If you are a regular reader you know I have a worm composting system in my basement and that I love my worms. My favorite worm farming website is Red Worm Composting where Bentley Christie writes about everything worms. Bentley is constantly experimenting in an effort to find the most efficient way to raise the best worms, compost the most scraps and create the best worm castings (the end result of all those worms eating all those scraps). Last summer Bentley created a worm trench right in his garden, which he set up just like a worm bin. His vegetables never looked better. Recently he launched a winter version of this experiment by planting seeds in one of his indoor worm bins. I was intrigued by the idea and decided to try it myself.
I had two long trough-like planters already under the lights down in Subterrania. I had planned to use them to grow some greens or something during the winter but hadn’t yet gotten around to setting that up. I decided they would do very well for this experiment. I shredded up a bunch of paper, added it to my already shredded junk mail and filled the planters about half full. Bentley is not crazy about using shredded white paper in his bins but it seems to work fine in mine and I enjoy feeding all those solicitations to my worms. You just have to be careful not to use glossy paper. I had a bunch of pressed paper pulp inserts from my wine buying days, which I soaked, tore into bits and mixed with the shredded paper, filling the bins.
(The bins are completely full)
The next step was to add some vegetable scraps. I save all my scraps, chopped fine, in plastic bags in my freezer. Freezing helps kill fruit fly eggs and I’ve found there is no need to thaw the scraps before putting them in the bins. So, I tossed a couple of handfuls of frozen scraps into each planter and covered the scraps with the bedding material. I’ve not done this open bin thing before and am a little concerned about the bins drying out so, for the time being, I covered them with an old vinyl tablecloth, which I’ll probably remove when I add the worms. You can just see it in the background in the first picture.
My existent Worm Factory, which I wrote about in my, “I love my worms article”, is populated with red worms (eisenia fetida) who seem very happy where they are. I decided I’d leave them be and get some new worms for the new bins. Bentley is having a shipping sale on European Nightcrawlers (eisenia hortensis). I decided to give them a try and ordered a couple of pounds, which should be here on Thursday or Friday.
Unlike Bentley, my bins are new and clearly not ready for planting. I suspect I’ll have to wait two or three months at least (maybe more) before I can progress to that step. I’m going to add some well rotted hay as a top layer. That’s what I think I’ll be able to plant the seeds in. One thing you learn with this worm thing is patience. In two or three months it’ll be time to plant outside around here, which you might think would nullify the value of the experiment. Actually, it’s so hot here in the summer that it is very difficult to grow salad greens or any other cool weather crops. It’s always about 60-65° in Subterrania and my hope is that, if the experiment goes well, I’ll be able to have a thriving crop of arugula and other mixed lettuces as well as perhaps some broccoli down there this summer. The idea is that the worms will create a perfect environment for the crops growing up top. Worst case scenario is that the plants won’t grow well in that medium, the worms should be fine regardless.
The best part about not being able to plant for a few months is that Bentley’s experiment will have succeeded or failed by then and I’ll be able to learn from his mistakes, before I make my own! I know you’ll be breathlessly awaiting the outcome, so stay tuned!!
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3 comments:
After just a few months, I was growing all kinds of stuff each time I fed my worms. For instance, after feeding them a ton of tomatoes, I had tomato plants sprout up in the entire bin within just a few days! Same with pumpkin and pepper seeds. I can't wait to see how it goes for you.
I think those random seeds sprouting is what gave Bentley the idea. Did you go look at the pictures of his outdoor worm trench garden? I really want to give that a try! I'm hoping this will work, I love running down there to pick fresh basil all winter. If I could add a little salad to the mix - so much the better! As you know, patience is a virtue with the worms so I suspect updates will be well spaced-out!
Welcome to the vermicomposting world! I am glad you started, is a really nice adventure! I did it too, have been doing it for over a year (I think 2 years now). I posted about it in my blog, although I prepared the bin myself: http://frommomtomom.blogspot.com/2009/04/ecoconscious-my-worm-pets.html
It was fun to do it with my son. We call them our worm pets!
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