guy is there once a month (poisoning your dog and your worms) for $85... and your worms are there 24/7 working for free!!!! Just add food!!

This was fun... have a good weekend.

Jeff
Worms for sale at www.compostcritter.com

( A paid announcement!)Worms for sale at www.compostcritter.com
( A paid announcement!)

Note from Cory who visited the market

2010-05-09T05:45:00.000-04:00

It was great meting YOU Jeff! We are hoping to close on a house in Fredericksburg PA on the 21st, and we definitely plan on frequenting the market! We will definitely stop by and talk! We've already have had a few renegade worms, but only 3 or 4, we have them in a brightly lit kitchen right now, and it looks like they are taking to the food now, more than earlier today! We are very happy with this setup and can't thank you enough for shining a light on this for us!

We'll talk to you soon!

THANK YOU!
Cory

You are welcome, Cory! It's great to read the excitement in your notes!!

Put those bad boys back into the bin and keep them fed! Their Sunday breakfast will become a part of their life, as it is your family's.

Have a great day, and happy gardening!

Jeff

The wormist.

The Iccarus Garden Technique, a spin off of Inclined Bed Gardening.

2010-05-04T09:07:00.001-04:00

Introducing the Iccarus Garden Technique!

I've been working on this concept for two years... had dubbed it "inclined bed gardening" but the original concept was too difficult to construct. ie: an entire garden bed inclined toward the sun
photo

.

Theory: seeds sprout and grow better with heat from the sun.

This is particularly effective for those of us in zone 6 (PA) and north, and more importantly, we who live on the north side of a mountain.

Original observation was that the grass across the road turned green and flourished almost one month before the grass on this side (facing and sloping north).

I worked on raising entire beds to slope south, but mother nature and my back didn't really support the concept.

Today... (where did this inspiration come from?) I went out to rake two beds for seeding and just tilted the rake to the south! Walla! (is that a word?) 5-6 rows of seed bed facing the sun!!!!!

What you are looking at is 3-4" of 3 year old leaf compost and worm castings freshly tossed on to of a 2 year old lasagna garden. I have ablut 6 beds that I will process this way... photos to follow asap!

Jeff

Why compost in your kitchen? (See related articles on "Why is the refrigerator conveniently located in the kitchen?"

2010-04-20T13:23:00.000-04:00

OK, so everything about food originates in your kitchen.

Would you put your toaster in the basement even though you use it less often that you create food scraps?
Your refrigerator is there because you use it several times every day
Your freezer is in the garage because you access it once a week, MAYBE. And for that matter, the reason you still haven't cooked those ribs is that they are all-the-way-out in the garage in the freezer.
You keep that stinky waste basket (which attracts flies) right beside the sink, and your odorless worm composter in the basement, garage, laundry room where, since it's inconvenient, half of your scraps don't even make it that far because now it's an extra trip.

OK,,, GUILTY as charged... My perfectly food Worm Factory 360 was in the basement for almost a year. I put the food scraps in a bag/bowl/box or something where it sits til I get around to hauling it downstairs. That's why I moved my laundry equipment from the basement to the bathroom closet, which was always full of laundry waiting for me to get around to it.

My trashcan contains plastic, , while bottles and cans go in recycle bag. Nothing left to feed the mice so they moved out. As did ex G/F, but that doesn't fit the category of this blog...

So now I'm officially a do-as-i-do kitchen composter. I started with contents of another processing tray, which happened to be about half consumed, so... since it's soooo convenient I scooped out a few tablespoonfuls of castings and topped off the plants in the livingroom!

How and why to cook for your worms. The lettuce isn't dead yet.

2010-04-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

Don't think that I go to any trouble for my composting worms. 90% of what they eat goes to them untouched, but I can help speed up the process without spending one extra minute in the kitchen. Slide show/video to follow.

Let me explain the lettuce thing: Worms don't eat stuff that is still alive. They will eat the rotten part of a potato but not the fresh part. Bananas appear to be dead about 5 minutes after the kid leaves it on the counter, as do apples, pears and all those soft fruits. Put those things in the worm bin today and they are gone in a week.

Lettuce, however, doesn't seem to know it's dead for more than a week. Put a couple leave of lettuce in the worm bin and it goes untouched for 7-10 days. Then magically it goes limp and the worms snarf it down. That process can be sped up by breaking the cellular structure that worms think is 'life form". Winter: throw the leftovers in the snowbank overnight. Anytime, nuke the veggies for a minute or so to break those cellular bonds. "As long as you are in the kitchen anyway..."

First off, If I'm going to prepare breakfast or dinner it's going to take 15 - 60 minutes of my time, most of which is in the kitchen. The example here is today for breakfast.

8:30 - decided to cook breakfast - saute onions, red potatoes, cup of coffee (2) . Pretty simple stuff

8:35. coffee is on, potato peeled, onion sliced. Scraps on the cuttingboard.

8:40. Frying pan is sizzling and veggies are in place.

8:45. put food scraps in microwave bowl, dumped on contents of the sink strainer. Placed in microwave 45 seconds.

8:47. Onions and potatoes coming along fine.

8:50, dumped veggies, crushed egg shells, coffee grounds and filter in worm bin.

8:50 - added eggs to fry pan
8:55 - Sat down to yummy breakfast with no leffovers, no stinky stuff in trash can

9:00 put dishes in the sink to dry for a couple days till I'm in the mood to wash them.

Oh, yeah... worms got their broken-down food scraps 5 minutes before my breakfast was ready.

Worm Factory 360 with FREE SHIPPING and FREE WORMS!!!

