Mama's Worm Composting

Operation Kill Fungus Gnats

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I do not like fungus gnats. Actually, I wish there were a market for them because they seem to be so easy to breed! Unfortunately, all I can find online is info related to getting rid of fungus gnats, not propagating them. Ah, well...

So, as you may have guessed, my worm compost bin has been once again attacked by the mighty gnat. And once again, just when I think they're under control, back they come. So it is both my personal and professional mission to find a solution to fungus gnats in my worm bins and unwanted winged creatures in general. My worm compost bin, if you remember correctly, is situated in my pantry, and such visitors are most unwelcome. Additionally, many of you will be facing winter months soon enough, which means indoor worm compost bins for y'all. I need to solve these problems for you as well so that your winter composting projects are pleasurable. 

Here is what I've come up with over the weekend as my new approach to keeping pests out of my worm compost bin:

The Vacuum

My old standby, the vacuum, is irreplaceable during any fruit fly or fungus gnat invasion. 

Fly Traps

Of the sticky tape variety are also quite useful, especially when laid directly on top of the bedding in your worm compost bin.

Cinnamon

Yes, cinnamon! I have read that cinnamon is a natural insecticide, and I must say that my initial findings are definitely encouraging. To combat my current problem, I have left the lid off of my bin and generously sprinkled cinnamon all over the top layer. The result? A mass migration of the young flies out of the bin and straight into my vacuum cleaner hose. However, use caution: cinnamon has been used to fight against parasitic worms, like tapeworms, and so the jury is still out about its effect on red worms. I think, however, that sprinkling a bit on the top is unlikely to cause much carnage, and if it does it will only affect the worms in the top layer. Then I can scrape out this layer and also hopefully be free of flies at that point. 

Coffee Grounds

Word on the street is that coffee grounds on the top layer of my worm compost may have a similar effect as cinnamon to keep flies at bay. I am going to start keeping my used grounds in a separate container so that I can sprinkle them on top after each feeding. 

Beer Traps

I have laid several little cups of beer around the house and directly into the worm compost with at least a little success. Don't get too excited about this one, but every dead fly is a victory in my world.

Freezing

I have recently started to freeze all of my kitchen compost scraps before feeding. This process allows the food to be broken down more easily by microorganisms and thus eaten more easily by the worms. It also kills any eggs from fruit flies or fungus gnats that may be on the surface. I keep a kitchen compost container right next to the sink, and then each day transfer the kitchen compost to a larger receptacle in the freezer. It's actually quite easy and helps immensely with fruit flies in particular near the sink.

Blending

I have heard that blending up the kitchen compost before feeding worms will result in far fewer flies in general in the bin. I think this is because they don't have much to anchor on to to lay their eggs, as most of it is mush. Below are my adventure pics from this morning. I pulled the kitchen compost out of the freezer, let it thaw while I worked, and then spent 5 minutes with my trusty cuisinart. It was surprisingly not gross, given most of what was in there was straight fruits and veggies, and none of it "rotten".

That's all for now. I will keep you posted about my progress ridding myself of these buggers.

Good worming!

Buy Can-O-Worms HERE!

Where to buy Red Wigglers? HERE

Where to buy European Nightcrawlers? HERE

New Product: Can-O-Worms

I am very happy to announce that Mama's Worm Composting is now an authorized reseller of the Can-O-Worms composting system! I will be purchasing one myself shortly so that I can test it and report back to my readers about its performance. But here's what I know so far...

The Can-O-Worms is a plastic, stacking tray system for worm composting. You can use it outdoors or indoors. While the pictures of the unit show people using it outside in the sun, I can obviously strongly discourage you from EVER placing a plastic worm bin in the sun! The things that I'm particularly interested in checking out on the Can-O-Worms are the ventilation system and how it may differ from the Gusanito Worm Bin as far as keeping out fruit flies and fungus gnats. 

