Composting in the home garden- Closing the loop.

Bart Renner, North Carolina Cooperative ExtensionJuly 8th, 2014

What is vermicomposting???

• The process of composting with worms.

Why compost? • Last year we threw away about 133 billion

pounds of food.

• At least 12% of municipal waste is food.

• Spend $1 billion to dispose of food waste

• The average American throws away 209-245lbs of food per year.

• If we wasted 5% less each year we could feed 4,000,000 Americans.

• Landfills account for about 1/3 of all methane emissions in the air.

Source: http://atozsolutions.com/21-shocking-u-s-food-waste-facts-statistics-infographic/

http://endhunger.org/food_waste.htm

• We are throwing out a valuable resource!!!

Why compost?

http://www.thelovelyplants.com/how-to-prepare-your-own-garden-compost/

Compost first if you can• 3’X3’X3” minimum size pile

• Need balance for proper chemistry: 2/3 brown, 1/3 green, air, water.

Composting basics

• Make sure compost is not near house/ wood structure

• Good drainage- don’t want anaerobic conditions

• Good Structure

• Layers 4-6” thick carbons and nitrogen

• Plenty of moisture

• Minimum of 131 degrees for 3 days

• Stir every 7 days

Compost first if you can

Stirring= a lot of work! Be careful and use good form!

http://home.comcast.net/~morasch-mix/morasch/gmorasch.htm

Benefits of using worms• Divert food waste from the landfill

• Create a rich planting material

• Reduce pathogen/ bacterial load in compost

• Worth $25-30/ lb

• Fishing bait!

• Chicken food

• Great educational project for kids

Which worm to use?

• There are over 6,000 species of earthworms, ranging in size from half an inch to 22 feet long.

• seven species have been identified as suitable for vermicomposting.

• One species, Eisenia fetida, is used by most people throughout the world. 

• Eats about 50% its body weight every day

• Sucking mouth parts with crop and gizzrd

• Breath through skin

• Sensitive to light

• Not tunnelers (like ground worms).

Finding the right worm bin

Worms need a good home!

What should I feed them?

http://www.naturesfootprint.com/what-to-feed-worms

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ1FnOUyqECYX1QmgaMFFVfuB9LYHtssun6USSVLlW8k6dlVnpL

Worm castings

http://www.worm-composting-help.com/harvest-worm-castings.html

Worm Casting tea

Be careful!• Wet yard clippings, manure with hay, too

much food waste can heat up too much.

• Non ruminant manures are not recommended directly into the bin.

• No meat

• Citrus, pasta, bread, onion, garlic, black walnut, eucalyptus

Taking care of your worms• Make sure they are actively eating what you’ve

already added before adding more.

• Needs about a foot of material, but no more than a inch of scraps

• Between 60-85 degrees.

• 70-80% moisture in material

• 30:1 C:N ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Eekiv/sandbox/Urban_Adamah#mediaviewer/File:Eisenia_fetida_on_compost_bin.jpg

Master Gardeners can help!!!

Tips

• Plan ahead! Do your research!

• Where are you going to put them?

• How will you keep them warm/ cool?

• Who is going to take care of them?

• Dive in! Do it!

Get involved!

• Great project for parents and kids at home.

• Great project for camps

• Schools

• Municipal waste project?

• Where else?

Find worms locally from a professional:

• http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/vermicomposting/vermiculture/nc.html

Join us July 26th at 1:00• Using black soldier flies to compost at home with

Karl Warkomski of Prota Culture