2010-04-13T19:40:00.001-04:00

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$119 for four tray WormFactory 360 which includes subsequent shipment of one pound of worms. This insures live delivery guarantee. Purchase at CompostCritter online.

 For each order placed between 4/21/10-4/28/10, we will send a
coupon for a free pound of worms. Once you have received your bin
setup, you will contact us to receive your free pound of worms.
 We guarantee the live delivery of the worms via USPS priority mail.
This is the standard in the worm shipping business. And it is the
quickest most efficient way to send worms
 Worms are shipped on Monday and Tuesday of every week. This
ensures the worms arrive to the customer before the weekend.
 Red Wigglers are the composting worm we recommend for the Worm
Factory products

Composting without critters - an oxymoron coming from me!

2010-04-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

Yes, if you google the phrase 'compost critter' you will learn about raccoons, dogs, skunks and bears.

That's not what I had in mind when I launched this, but it's an interesting aside.

My critters are worms and grubs, and I go by Compost Critter as a nickname.

But there IS a solution for composting kitchen scraps without feeding the local wildlife.

Vermiculture is the process of composting with worms, a completely oderless (good start) process, and the container can be the solution.

Also called a 'worm hotel', a 5 gallon bucket can be the solution. This is the bucket that paint or drywall paste comes in, or buy it at Home Depot or Lowes for $3 - $4.

Drill holes around the perimeter close to the bottom, and at least one drain hole in the bottom. This provides drainage and ventilation. Then sink the bucket in the garden, right up to it's neck. about 18" deep. Only the lit will be exposed.

Start your vermiposter with a bunch of dead leaves and fruit scraps, and a pound of worms. Then add your food scraps daily and just snap the lid back in place to keep your local critters at bay. Your worm farming experience will reward you in several areas. Your food scraps go to fertilizer instead of a landfill. Your kitchen waste basket won't smell like rotting food nor attract flies. You will be producing plant nutrients in worm castings effortlessly! And the worms eat the substances which would have been causing orders!

Scroll down the the blog and you'll see photos of the buckets in use.

and, have fun with Vermiposting!

Jeff

Have you discovered worm castings?

2010-04-12T15:53:00.000-04:00

"Here is my guarantee", as I say to several hundred farm market shoppers every weekend at the Farmstead Market near Hershey, PA.

"This is a cup of worm castings which are my gift to you. to introduce you to organic gardening. Take the castings home, spread them on the surface of the soil of your houseplants, and water them well. When you come back next week just tell me what your plants did. If you're impressed, you owe me one dollar."

and EVERYONE COMES BACK!

Worm castings, the product of vermiposting, are nature's best organic fertilizer. Neutral PH, time release nitrogen and nutrients, millions of beneficial microbes for your houseplants, seedlings, garden, and ornamentals.

Create your own organic composting stream with a Worm Factory 360 or a Can-of-Worms vermiposter by visiting our website at www.compostcritter.com or search for us at www.amazon.com ( at a slightly higher fee).

We insure a live delivery guarantee for red wigglers composting worms which are shipped weekly by priority mail. Hundreds of gardeners across the country are recycling their kitchen waste, junk mail and office paper with our composters.

Nice article from Penn State about bugs which arrive with compost.

2010-03-27T18:18:00.000-04:00

Q. There is an insect infesting my apartment that I have never seen before. I thought they were termites at first, but their wings seem too short. Perhaps they came out of the soil that I brought into the house from the compost bin? They are about one-half to three-quarters of an inch long. The body is green and it has large eyes. It buzzes quietly and has not bitten any of us (yet).
A. You can bring some unwanted guests into your home if you use fresh compost on your houseplants, especially if it has not broken down completely. A number of insects feed on decaying organic matter and find compost irresistible. You would not want to treat your compost for them because insects work in concert with fungi and bacteria to break organic matter down into humus.
The writer sent samples that were submitted to Penn State's Insect Lab for accurate identification. They turned out to be black soldier flies. They were probably present as larvae or pupae in the compost the writer used to make a potting mix for her houseplants.
Black soldier fly larvae feed on all kinds of decaying organic matter, including compost, manure and carrion. They are not considered plant pests and will not bother the houseplants. Adults feed on pollen and nectar, primarily from plants in the daisy and carrot families. They do not bite, sting, or transmit any kind of disease, nor will they damage household goods. It is just a nuisance to have them flying around your home. No treatment beyond a fly swatter is recommended because they will die out when the organic matter in the potting mix breaks down completely.
Although organic matter is extremely beneficial for houseplants, you should screen it and allow it to air dry to reduce the possibility of creating a nuisance in your home. Many of the insects that live in compost will not survive if it is thoroughly dried. To be on the safe side, you might want to pasteurize compost before using it on houseplants. Be warned -- baking compost stinks!
Place it in a shallow baking pan -- inexpensive foil pans are ideal. Heat the compost up to 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. You might consider doing this on an outdoor grill to avoid smelling up your house.
Another option is to get a worm bin. Known as vermiculture, this composting process uses red wigglers and other species of worms to turn vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and other non-meat food waste into a nutrient-rich organic matter that is ideal to incorporate into potting mix for houseplants. The worms live in a sealed bin partially filled with shredded newspaper for bedding. When you "feed" them food scraps, it is important to cover them with a fresh layer of shredded paper to avoid attracting fruit flies.
This a great composting method for apartment dwellers -- they do not smell or take up much space, and the worm castings produced are an excellent source of organic matter and nutrients for indoor plants as well as those in your landscape. The only problem is that once you see the positive effect the worm castings have on your plants, you will want more than a single bin will produce!
The Pennsylvania Resources Council offers training in vermiculture and backyard composting. For a schedule of classes, please visit www.prc.org/community_adultedu.html.

