Organic Gardener's Composting

compo

mbly soil and zillions of small, red wiggly worms, not at all like the huge nightcrawlers I used to snatch from the lawn after dark to take fishing the next morning. Mr. Campbell's worms were fed used coffee grounds; the worms in turn were fed t

ough I never had reason to raise worms before, preparing to write this book perked my interest in every possible method of composting. Not comfortable writing about something I h

s of sour odors that went away as soon as I stopped overfeeding the worms. I also discovered that my slapdash homemade box had to have a drip catching pan beneath it. A friend of mine, who has run her own in-the-hous

hen garbage in the winter when the ground and compost pile are frozen and there is no other vegetation to mix in? And can an apartment dweller with

that will go into a worm box, the amount of castings you end up with will be small, though potent. Apartment dwellers could use worm castings

lso answer the questions that people ask the most about using worms t

is simple process with the funny name is a lot easier to do than you

ng the

ree. Even if the air temperature gets above 85 degree, their moist bedding will be cooled by evaporation as long as air circulation is adequate. They are most active and will consume the most waste between 55-77 degree-roo

ge or patio. In the North, worms are kept in a container that may be located anywhere with good ventilation and temperatures that stay above freezing but do not get too hot. Good spots for a w

ly as objectionable if the box is below the house. Then too, a vermicomposter can only exist in a complex ecology of soil animals. A few of these may exit the box and be harmlessly found about the kitchen. Ultra

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box from time to time when adding new food. But anaerobic decomposition smells bad. If aerobic conditions are maintained, the odor from a worm box is very slight and not particularly objectionable. I notice the box's odo

1/4 and 1/2 inch in diameter should be made in the bottom and the box must then have small legs or cleats about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick to hold it up enough to let air flow beneath. Having a drip-catcher-a large cookie tray works well-is essential. Worms can also be kept in plastic containers (like dish pans) wi

ars. If built of plywood, use an exterior grade to prevent delamination. It is not advisable to make containers from rot-resistant redwood or cedar because the natural o

age amount of garbage over a three month time span. My own home-garden-supplied kitchen feeds two "vegetableatarian" adults. Being year-round gardeners, our kitchen discards a lot of trimmings that would never leave a supermarket and we throw out as "old," salad greens that are st

dd

ight and airy, helping to maintain aerobic conditions. Bedding must not be toxic to worms because they'll eventually eat it. Bedding starts out dry and must be first soaked i

moisten it. Shredded cardboard is sold in bulk as insulation but this material has been treated with a fire retardant that is toxic. Gasoli

l. By tearing with the grain, entire newspaper sections can rapidly be ripped into inch-wide shreds by hand

rge volumes of dry leaves in short order. These may be prepared once a year and stored dry in plastic garbage bags until needed. A few 30-g

er substances harmful to worms that are first removed by soaking the moss for a few hours and th

o

r, the digestive system of worms grinds food using soil particles as the abrasive grit in the same way birds "chew" in their crop. A big handful of added so

dw

by mail from breeders, from bait stores, and these days, even from mail-order garden supply companies

and maintenance of soil fertility. But these species are soil dwellers that requi

rain of rice from which baby worms will hatch. The cocoons start out pearly white but as the baby worms develop over a three week period, the eggs chang

ll grow at an explosive rate and reach sexual maturity in four to six weeks. Once it begins breeding a redworm makes two to three cocoons a week for six mo

he worm population increase is limited by available food and space and by the worms' own waste products or casts. Worm casts are slightly toxic to worms. When a new box starts out with fresh beddin

dies are rapidly decomposed. You will quickly recognize worm casts. Once the bedding has been consumed and the box contains only worms, worm casts, and fresh garbage it is necessa

egin with a system that can consume all or most of your kitchen garbage right away. So for starters you'll need to obtain two pounds of worms for each pound of garbage you'll put into the b

f worms needs three or four cubic feet of bedding. A better way to estimate box size is to figure that one cub

wigglers" from a bait store may only count 600 to the pound. Worm raisers will sell "pit run" that costs much less. This is a mix of worms of all sizes and ages. Often the largest sizes will have already been separated out for s

is so, why did I recommend first starting vermicomposting with two pounds of worms for every pound of garbage? Because the worms you'll buy will not be used to living in the ki

with enough worms. The only time vermicomposting becomes odoriferous is when the worms are fed too much. If they quickly eat all the food that they are given the sy