Of course, the Can-O-Worms has a lovely, sleek design, and I think that it a large part of its appeal. The idyllic image of the pretty lady putting kitchen compost scraps into her Can-O-Worms is certainly intriguing. Can worm composting really be so easy? So pretty? Will my kitchen magically become as clean as hers if I use one of these? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for reviews.

Good worming!

Buy Can-O-Worms HERE!

Where to buy Red Wigglers? HERE

Where to buy European Nightcrawlers? HERE

Worm Compost Challenge: Seedlings

Several weeks back I planted six seeds, two in pure worm castings, two in vermicompost or worm compost as I call it (in my case, part manure, part castings), and two in off-the-shelf potting soil. Now, it should be noted that I have a notoriously brown thumb, but in this case I really did make an effort to check on the seedlings daily to make sure they had enough water, enough light, no cats eating them, and enough room to grow.

Initially all six seeds sprouted and seemed to be growing well. At the beginning the two seeds that were planted in pure worm castings were far outgrowing the other four, especially as far as how high they were growing. The seeds planted in the worm compost mix were growing steadily. The seeds planted in the potting soil were growing slowly. After another week, though, I was surprised to find that the seeds planted in the worm castings were looking a little frail. This was promptly followed by one of them dying. Shortly after, one of the seedlings in the potting soil died. 

Now, a week later, the other seedling in the pure worm castings has perished. However, the two seedlings that are in the worm compost mix are thriving and much bigger and fuller than any of the other seedlings became (before they croaked). I know I don't have comparison pictures, but you'll just have to trust me on this. 

When this worm compost experiment started I was relatively certain that the seeds planted in the worm castings would be the biggest and healthiest of the lot. Live and learn. It appears that it is unwise to plant directly into pure worm castings, and that it is best to mix castings or worm compost in with whatever soil you are using. In the case of the thriving seedlings, the mixture was about half worm castings half manure and soil. 

Pictured you can see all six attempts, with the two worm compost mixture seedlings in the center. The second picture is a direct comparison (the only surviving ones) between worm compost and potting soil. The worm compost seedling is huge by comparison and obviously much healthier.

Good worming!

Where to buy red wigglers? Buy worms HERE

Where to buy european nightcrawlers? Buy worms HERE

• Comment on DIY Gardening: How to Build a Worm Compost Bin by linda ... - Impressed, surprized & tickled pink! This is my 1st visit & won’t be my last! Joyous thanks to all.

Worm Composting Books

The ever expanding web store of Mama's Worm Composting is now offering a variety of books on worm composting. This includes books on the care of worms, the creation of worm compost, and the worm business as well. 

Getting into worm composting or growing worms for profit can prove to be a challenging endeavor unless you research what you're doing in advance (something I love to "forget" to do with just about every project I embark upon). As you read books and websites you will learn that worms are a great way to take care of many trash bags a week worth of kitchen compost items and produce fantastic fertilizer in the process. You will also learn how not to kill your growing herd of red wigglers. Of course I have learned the hard way myself, operating on a "kill now, ask questions later" basis. The benefit of my mistakes to YOU as a reader of this blog is that you get to learn from them. I'm not a corporation, I'm not a chew-spittin' worm-growin' cowboy; I'm just a mom trying to keep 200,000 worms alive, reduce the global impact of humans, and grow a lot of worms.

But I digress...

Check out these new titles I have to offer on my new products page if you care to further your education: Worm Composting Books

A-Worming We Did Go

ABC'S Of The Earthworm Business

As The Worm Turns

Facts About Nightcrawlers and Redworms

How To Raise, Store & Sell Nightcrawlers

Harnessing The Earthworm

The Worm Book

Good worming!