Tulips are up!

2010-03-18T19:46:00.000-04:00

Scouting the garden plots this evening... Tulips are up across the road in the south facing berm. Just a hint of tulips on the south berm facing north, plus two iris's poking thru!

Lifting the surface layer of over-wintering compost revealed several inches of worm castings and marvelous compost... Will try to do photos on Sunday.

One of the tulip beds had 8" of grass clippings placed on it in October. That's down to only about three inches depth now, but more than half of it is worm castings! ditto pics asap.

Jeff

Planting Peas on Patty's Day in PA

2010-03-14T18:49:00.000-04:00

Perhaps this year I'll do everything by legend and wives tale...

Today I tucked peas into the compost along the trellis at the south end of one of the garden beds.

Other than garlic that's the only thing started... Let's see how the year evolves!

Day at the Vermiposting Farm Market, comments on family trash and future of landfills.

2010-03-06T19:13:00.000-05:00

Was a great day at the farm market. We're open Friday and Saturday. Friday is mostly seniors. Great fun but high conversation to conversion ratio. Like being stoned with popcorn.

This Saturday was our first this year without digging out of the white stuff. The Market in just north of Hershey, PA and the snow is down to piles in corners from the plows. GREAT traffic today. Probably (I haven't recovered enough to hit the TALLY key) sold 7 worm farms, tons of organic seed purchases (with a linked in seed-exchange program) and picked up a speaking engagement.

I need to record an hour of my conversations and have someone transcribe it. Would make great blog material. I probably go thru my 45 minute conversation 20 times in an 8 hour day... given some overlap.

Simply amazing that having been an organic gardening/mother earth news junkie since 1972 that so many people say "Gardening is really starting to catch on!" ?!?!?!?!?!

My favorite moment has become the pause/response to the question "What all can you compost?".

(pause 2,,,3,,,4,,)

I say, "Let me ask,,, If we dumped your trashcan out right now, what would we find?"

As they list the items that come to mind (typically: junk mail, newspapers, magazines, coffee grounds and filters, spoiled leftovers, trimmings from preparing dinner, eggshells, bathroom waste like tissues, t.p. rolls, razors, plastic wrap, rings from 6-packs of beverages, home office and homework paper trash, old socks, vacuum cleaner bag (full), dryer lint... ( this is a family with an outstanding memory!)

OK, so let's pull out the razors, plastic wrap, 6-pack rings... Are you paying a TRASH HAULER to pick up this handful of non-compostable trash??? That must be costing you $80/pound!!! Nobody's trash is THAT valuable!!!

Between the community recycle bin (glass/plastic/cans, and they haven't earned the right to take my cardboard and paper) and hauling a handful of the above to the quickmart where I buy petrol, I haven't supported Waste Management for 5 years!!

Are you familiar with how the "Co-Gen" industry has been reclaiming old coal mining dump sites? ( pretty indigenous to PA)

I predict that we will one day reclaim, for profit, our landfills. Years and years of dumping 90% compostable's, with 10% trash, (and in NJ, the occasional body,,, but that's a compostable...).

OK... let me give the mic to the next speaker and savor the moment. Will have to post this to blog. Felt pretty good to let the thoughts flow.

Have a great Sunday! Will still be dumping compostables on to of remaining 6-8" of snow, but it should find ground "0" within the week.

Jeff

www.TheWormist.com

2010-03-02T07:01:00.000-05:00

If you have not seen it, Nature's Footprint (formerly Cascade Manufacturing) who makes the 360 Worm Factory (TM) has an instructional video! >>> HERE's THE VIDEO <<<

Whatever container you are using, the process is pretty much the same.

Have fun worming your way into spring!

Earth911.com article on starting a worm farm.

2010-03-01T07:56:00.000-05:00

This turned up recently. nice explanation in just four pages. The article is at Earth911.com

Only a few things are needed to make good worm compost: a bin, bedding, worms and worm food. By following the steps listed below, you will learn to make, maintain and use your own worm compost.

Only a few things are needed to make good worm compost: a bin, bedding, worms and worm food. Photo: Howstuffworks.com

Worm Bins

Your bin needs to be only 8 to 16 inches deep, since compost worms are surface feeders. You can build your own bin by using a washtub, dish pan, used shipping crate or a commercially available worm bin. Just be sure your bin has a lid to keep out flies and rodents. It also needs holes in the bottom (a quarter inch or smaller), for ventilation and drainage.

The rule of thumb for bin size is two square feet of surface area per person, or one square foot of surface area per pound of food waste per week. Because worms like moderate temperatures, place your bin in a shady location where it will not freeze or overheat.

Reflections on a garden show, and 20 new topics.

2010-02-28T19:24:00.001-05:00

Jay and Naliene Myer and I shared a booth at the PA Garden Expo this weekend. great fun and great to be with my mentor!

Since my retail focus has been on worm bins and DIY V'culture and theirs has been on castings, we made a pretty good team. We got to hear each others pitch and shared concepts...

Will have to capsulize some of the paragraphs I use...

- Lettuce doesn't know it's dead for a week.

- Leave the lights on

- citrus in the bin

- when is it tea and when is it V8?

- fertilize the plant, not the garden

- piss them off and they will leave (working on the screenplay)

- twigs in my castings? (the garden don't care)

- worms in drain tray? (you gonna bother paper-training your worms or defining boundrys?)

- invite fruit flies and they will come

- while you are cooking, do a side for the worms

Weekend of caffiene will wear off by tuesday and I'll come down from the tree.

Jeff

Special Promo, 360 Worm Factory - Extra Tray Free, Free Shipping!

