- Author: Penny Pawl
by Penny Pawl, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County
Over the years, many people have attended compost workshops conducted by the City and County of Napa and the Napa County Master Gardeners. I have been teaching the worm compost classes and always wonder if the people who made worm bins got all the information they needed to clean the bed when the time comes.
Worms are important composters as they eat 90 percent of what is given them. Their castings(aka worm poop) provide a balanced fertilizer for plants. Over time, they will eat newsprint, dried leaves, straw, coffee grounds, eggshells and various fruits and vegetables.
Sometime after you create your worm bin and worms have been chomping on your kitchen scraps, you will need to separate the castings from the other things you have been feeding them. When you do this, you will see that the worms have transformed most of the newsprint and other bedding into a fine soil-like product.
If you are still using the 18-gallon tub you received at the workshop, you can move the finished compost to one side of the container and build new bedding on the other side. Feed the worms only on the new side and, over time, the worms will move into the new bedding. Then you can remove the old bedding to dry and remove any unfinished compost.
Another approach is to remove all the old bedding and build a new bin. However, you want your working worms to move into the new bedding. The easiest way to achieve this is to put the old bedding on a screen on top of the new and expose it to light. Worms are light sensitive. To escape the light, they will move down into the new bedding. I tried this in one large worm bin years ago and the worms had relocated in a half hour.
I compost in much larger containers. My method for harvesting the castings is to remove all the finished bedding to a wheelbarrow and rebuild the bedding with new materials. I use the “lasagna” method of layering materials. Remember to dampen all the materials as you layer them. They should be as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Worms breathe through their whole bodies and need to be kept moist.
To coax my worms out of the old bedding so I can put them back to work, I use the mesh bags that potatoes and apples are sold in. I fill those bags with new bedding and favorite foods of the worms and bury the bags in the old compost. In a few days, the worms will move from the old compost into the bags, and I can then transfer the content of the bags to in the new bedding. Another method is to place a large screen with old compost on it over the new bin and let the worms sort themselves.
Once the worms have moved out of the old compost, I dry the compost in the sun and then sift it. Any large pieces go back into the bin. If the compost is clumpy, I put it on a tarp or and walk on it to break it up before sifting.
Make sure the compost is dry before storing it. Otherwise, it may mold.
You can spread the compost directly on garden beds. I usually sprinkle it around the plants and water it in. I also put a little scoop in planting holes to give the roots of new plants a boost.
Fall Faire: U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County's second annual Fall Faire will take place on Saturday, October 5, from noon to 4 p.m., at 1710 Soscol Avenue in Napa. Tickets are $5 for adults. Children 15 and under are free with an accompanying adult. Purchase tickets online with a credit card. Cash and check only will be accepted at the door. Find more on the Fall Faire at http://napamg.ucanr.edu/fallfaire/.
Next workshop: U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will hold a workshop on “Stinking Roses and Edible Alliums: Grow These Essentials for Your Kitchen” on Saturday, October 12, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. For more details & online Registration go to http://napamg.ucanr.edu or call 707-253-4221.
The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide UC research-based information on home gardening and answer your questions. To find out more about upcoming programs or to ask a garden question, visit the Master Gardener website (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) or call (707) 253-4221 between 9 a.m. and noon on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
Penny Pawl, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
Worms are not native to North America. About 20,000 years ago, our continent experienced an Ice Age, along with Europe and Asia. The phenomenon decimated the worm population, with the only survivors in parts of Turkey and the Mediterranean.
Over time, as Eurasians and Europeans began migrating to new lands, they brought plants for their new homes with them. Worms and other critters hitched a ride. On the East Coast of the U.S., these worms have changed the ecosystem because they eat the fallen leaves that trees also depend on for nutrition. This phenomenon is changing East Coast woodlands.
As the immigrant settlers moved across the country, so did their worms. In the Western U.S., worms have benefited the land and consequently the crops that people grow.
If you dig in damp soil, you will probably run across at least one worm. These earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) live in the first 12 inches of soil. Their digestive systems turn soil into ever finer soil, and their castings improve the health of the soil. Worms also turn the soil, creating tunnels for water and roots. They won't thrive in compacted soil.
Night crawlers (Eisenia hortensis) also live in the soil. However, when the air is damp, they come to the surface and feed on plants there. They are much bigger than red wigglers. Once I put two night crawlers in a worm compost bin. When I cleaned the bin the following year, there were still just two night crawlers in the bottom of the bin. These worms had no interest in composting. However, some night crawlers from Europe and Africa will apparently do this work.
Red wigglers (Eisenia fetida, also known as fishing worms or manure worms), are the kings of composting. They are the worms you find under a stone, pot or pile of leaves. They only eat decaying matter.
Once I put a layer of maple leaves in one of my bins. I seem to have raked up some maple seeds, too, because a week later I had a crop of baby maples in my compost. The worms ate the leaves but not the seeds, which were still fresh enough to sprout.