WHERE TO BUY RED WIGGLERS

WHERE TO BUY EUROPEAN NIGHTCRAWLERS

CHECK OUT MY COMPOST TUMBLERS HERE

AND THIS URBAN COMPOST TUMBLER

Mama's Worm Composting: 200,000 Little Voices

No, I'm not talking about the voices in my head. :-)

You might think that I already have enough to do, what with running soon-to-be-three blogs and trying to raise two children, but I decided that if my cats can have Facebook pages, then so can my composting worms.

So what will you learn from following us on Facebook? Well, I anticipate that this will be more of a mobile endeavor for me, so you'll probably be hearing from me via iPhone post as I'm working at the warehouse and discovering new helpful things and new oddities. Worm composting on this scale has yet to become boring, as I'm always finding something new when I get to work. Cats eating my worms. Birds eating my worms. Worms on the floor. Worms I forgot and left in the bucket (they usually survive this one). Adventures in harvesting worms and worm compost. The list of worm entertainment will surely go on and on.

So click HERE to see Mama's Worm Composting 's new Facebook page, and become a fan so that you can hear the warehouse rantings of a woman on the edge...

Good worming!

Check out these articles I've found interesting...

• Vermicompost: Our Worm Bin Rocks! - Vermicompost: Our Worm Bin Rocks! QuickTime vPIP. As you might remember, we made a new worm bin after our original bin failed. This new one is doing great! The drainage holes in the bottom have helped keep it moist but not too wet, ...

• Apartment Composting 101: Vermicompost with Barb Finnin - Barb Finnin is part of the amazing Freshtopia team. She’sa certified master composter- her specialty is Vermicomposting with worms. We were super excited to learn that we could compost in our city apartment with a homemade worm bin even ...

School Composting

The new school year is upon us (thank GOD), and soon we'll be shipping our little ones off to that never-neverland I like to call "my salvation as a mother." That's not really true, I just made that up. But it's close enough.

As the entire planet rushes to figure out how to live in an eco-friendly fashion, one of the things you'll see popping up in schools (especially in the hippie-infested bay area) is the school composting bin. This may take the form of compost tumblers, compost pile, or worm bin (or all of the above). If you don't have these options in your child(ren's) school, there's no time like the present to get the school composting system started! 

First off, compost tumblers and worm bins can be expensive for the average joe or jane, especially when you're going to be donating it to the school. I suggest talking to the other parents, talking to faculty, the district, and even the county about getting your school composting system wholly or partially subsidized. A couple of hours of legwork on your part will go a long way to raising the money for the school compost. 

Secondly, you'll need to decide whether you want to buy compost tumblers or worm bins for the school. Worms can really freak people out (as you may know), and the faculty might not be so interested in the idea initially. A good start could involve buying a compost tumbler, which is easy to operate without worry about killing worms, and also a small school project worm farm for inside the classroom. Something like the Grow Worm Vue Wonder Farm School Project  is small, the worms are visible, and you don't need to buy worms to put into the system as they are included in the price. Then, when the students and teachers learn more about the worms, you can move on to a larger tray worm system (to be housed inside the classroom), or an even larger outdoor worm bin to accommodate several classrooms. You can buy worms one pound at a time and let them reproduce or you can buy worms to add to your worm bin in bulk to jump-start the system.  

SCHOOL COMPOSTING SPECIAL

For the month of September (but starting today), all purchases of Gusanito Worm Bin systems accompanied by worm purchases will receive DOUBLE the amount of worms ordered! That means that if you buy a Gusanito system, AND also buy worms (1 pound or more), you will receive 2 pounds of worms! 

Get your school on the eco-friendly bandwagon this year with a little help from Mama C.

Good worming!

Where to buy red wigglers? Buy worms HERE

Where to buy european nightcrawlers? Buy worms HERE

Winter Worm Composting And You

I live in California, so I don't really have to worry about things like freezing weather when it comes to wintertime; in fact here on the coast it's actually colder in the summer than in the winter most times! Winter composting in my household consists of the same steps as summer composting. But I know that coastal California is not where everyone in the world resides, and many of you are in areas that are positively frigid in the colder months of the year. So how are you supposed to process your kitchen compost during those months? If you leave your worms outside in the compost pile, won't they die?