2010-02-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

Perfect time of year to get started with a worm farm! Generate worm castings this month to feed the seeds you are starting indoors and add to your potting soil. Surface feed worm castings to your house plants for immediate (OK... so 7 days, maybe) results and see them blossom like never before!!!

Videos and instructions of setting up and harvesting the worm factory are available on this page by scrolling down the links at the right.

Limited time order!!! Place order for 3 tray 360 Worm Factory by 3/1/10 and we will include an extra tray ($10 value) and FREE SHIPPING!!!

Visit www.compostcritterstore.com to order online.

Call with questions, 570-401-4843

Jeff The Wormist

Composting Citrus

2010-02-17T07:15:00.000-05:00

My only concern about composting citrus products is how much acidity may accumulate if the compost system is small, particularly in a worm bin.

My own preference is to take the citrus to the large outdoor bin and compost it there with other fruits. Once it has broken down I find that the worms will devour it and that helps neutralize any acid buildup. You may want to check the ph or add a dusting of lime.

My weekly haul of compostables from the farm market always included a healthy portion of lime, lemons, oranges and pineapples. It happens to bring some fresh fragrances to the garden to!

2010-02-17T07:06:00.002-05:00

CompostCritter.com & The Wormist.com will be in Booth #114 with Soil Secret!

Feb 26, 27, 28 2010, Pa Farm Show Complex

Join me with Jay and Naliene Myers to chat about worm castings and organic gardening! (I will be at the expo Sunday and after Farmstead Market on Friday and Saturday, Jay and Naliene will be at the garden expo full time for three days.)

Container gardening needs more than just water. From FineGardening.com

2010-02-09T01:48:00.000-05:00

Container TLC >>>Printable <<<

The right care and feeding are the secrets to keeping your pots lush and healthy all season long

by Jennifer Benner

Growing plants in containers is one of my favorite ways to garden. Come August, however, I’ve had it with deadheading and lugging watering cans. Last spring, when I was preparing to pot up my containers, the memory of spent, sticky nicotiana blossoms clinging to my fingertips came rushing back, and I wondered—is all this fuss and fluff worth it? Do containers really need that much care, or is it just a lot of hype? That’s when I decided to embark on an experiment. I planted several sets of identical containers and gave one pot in each set only water and the other the royal treatment: fertilizer, primping, and pruning.
By midsummer, it was clear that containers need more than just water. The water-only containers looked pathetic: The plants were puny, had few flowers, and their leaves were often an unhealthy yellow. The containers given more TLC thrived with abundant growth and flowers. The moral of the story is that a regular-maintenance checklist is the best way to get great-looking containers from beginning to end. Now that I know that all of the work really does pay off, it makes the rewards that much sweeter.

1. Provide a steady supply of water and nutrients

The warm temperatures of summer send plants into a growing frenzy. If they don’t have access to adequate water and nutrients, they will be stunted and sickly. Watering can be a bit of a balancing act: too much or too little and your plantings will suffer. My strategy is to water containers thoroughly when the soil surface becomes dry to the touch. During the hottest part of the summer, this can mean watering at least every day. I add water to each pot until I see it draining from the bottom, which ensures that moisture has reached the deepest roots. I also avoid watering at the end of the day. Without sunlight and warmth to evaporate moisture on leaves, the foliage stays wet longer, making it more susceptible to foliar diseases.

Given nothing but water all season long, this container looks acceptable until compared with the pot that got the star treatment (right).

This container has the same plants grown in the same location as the one on the left. Its exuberant growth and plethora of flowers testify to the benefits of complete and consistent care.

Most gardeners fill their pots with soilless mixes, which lack organic matter and nutrients. To provide plants with the food they need, I give my containers a regular dose of fertil izer. I add a balanced, granular, synthetic or organic, time-released fertilizer to the potting mix at planting time. This will slowly feed the plants for the next few months. Because container plants are heavy feeders, I also begin feeding the pots with water-soluble fertilizer, which roots can take up instantly, about a month after planting. I mix the liquid fertilizer at half strength—because the soil already contains granular fertilizer—and apply it at watering time every two to three weeks until the end of the season.

You get what you give

This container received routine watering and fertilizing.

With only an occa sional visit from the watering can, this container can't compete with the one on the left.

2. Snip off spent flowers and unsightly foliage

I give my containers a good primping every week or so. Deadheading faded blossoms and removing damaged or diseased leaves and stems not only keeps plants looking good but also keeps them productive and healthy. Deadheading redirects a plant’s energy from seed production back into flower production. When snipping off blooms, cut flower stems back to a leaf node or main stem. Do not leave any unsightly headless or leafless stems.
Removing problem leaves back to the main stem is also important. If an entire stem is damaged or diseased, cut it back to the nearest healthy growing point or all the way back to the base. It’s best to remove dis figured leaves and stems as soon as you notice them. Injuries attract insects and encourage dis eases. Many container plants like pelargoniums, also known as annual geraniums (Pelargonium spp. and cvs.), have a tendency to develop a fungal disease called botrytis on their lower leaves. Don’t be shy about digging deep into plantings to look for problems. Likewise, take a peek under your trailing plants, and remove any brown or tattered foliage.

3. Prune plants back into shape

Two or three times a season, I snip my containers back into shape. Some plants grow more vigorously than others, so I cut aggressive plants back to size to keep my plantings balanced. I have a tendency to overplant, so when I see a pot getting crowded, I remove a stem here or there to be sure the container gets enough air circulation to stay healthy. If you have the oppo site problem and your planting is not full enough, pruning the tips of a few stems back a bit will encourage them to bush out.
Some plants need a total overhaul by midsummer. If a plant is appearing less productive and attractive overall, I cut all the stems back by as much as half to a leaf node or growing point. The plant is usually up and running again in a couple of weeks. If the idea of cutting the whole plant back intimidates you, do it gradually over three weeks by cutting one-third of the stems back each week. Avoid pruning your plants during the heat of the day, which is stressful for the plant. Prune them, instead, in the morning or evening while the stems are firm yet bendable.