Red wigglers eat or chew 90 percent of what you give them and that includes newsprint, plain cardboard, egg shells, daffodil leaves, spent flowers, vegetable leftovers, coffee grounds and animal fur. From these materials they produce compost, a mild fertilizer that you had a hand in.
Spread your worm compost over a garden bed, water it in, and the nutrients return to the soil. A lot of gardeners also put a little worm compost in the planting holes for their vegetables for an extra boost. I feed my potted plants with a handful of worm compost.
African red wigglers (Eudrilus eugeniae) grow much longer than our red wigglers and eat more. The two types can survive side by side because they are not necessarily interested in the same decaying material. The African worms need higher temperatures, but I have corresponded with someone in Michigan who is successful raising them in his garage.
Other critters will move into your bins, too. Sow bugs or pill bugs will be the first to arrive, and their manure is just as good as worm castings. My compost-bin residents have included small toads, earwigs, slugs, snails, an occasional small snake (they like worms), a few lizards, ants and various flies. Most of these creatures coexist but I do get rid of the fruit flies.
This year I am experimenting with putting compost bins in my raised beds, a technique common to African keyhole gardens. I put a compost bin in the middle of each bed so the worms can travel back and forth and hopefully fertilize the bed they are in. Only time will tell whether this experiment is successful, but I will report back.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Rose Care” on Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to noon, at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Roses will grow without any care. But they will thrive with a little TLC! Master Gardener rose experts will answer your questions regarding rose care at this popular forum. By June, the first spring blooms have faded, and many plants are beginning to show stress. Look for black spot, rust, mildew and aphids. Bring samples of what's plaguing your roses. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
by Glenn Lattig, Master Gardener, Master Composter
You have these kitchen scraps – potato peels, lettuce leaves, coffee grounds, etc. – and you really don't want to put them in the garbage where they go to the land fill. Or put them down the garbage disposal. You think it's too much of a hassle to put them in the backyard compost pile (if you have one) with the matching of green material with brown material, and turning it once a week. What can you do with them?
You can start a worm bin and “recycle” your scraps into incredibly rich worm castings that you can use in place of expensive fertilizers on both indoor and outdoor plants. You can make your own worm bin using old recycling containers, or old fence boards, or you can purchase a commercial bin through a garden supply catalog. The County will assist you in starting a worm bin.
Contrary to popular belief, worms are really quite clean and the castings they leave – worm poop – is virtually odorless. Worms breathe through their skin, so they have a light mucus on them to keep their skin moist. This mucus is not slimy or dirty. In fact, it will kill e coli bacteria on contact.
The worms used for vermiculture – composting with worms – are NOT earthworms. They do not live in the soil. They live in decaying organic matter such as leaves. The common one used is the red wiggler or manure worm, Latin name eisenia foetada.
Worms are hermaphroditic – they have both male and female sex organs, but it still takes two worms to reproduce. They form a self-regulating population adjusted by the size of the worm bin and the amount of food provided.
So let's set up the worm bin. As a general rule, for the average household a bin with a surface area of 2 to 4 square feet is appropriate. It should sit off the ground and have are holes on all sides. It should be situated out of direct sun. Ideal temperature range for the worms is 55 degrees and 77 degrees. They can handle hotter and colder temperatures for short time periods. A garage works fine. Next you put in bedding material, about 4 inches of it. The easiest material to use in shredded newspaper. The Bay Area newspapers use recycled paper and soy-based ink for their news print. Do not use the glossy magazine inserts. The shred should be between 1/8” and 3/8” in width. If you have a super-secure shredder that turns your paper to confetti, don't use it. It will form paper mache and smother the worms.
Now the food goes in. Worms will eat most of your kitchen scraps. Exceptions are no meat or dairy, no oils, no citrus, no leaves or yard clippings, no soil, and no strong aromatics like garlic and heavy spices and peppers. Their digestive tract is like that of a chicken – a crop and a gizzard. They have no teeth. Therefore, they need coarse material in the crop and gizzard to grind up the food. Coffee grounds and ground up egg shells work just fine. Cover the food with additional shredded newspaper and moisten. This keeps out fruit flies. Feed the worms about 1 lb of food per square foot of surface area per week.
When you have built up a reasonable amount of castings (bedding and food gone, rich brown material in its place – this will take a while), it's time to harvest. Keep the castings and return the worms to the bin.
A source of red wigglers is Jerry Gach in San Jose. He can be reached at www.thewormdude.com. For more information about vermicomposting, call Santa Clara County ROTLINE: 408-918-4640, or on-line at http://cesantaclara.ucanr.edu/Home_Composting_Education/. Morgan Hill offers composting workshops in May and September where vermicomposting is covered in detail.
This article first appeared in the March issue of Morgan Hill Life.