Winter composting can be a challenge, but it is entirely possible. For those of you lucky enough to have a bit of land (or even an x-large patio) you can create a worm compost pile relatively easily that will keep your red wigglers munching and reproducing all winter long. 

My friend, Bentley, over at Red Worm Composting, lives in one of the freezing regions of the world, and he does experiments with outdoor winter composting each year which includes the use of worms. He creates a compost pile surrounded by bales of hay, and then mixes in a lot of manure to keep everything warm. His posts on the subject are fascinating, and I suggest that you read them if you are thinking about doing some winter composting this year. Check it out HERE.

Good worming!

 

WHERE TO BUY RED WIGGLERS

WHERE TO BUY EUROPEAN NIGHTCRAWLERS

CHECK OUT MY COMPOST TUMBLERS HERE

AND THIS URBAN COMPOST TUMBLER

Here are some articles you may enjoy:

• Apartment Composting 101: Vermicompost with Barb Finnin - Barb Finnin is part of the amazing Freshtopia team. She’sa certified master composter- her specialty is Vermicomposting with worms. We were super excited to learn that we could compost in our city apartment with a homemade worm bin even ...

• Worms for composting available in Vancouver/Lower Mainland [and ... - My focus on composting and sustainability has led me to some interesting places on the ‘net. Lately, I’ve been looking for extra compost bins on Vancouver Craigslist. While reading the posts, I find many people asking for worms aka ...

• Off Center » The Clean Hub - Architect John Dwyer has designed The Clean Hub, a sustainable housing design for areas with insufficient infrastructure. The name fits its multipurpose sanitation and energy functions: the 10 x 20-foot unit includes a V-shaped roof that collects rainwater, an underground reverse-osmosis filtration system to recycle and store gray water from showers and laundry facilities, and 16 rooftop adjustable photovoltaic panels that can generate up to 2,600 watts of energy. Dwyer is a member of Minnesota's chapter of Architecture for Humanity, an organization founded by Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr. 

How To Make Worm Compost In A Tiny Apartment

I live in an apartment. We are a little crammed in here at the moment, but here we are. The only outdoor space we have that is "ours" is a small balcony, so I long thought that we wouldn't be able to compost effectively. What's more, I have somewhat of a brown thumb, so the point was sort of lost. Most of the things that I grew on the balcony died, sooner or later, so what's the point?

I started composting, just to try it out, almost a year ago now. It quickly became apparent to me why I should be composting when we realized the drastic reduction in the amount of trash we were taking to the dumpster. Where we had been taking almost a bag per day for our family of four (plus three cats), we were now taking a bag a week. Unfortunately for me, the homemade backyard compost tumblers I made out of trash cans were extremely inefficient and quickly became anaerobic and infested with flies. Nasty doesn't cover it. Also, the sight of me tipping the compost tumblers on their sides and rolling them around the balcony must have been amusing for anyone who cared to watch. 

I quickly moved on to worms. An urban compost tumbler was out of my budget at that time, so I needed a cheaper solution to deal with my kitchen compost. My worms arrived hungry and writhing (which totally freaked me out, by the way), and quickly took over where my compost tumblers had left off. I even fed them a lot of the old kitchen compost still in the compost tumblers and they enjoyed it quite nicely. 

Sadly, this was all before I knew just HOW important it is to keep a plastic worm bin out of the sun, and those thousands of red wigglers soon met their untimely demise. But, I persevered, and here I am today up to my eyeballs in worms!

I want to share with all you other apartment dwellers the system that I use to deal with our kitchen compost. It becomes refined as the weeks pass by (thankfully!), so check back for updates and tips.