Don’t be a slave to watering

Keeping up with watering is one of the most important factors in beautiful containers, but sometimes it seems like it’s a never-ending job. Here are a few things you can do to lessen the load.
Use saucers to save water for later
I often place saucers under containers that are located in hot, sunny locations to help the soil retain moisture longer. The saucers also help when the soil is so dry that water just runs off the surface. By having water sit in the saucer, the overly dry soil has a chance to wick up and absorb the moisture. I avoid placing saucers under pots that are located in shady sites as they can keep the pots too damp, thus killing the plants. For the same reason, I also remove the saucers during particularly rainy spells.
Choose the right pot
The type of container you use also influences how often you’ll need to water. Terra-cotta pots are porous and tend to dry out quickly, while glazed, plastic, or metal pots hold more moisture.
Mix in some magic crystals
Moisture-retaining soil additives can minimize the need to water. In years with excessive rain or with pots located in shade, however, the soil tends to stay too moist.

Use saucers to save water for later.

Choose the right pot.

Worm Power as published in Organic Gardening Magazine online

2010-02-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

Organic gardeners know that worms help plant matter to decompose, improve soil structure and leave behind rich fertilizer. Researchers have now found that worm composts actually make plants grow faster.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that including just 10 to 20 percent worm compost (by volume) in a commercial potting mix can boost the growth rate of marigolds, bachelor's buttons, tomatoes and peppers by up to 40 percent over that of plants grown in an unamended mix.

"Even when we provided all plants with enough fertilizer for optimum growth, plants still grew better when the soil was amended with worm compost," reports Jim Metzger, Ph.D., horticulture professor at Ohio State.

Researchers at Mississippi State University have found that worm compost increases the germination rate and growth of cucumbers. And scientists in Italy have confirmed similar results with carrots.

How can you get the powerful benefits of worm castings in your garden? If your home compost pile already contains lots of worms, you give your plants a boost every time you apply the compost.

Don't have a compost pile? You can set up a worm bin in your home, feed the worms your kitchen scraps and collect their castings. Here are some hints, from Amy Stewart, author of "The Earth Moved: On The Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms" (Algonquin Books, 2004).

The worms that live in your outdoor compost pile may not be the best species for a closed worm composting system. Some worms, like nightcrawlers, will not survive long in captivity. Your best bet is to order worms from a reputable worm dealer. Eisenia fetida or E. andrei are generally considered the best species of worms for composting.

http://www.organicgardening.com/featureprint/1,7759,s1-3-79-576,00.html

You can buy a worm bin, (www.compostcritterworms.com) , or build your own from a plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid. Be sure to include holes for air and drainage, and put a fine mesh screen in the bottom to keep the worms from escaping.

Feed worms a low-fat, vegan diet: they love fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, rice, pasta, and bread, but they can't tolerate meat, dairy, or oil.

Keep the food covered with a layer of shredded newspaper or cardboard, which will keep flies away and provide another food source for the worms.

Add crushed eggshells to prevent acidity. The worms will not eat the shells—you can add them to your garden along with the castings.

Keep the bin as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Adding wet or dry newspaper is a good way to change the humidity in the bin.

Keep your bin in a sheltered spot, away from sun and rain. Worms prefer a moderate climate, 60 degrees F is ideal. A small worm bin will even fit in your garage or cellar.

Be patient! It can take up to six months or a year before you collect castings from your bin for the first time. It takes the worms this long to get acclimated and start reproducing enough to fill the bin.

Chart of how many weeks before the last frost to start plants from seed indoors.

2010-02-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

Chart of how many weeks before the last frost to start plants from seed indoors.Click HERE for Printable Version Visit www.CompostCritter.comTable courtesy of North Carolina State University Extension

Plant	Approximate Number of Weeks Before Last Frost Date to Start Seeds Indoors	Time Seeds Take to Germinate (Days)	Temp. (^oF)	Light/Dark Requirement
Ageratum	8	5 to 10	70	Light
Alyssum	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Aster	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Balsam	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Begonia	12 or more	10 to 15	70	Light
Broccoli	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Browallia	12 or more	15 to 20	70	Light
Cabbage	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Cauliflower	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Celosia	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Centurea	6	5 to 10	65	Dark
Coleus	8	5 to 10	65	Light
Columbine	8	20 - 25	70	Light
Cosmos	4 or less	5 to 10	70	Either
Cucumber	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Dahlia	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Dianthus	10	5 to 10	70	Either
Eggplant	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Geranium	12 or more	10 to 20	70	Light
Impatiens	10	15 to 20	70	Light
Larkspur	12 or more	5 to 10	55	Dark
Lettuce	8	5 to 10	70	Light
Marigold	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Muskmelon	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Nicotiana	8	10 to 15	70	Light
Pansy (Viola)	12 or more	5 to 10	65	Dark
Pepper	8	5 to 10	80	Either
Petunia	10	5 to 10	70	Light
Phlox	8	5 to 10	65	Dark
Portulaca	10	5 to 10	70	Dark
Snapdragon	10	5 to 10	65	Light
Squash	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Stock	10	10 to 15	70	Either
Tomato	6	5 to 10	80	Either
Verbena	10	15 to 20	65	Dark
Vinca	12 or more	10 to 15	70	Either
Watermelon	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Zinnia	6	5 to 10	70	Either

Table courtesy of North Carolina State University Extension

GREAT post on winter composting!!!!