/h4>/h3>- Author: By Penny Pawl, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
Spring is here and it's time to clean and refresh your worm bed. You can harvest that precious gold—the worm castings—and use it to feed your plants.
Years ago, I graduated to large compost bins for my worms. These bins need cleaning about every two years. If you are using a small container, you may need to clean it more often. I do add new bedding to the bins whenever the bedding gets about halfway down.
If you have a small worm bin, you need to harvest the vermicompost, get the worms out and then return the worms to the bedding. There are several ways to do this.
In the past, when I had a small bin, I would remove the whole pile to a temporary container. I would put the worms and their castings on a screen with a mesh large enough that the worms could move through. I would place the screen over moist new bedding. Then I would expose the whole thing to a light bulb or to sunshine. Since worms are light sensitive, they would wriggle away from the light and into the fresh bedding.
Another option is to use the plastic net sacks that onions and potatoes come in. Fill a sack with fresh, moistened bedding and put some of the worms' favorite foods inside. Then put the sack on top of the vermicompost and the worms will move into it, leaving the vermicompost behind for your use.
This method takes a little longer, but it's how I harvest my big bins. When the sack is full of worms, I dump it back onto the new bedding and the critters go back to work.
If you have big bins, you will have a bigger harvest and you need to prepare for it. Gather all the materials for the bedding: torn newsprint (no shiny coated paper), dried leaves, plain cardboard, straw, rice hulls, shredded paper. It feels good to put my old tax records in there.
When I have the bedding ready, I take the bin apart and set aside any uncomposted material. I put the composted material in a wheelbarrow so I can begin the process of separating worms and compost. I put the uncomposted matter back in the bin and then add the new materials. I don't try to mix them. Instead, I make a big “lasagna” of Iayered materials. As the worms eat their way through it, they do the mixing. Be sure to moisten all of the dry materials first, especially cardboard. When the bin is full, water it well. If the materials sink a bit, just add more.
I place a tarp over the castings in the wheelbarrow and put one or two of my sacks full of worms into the bedding. Every few days, I check the sacks and move the worms and contents to the new bin. Sometimes I add new worms at this point, purchased from a bait shop.
Once the worms have departed, I sift the compost to remove big items like sticks or peach pits. Then I put this sifted vermicompost into large pans in the sun to dry. When it's dry, I transfer it to a lidded storage container. (I use a garbage can.)
Scatter the castings around potted plants and in your beds, and your garden will thrive.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will conduct a free workshop on “Worm Composting” on Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn how to turn yard and kitchen scraps into rich compost to use as a soil amendment or garden mulch. Register here. No phone registration.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Blog, Worms 031216
- Author: Jim Borland, Master Gardener
We have an upcoming " Worm Composting Made Easy" Workshop on Saturday, September 8th 10 am - noon.. Register here
Worm composting is slow, but it's great for your plants~ It's worth it!
Vermiculture by Jim Borland, Master Gardener
Q – I've heard it's possible to get good compost from worm manure.
Is this true?
Curtis Reinhardt, Shell Beach
A – Yes, you can let worms eat your kitchen scraps and convert it into fertilizer. It's called vermiculture which is a fancy name for worm composting. You need only a few things to get started: a worm bin, newspaper bedding, kitchen scraps and, of course, your little red wigglers.
The worm bin is an aerated container and will be lodging for your worm farm. It may be made from a covered plastic tub, Styrofoam, metal, wood, or you can purchase a commercial worm bin. Your bin will need holes in it for air circulation as well as holes along the bottom to drain excess moisture.
The composting worms most often used are Eisenia foetida, commonly known as red wigglers, and can be purchased at garden centers, bait shops or from suppliers on the Internet. This type of worm has adapted to living in decaying organic material, and they thrive in rotting vegetation.
You can create bedding for your bin with shredded paper such as non-glossy newspaper, office paper or cardboard. Prepare your worm bedding by wetting the paper and wringing it out until it is like a damp sponge. Fluff up the paper and bury some kitchen scraps in the worm bin. Avoid food that contains yeast, onions, meats, oils, citrus or dairy.
The bin may be placed outdoors in a protected place but keeping it indoors works fine in harsh climates. To keep your worms happy you need to think about temperature, moisture, and ventilation. Add fresh kitchen scraps to the bin about twice a week, covering the newly deposited waste with an inch or two of bedding.
Bacteria and fungi exist in the worm bin and help break the food down. The end result will be vermicompost (worm castings), an excellent nutrient-rich food for growing healthy plants. Worm compost is ready to use when it is dark in color and all the vegetation has been digested. You will then harvest your worms and prepare some new bedding for another cycle. Use your vermicompost to fertilize house plants or those in your garden. An for more information, there is a book called "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhoff. Calrecycle offers information online at: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/worms/
Find more information about Worm Composting and Purchasing a Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin
/span>Worm composting flyer May 2012