First off, we now have an indoor worm bin. I use the Gusanito worm bin because, frankly, I sell them and needed to test out the product. Actually, now that I have actually read and am following the directions I like it a quite a bit. I used to keep the Gusanito worm bin right next to the sink so that I could put kitchen compost right into the bin. This didn't work for several reasons. First, my husband wouldn't stop complaining about it being next to the sink (I actually thought it was quite effective at keeping our wandering kitties off the counter, but I digress). Second, I realized that adding fresh scraps to the bin wasn't quite working due to the introduction of fruit flies and fugus gnats to the system. 

Here's what I do now:

We happen to be blessed with a nice sized pantry, so the Gusanito worm bin is in there now. I keep a small container next to the sink to put any veggie scraps into while I cook or clean up. Then, when the container is full, I put it into a larger open container on the top shelf of our freezer. Freezing the scraps is an extremely useful way of keeping flies at bay; they're just not interested in the stuff after it's been frozen. However the worms LOVE the kitchen compost once it's been frozen because it breaks down more easily and they can get through the material faster. So once a week or so I take the open container in the freezer, put it into a new tray of the Gusanito worm bin, cover it with about an inch of peat moss (seriously, an inch, no sprinkling, you need a bunch) or coconut coir, and VOILA! You don't have to defrost the scraps' by the time the worms make it into that new layer the scraps will have long turned to yummy mush again. 

In short:

Bin in pantry or closet

Small kitchen compost next to sink

Large frozen kitchen compost in easily accessible part of freezer

Feed frozen scraps weekly

Cover generously with peat moss or coconut coir

Here's what I want to do in addition:

Now that I have finally "mastered" the art of keeping worms inside the kitchen without tons of flies around, I am getting ready to move on to an urban compost tumbler for my balcony to deal with everything my worms can't handle (onions, citrus, any extra grains, etc.). Compost tumblers come in all sizes, and they just happen to make one that fits right on my tiny balcony. The beauty of an urban compost tumbler like this is that you don't have to roll it around, you just spin it on its axis. I can't wait until it arrives!

So, this is how to make worm compost in a tiny apartment. Have a little perseverance, read the directions, and check back here to learn about my own blunders so that you don't do the same idiotic things I have done. Don't have anywhere to use the compost? Donate it to an urban garden... maybe they'll hook you up with some fresh produce!

Good worming!

WHERE TO BUY RED WIGGLERS

WHERE TO BUY EUROPEAN NIGHTCRAWLERS

CHECK OUT MY COMPOST TUMBLERS HERE

AND THIS URBAN COMPOST TUMBLER

Discount Worm Bins in Alameda County

I wanted to alert any folks who may be learning how to make worm compost that, if you live in Alameda County, you are eligible to buy a Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin at a steep discount. Alameda County residents can buy a total of two compost systems from the county, a Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin and a Smith & Hawken Biostack. The Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin is just $34 plus shipping for a total of $53.32, and the Smith & Hawken Biostack is just $44 plus shipping for a total of $67.29. Check out the stopwaste.org site here for details about this program. 

Of course, if you don't live in Alameda County, still check with your local municipality to find out if they offer similar incentives for composting. If not, I sell Gusanito worm bins and my selection of products is growing all the time. 

If you decide to learn how to make worm compost, when it's time to buy worms, please consider Mama's! 

Good worming!

Where to buy red wigglers? Buy worms HERE

Where to buy european nightcrawlers? Buy worms HERE

Worm Compost Challenge: How Many Worms? Update

We have cocoons! I knew it was only a matter of time before the mood struck the two worms that I isolated together. How could they not? It was so romantic for them in their own, private cup of kitchen compost and worm bedding. 

Don't know what I'm talking about? You can read about the original Worm Compost Challenge here. Basically I want to see how many worms two worms can produce in a year's time. 

Perhaps it's possible to start with just TWO worms and create a vibrant kitchen compost worm system in just a year! We shall see...

Good worming!

Where to buy Red Wigglers? HERE

Where to buy European Nightcrawlers? HERE