2010-01-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

Bently is doing an experiment that exactly replicates what I have been saying about composting... look at this!

Winter Worm Windrow – 01-13-16

Not QUITE as warm as I would like to see!

Some of you may recall that my dad and I attempted to monitor temperatures in our big worm bed (sitting in his backyard) last year using a remote weather station (first written about here: Winter Worm Composting – 12-08-08). Well, it didn’t end up working quite as effectively as we had hoped, so we ended up sticking with our trusty long-stemmed thermometer for temp readings in the bed.

Perhaps my dad is stubborn (like me), or simply an optimist, because this year for Christmas he ended up giving me yet another one of these systems to try out (in my own winter windrow)!

I guess I am an optimist too, since I found myself working quickly (by my standards) to get the system up and running in the bed (i.e. it didn’t end up sitting in a closet until next winter – haha). Now that it is up and running, I am even more excited about it – actually seeing a live reading from the bed (as low as it seems to be) is just really cool!

I obviously didn’t just want to toss the monitor in the bed without any sort of protection. Even though it is designed to be weather-proof, somehow I doubt there would EVER be weather conditions that would come close to what you’d find in the middle of an active compost pile! So, I decided to toss it into a sealed ziplock bag full of drink-tray cardboard shreds, which will hopefully help to keep it nice and dry (not to mention clean).

Worm farms and horse manure, a great mix!

2010-01-09T17:03:00.000-05:00

Research Articles Mentioned In This Post

1) Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture by Glenn Munro, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada

This paper is referred to in the next posting also. I'm including it here because it specifically refers to the photo below which is from a farm in Canada using worms to compost horse manure in a unheated barn.

What happens to worms in winter???

2010-01-09T16:55:00.001-05:00

What Happens To Worms In The Winter?

January 9, 2010 by Jenn

How Worms Survive the Winter

If you like the idea of composting with worms, but prefer to do so outdoors. You can! You don’t need to bring the worms in for winter. And you don’t need to replace them each year.

Even in our cold Canadian climate, worm composting can be successfully accomplished outdoors year after year, with little hassle.

The Proof is in the Compost

You may wonder how this is possible. And so did Glenn Munroe.

Glenn Munroe is a researcher at the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. He decided to take a closer look at what was happening inside of the long windrows of compost on a farm located in the bitter cold climate of Nova Scotia. What he found was that, during the winter months, the worms migrated within the windrows so that they were located at the center and towards the southern end of the heap (the warmest spot). He also found that some worms that were almost completely encased in ice, only having room to move their heads, could be thawed out and continue to function normally. He concluded that the worms die from freezing only when they’re prevented from eating! He documented his findings in a 56 page manual titled the Manual of On Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture. (see page 15)

Previous studies by the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) had confirmed that the cocoons or “eggs” of compost worms can survive deep freezing for extended periods of time and still hatch out healthy and hungry baby worms.2

So even if your worms do freeze or “die by starvation,” their cocoons will remain and hatch the following spring!

This is why many gardeners have been pleasantly surprised to find thriving populations of compost worms in their outdoor bins for many years after introducing them.

Important Considerations Before You Begin

That said, you can’t just be throwing worms into your outdoor bin all willy nilly and expect them to survive.

There are a few worm hazards that you must consider before you begin.
Here are the 7 Habits of Successful Outdoor Vermicomposters.

1) The composter must be stationary. Not the rolling or turning kind.
2) It should be placed in a shady location to avoid overheating.
3) Go easy on the grass clippings as overheating can occur through their decomposition.
4) Place a wire mesh beneath the composter to prevent voles and moles from snacking on your worms.
5) No need to turn your compost, the worms will do it for you!!
6) Remember to add a carbon source (like newspaper) on occasion to give them a balanced diet.
7) Avoid adding citrus, onion and garlic waste as these are organic pesticides.

As long as you keep these conditions in their favor, your worms will never leave you.
In fact, they’ll stay right where their food is located.

Research Articles Mentioned In This Post

1) Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture by Glenn Munro, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada
2) GEORG 2004, Feasibility of Developing the Organic and Transitional Farm Market for Processing Municipal and Farm Organic Wastes Using Large-Scale Vermicomposting Good Earth Organic Resources Group, Halifax

All images on this site are Copyrighted and protected by law.
Copyrighted, 2010 Capital Worm Ranch

Hoop House Kit! $?

2010-01-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Will price out the components today for a 15 ft long hoop house. Then a price to add per 3' addition to length.

I should have samples and details at the farm market next weekend. What a great way to keep your compost cooking (and heating your hoop house) and give you a place to grow herbs and such thru the winter!

Send pics of your projects.

Happy new Year! Jeff

I found a great hoop house design! Heading to Home Depot!

2010-01-02T08:55:00.000-05:00

How to build My 50 Dollar Greenhouse <<< click heading to reach original article intact.

October 27th, 2008 by David LaFerneyLeave a reply »

Want to find out if this thing works before you read all this? Read 6 months in the Greenhouse.
There is another article on Building the Greenhouse Doors.

My $50 Greenhouse

Welcome Stumbleupon Gardeners! How about a Thumb up if you like this article?

Materials list

Construction Steps

Hind Sight – What I would do differently

The planning is over and construction on my hoop house greenhouse has begun. I’ve rounded up all of the materials and it looks like I’m going to end up with about $50 in a 165 square ft. green house. Granted I already had most of the materials because I’m an incorrigible pack rat, but even if I had bought everything new just for this polytunnel It would still only come to about $120 $150 – less than a dollar per square ft. Due to the fact that we are in the midst of a global economic meltdown, and the future is a bit uncertain keeping the cost of this project as low as possible is an important consideration.

See us featured in references at bottom of the page.

2010-01-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

From: http://www.pamsflorist.com/red-wiggler/ 12/30/09

More and more people are turning to home based business to earn extra money. Others are lucky, you win big and make it their only source of income. They start with businesses that do not require too much maintenance, like a few hours a day. Choose trades that no additional pressure to their work and existing. Since it will be home based, there would be additional time spent for travel. Start when you get home. Take, for example vermiculture.

Vermiculture is the culture of earthworms to produce compost for plants. Vermicompost or vermicast is a very powerful food for plants. It preferred a complete fertilizer for agriculture Eco. Use as top dressing to prevent moisture loss, sprinkle on your lawn as a soil conditioner, or mix in water to form vermi tea. Vermi tea is also used as a soil amendment is even known to cure some plant diseases like leaf curl and tomato blight. Other users vermi tea add molasses and seaweed to further increase the amount of beneficial microbes. You can sell this vermicast for gardening enthusiasts or garden and plant supplies. If you have the ability to produce more, selling organic vegetable farms. Earthworms can also sell per unit or per kilo. This could be used as breeders to produce their own vermicast or as high protein animal feed.

To start your project vermiculture, buy the right type of worms to decompose. Nightlife in Africa and red worms are the kinds of earthworms to work. These are not the same kind of worms of land that are on the lawn. Prepare a tray for your worm. Bins of different types are available in the market. There are stackable cubes, cubes tower drains collect and feed the plants. Build your own worm bin if you wish. Make a wooden box, about 2 feet wide by 2 ½ feet long. Install hinges on the wooden lid. Drilling small holes around the perimeter of 1 ½ inches from the top, will serve as a vent for garbage. Drill 2 holes larger about ¾ inch in diameter along the length and the bottom of the wall. Make two holes the same size directly on the opposite side. A tube PVC of the same diameter which must pass through these holes.

Installation of mesh to cover the holes of ¾ inch. Drill several small holes in the PVC pipe. The purpose of this pipeline is to introduce air from outside into the bottom of the worm bedding. This will help the rapid decomposition of bedding. An alternative way to aerate the pile is less than its time once a week, so that materials on the bottom are placed at the top. Once the tray, put in bedding for the worm. Soak 2-inch strips of newspaper in water, drained, and fluff it. Mixing in the decaying leaves or yard trimmings. Add crushed eggshells to neutralize acidity. The worms are now ready for transfer to the trash. Feed the worms with waste cooking, vegetable trimmings, meat, fruit peels, but not citrus. Top each food with bedding Sprinkle a handful of soil to help worms digest their food. Keep the bedding moist always.

This business does not require much time, after the power is created and maintained moisture battery will not last much time. After several weeks, the notice small capsular molding. Scoop and sift through a wire mesh, can be stored vermicast for a long time. Besides being a suitable home based business also provides a way for waste disposal.

About the Author:

About the Author
For more useful tips & hints, please browse for more information at our website :-http://www.freeearningtips.com
http://www.business.reprintarticlesite.com

By George Hahn, California Vermiculturist

2009-12-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

What a great article!

Applications for Worm Castings:

A little goes a long way! Worm castings provide the essential NPK. Bio-humus provides organic matter (humate) which retains water, and enhances soil nutrient availability.

Root Crops:

Adds K (phosphorus) & P (potassium) in a form immediately available to the plants (unlike chemical fertilizers).

Layer 1 to 2 inches in the bottom and sides of seed furrows and plant holes. Set seeds or plants in place and cover with soil. Side dress plants in 4 to 6 weeks with 1/8 inch of castings.

For smaller gardens, 1 cup per plant in planting hole (mixed with 4 cups backfill soil) and top-dress root zone with 1/2 cup per plant at mid season.

Herbs:

Herbs do not like rich soil. Use 1/4 cup castings per 4 cups soil -- mixed with backfill soil when planting, or 1/4 cup around the root zone for established plants.

All Types of Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Beans, Cucumbers and Melons:

Mix 1 part Worm Castings to 4 parts soil. Line newly dug holes with the mixture, place plant in hole and cover. Top dress each plant or hill with 1/4 cup castings after budding. Water and repeat every 2 months.

Worm Casting Tea (as a Liquid Fertilizer or Foliar Spray):

Worm casting tea can be used in conjunction with castings, but not as a sole source of nutrients. It reduces transplant shock, helps in setting blooms, recovery from lack of water or wind damage, controls fungus and insects.

Directions:

Mix 1 cup with 1 gallon of water (let chlorinated water sit 30 minutes before use) and shake vigorously. Let it steep for 12-24 hours.

To use as liquid fertilizer -- just shake the steeped liquid well and water the plants.

To make a foliar spray:

Filter the steeped mix to remove any particles. Save the sediment on the bottom of the container and that captured in the filter.

Use the filtered liquid in a sprayer to apply to the leaves, especially the undersides.

Refill the bottle (with the sediment in bottom) with water, shake well, and use for watering plants.

Potted Plants and Planter Boxes:

Add 1/2 cup of castings to the surface of the soil. Water and repeat every 3 to 4 months.

Compost Bins:

Spread in a thin layer of castings between each layer of compost material.

Lawns:

Established - Top dress with 5 lbs. castings per 100 sq ft. and water well.

New (for seed and sod) - Use 10 lb. worm castings per 100 sq ft. Broadcast seed into seedbed, rake in and water.

Use 1/8 inch worm castings to sod bed surface, then apply sod.

Roses, Shrubs and Trees:

New or Transplanted - Mix 1 part castings to 2 parts of compost or organic peat. Surround the newly dug hole with mixture, spread roots over mound of mixture in the hole. Cover & water well to eliminate air pockets.

Established Roses & Shrubs -

Mix 4 cups castings into the surface of each plant & cover with mulch.

Established Trees -

Use 2 cups castings per 1 inch of trunk diameter. Top dress from the trunk to the drip line, cover with mulch or compost and water.

Fruit and Nut Trees:

Using castings, most fruit and citrus trees will go into production faster, nut trees will not respond as dramatically, and ornamental trees may more than double in their initial growth rate.

After planting, apply 5 to 7 lbs castings per 1 inch of trunk diameter. Apply the castings by top dressing from the trunk to the drip line, cover with mulch and water. With established trees top dress the root zone with 5 lb. of castings per 1 inch of trunk diameter in late winter and fall.

2009-12-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

Garden Ecology Collection
6 assorted packs

The ecological garden is a productive garden. These 6 varieties have been carefully selected by our researchers to provide habitat for pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficials, while confusing garden pests. Interplanted with your vegetable crops, these plants add beauty and diversity to the garden and help support the overall ecology. Borage, Butterfly Weed, White sweet Alyssum, Ammi Visnaga, Purple Coneflower Echinacea, and Texas Hummingbird Sage.

2009-12-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

Sunflower Heaven Seed Collection
6 assorted seed packs

Grow your own field of heaven with our Sunflower Heaven Seed Collection. Includes one pack of each: Evening Sun, Gloriosa, Jerusalem Sunrise Lemon, Mexican, Russian Mammoth, Sunshine, and Tiger's Eye Sunflowers. Save 20% over individual packs.

2009-12-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

Children's Garden Collection

Includes one pack each of the following (6) varieties: Scarlet Emperor Runner Bean, Chioggia Beet, Kurota Chantenay Carrot, Lemon Cucumber, Jack-O-Lite Pumpkin and Chadwick Cherry Tomato. (Save 20% over individual packs.)

TheWormist - The blog of CompostCritter.com

Solexx Garden Master greenhouse assembly in the Poconos

Keeping the bed (worm bed) warm for winter.

Worms love lasagna.

Response to YouTube inquiry:

Using worm castings in potting soil

Feed them and reap - The Video

Feed your worms BETWEEN THE ROWS!

How handy is a cold frame?

Worm solution in Kansas

Harvesting worms from a horse farm

Applying worm castings in your garden

Feed the worms in your garden! Feed them and they will come.

Heating tape in greenhouse.

Assembling a Solexx Garden Master greenhouse

Out of Winter slide show

Out of winter.

Reducing the high expense of high tunnel coverings

Worms and Heavy Metals - possible remediation success!

Is January gone?

Feedback from Ms. Rae about her new Garden Master greenhouse.

How's your greenhouse doing in high winds?

Missouri Dept of Agriculture: Applications Being Accepted Now for Value-Added Agriculture Project Grants

2010 PASA Conference February 2 - February 5th

Solexx greenhouse panels on a 3 ft x 3 ft cold frame.

Complete Solexx Greenhouse and Accessory book downloads

The latest in Container Gardening is the UrBin Grower!

Feedback on assembling a Solexx Early Bloomer.

Three videos about composting and the Worm Factory 360!

Great research on the creation and application of Vermipost

This just in from savvyGardener.com

What's so nice about Solexx?

Now offering Solexx Greenhouses!

Add worms to your garden NOW to feed the soil for spring planting!

Composting logo needed!!!!

Free worms with Worm Factory 360 composter!

God, St. Francis and Lawn Care

What to plant in your vegetable garden in July?

Why become involved with vermiculture on an agricultural scale?

Video or vermiposting on large scale.

Worm castings for organic gardening.

How does my garden grow? - 90 days in slide snows.

What to do with LOTS of compostables?

Cooking for my Worms

7-day Results Guarantee

Question: How do I boost production fo strawberries and herbs?

Question of the week... To Wet or Too Dry?

So If the worms will eat anything organic, why don't they eat my garden plants?

Question from Susan in Palmyra: "If the worms will eat anything organic, why don't they eat my garden plants?

Note from Cory who visited the market

The Iccarus Garden Technique, a spin off of Inclined Bed Gardening.

Why compost in your kitchen? (See related articles on "Why is the refrigerator conveniently located in the kitchen?"

How and why to cook for your worms. The lettuce isn't dead yet.

Worm Factory 360 with FREE SHIPPING and FREE WORMS!!!

Composting without critters - an oxymoron coming from me!

Have you discovered worm castings?

Nice article from Penn State about bugs which arrive with compost.

Tulips are up!

Planting Peas on Patty's Day in PA

Day at the Vermiposting Farm Market, comments on family trash and future of landfills.

Earth911.com article on starting a worm farm.

Worm Bins

Reflections on a garden show, and 20 new topics.

Special Promo, 360 Worm Factory - Extra Tray Free, Free Shipping!

Composting Citrus

Container gardening needs more than just water. From FineGardening.com

Container TLC >>>Printable <<<

The right care and feeding are the secrets to keeping your pots lush and healthy all season long

More Reading

1. Provide a steady supply of water and nutrients

You get what you give

2. Snip off spent flowers and unsightly foliage

3. Prune plants back into shape

Don’t be a slave to watering

Worm Power as published in Organic Gardening Magazine online

Chart of how many weeks before the last frost to start plants from seed indoors.

GREAT post on winter composting!!!!

Winter Worm Windrow – 01-13-16

Worm farms and horse manure, a great mix!

What happens to worms in winter???