Up a W

very dry. So weigh the bedding and then add three times that weight of water. The rule to remember here is "a pint's a pound the world '

ly dusty) bedding in the mixing container. Add about one-half the needed water and mix thoroughly. Then add two handfuls of soil, the rest of the bedding, and the balance of the water. Continue mixing until all the water has

w minutes will be gone. Then add garbage. When you do this the first time, I suggest that you spread the garbage over the entire surface

and overly restricts air flow. When I covered my worm box with plastic it dripped too much. But then, most of what I feed the worms is fresh vegetable material that runs 80-90 percent water. Other households may feed dryer material like stale bread and leftovers. I've found that o

ng th

leaves of lettuce and cabbage, spinach stems, cabbage and cauliflower cores, celery butts, plate scrapings, spoiled food like old baked beans, moldy cheese and

ter can take a long time to be digested. Before tossing cabbage or cauliflower cores or celery butts into the compost bucket,

re slow to decompose in a worm box. If you spread the worm casts as compost it may not look attractive containing whitened, picked-clean bones. Chicken bones are soft and may disappear during vermicomposting. If you could

it the cysts of a protozoan disease organism called Toxoplasma gondii, although most cats do not carry the disease. These parasites may also be harbored in adult humans without them feeling any ill effects. However

er milk carton, or similar thing to hold kitchen garbage. Odors develop when anaerobic dec

er. Dump the waste into that hole and cover it with an inch or so of bedding. The whole operation only takes a few minutes. A few days later the kitchen compost bucket will again be ready. Make and fill another hole adjacent to the first. Methodi

al Ove

The problem will correct itself without doing anything but you may not be willing to live with anaerobic odors for a

tion to this seasonal overload is to start up a second, summertime-only outdoor worm bin in the garage or other shaded location. Appelhof uses an old, leaky galvanized washtub for th

ainer. It got soggy when it rained and the worms got huge from all the food and moisture. We brought it inside at about the time of the first frost. The worms kept working the material until there was no food left. After six

ati

pply will decline enough that the population will drop. This will remedy itself as soon as you begin feeding the bin again. If a month or more is

it

t people to bother. They seek out over-ripe fruit and fruit pulp. Usually, fruit flies will hover around the food source that interests them. In high summer we have accepted having a few share our kitchen along with the enormous spread of ripe and ripening tomatoes atop

bers become annoying. Fruit flies are a good reason for those of Teutonic

nte

individual worm casts. Even though food is steadily added, the bedding will gradually vanish. Extensi

fferences in bedding, temperature, moisture, and the composition of your kitchen's garbage will control how long it takes but eventually you must separate the worms from t

thods for separating red

most all their food has been consumed and they are living in nearly pure castings. Then lay out a thick sheet of

worms will move into the center of each pile. Wait five minutes or so and then delicately scrape off the surface of each conical heap, one

rming in the center of a small pile of castings. There is no need to completely separate the worms from all the castings. You can now gather up the worms and place

eful if you want to give a few

den. Then refill the box with fresh bedding and distribute the remaining worms, castings, and food still in the box. Plenty of

ne-half of the box empty. New bedding and fresh food are put on the "new" side. No food is given to the "old" side for a month or so. By t

ugh spring and then let it run without much new food until mid-summer. By that time there will be only a few worms left alive in a box of castings. The worms may then be separated from th

Can Co

ity for serious juice makers. You'll need two or three, 20 to 30 gallon garbage cans, metal or plastic. In two of them drill numerou

d worms on the bottom of the first can. Add garbage on top without

ctivity will be on the surface where there is fresh food and more air. Filling the first can may take six months to a year. Then, start the second can by transferring the top few inches of the first, which contains most of the worms, into a f

have been emptied will greatly extend their life. Really high-v

RT

For The F

oduc

ies seem to recommend as much manure or compost as possible. Most show inadequate concern about its quality. The slick books published by a major petrochemical corporation correctly acknowledge that soil organic matter i

d chemical or artificial fertilizers? The answer is not only yes, but in such case you will have

as or even more nutritious than organically grown food. The government's investment in "scientific research" was made to counter unsettling (to various econom

ut until 1938 I was seldom free in winter from some form of rheumatism, and from November to April I invariably suffered from a continual succession of head colds. I started making compost by Howard's metho

ves "practical" or scientific tend to side with the mainstream agronomists and consider chemical agriculture as the only method that can produce enough to permit industrial civilization to exist. For many years I was confused by all this. Have you been too? Or have you taken a position on this controversy and feel that you don't need more information? I once thought th

ry of the Org

to neglect manuring and composting as unprofitable and unnecessary. At the time this advice seemed practical because chemicals did greatly increase yields and profits while chemistry plus m

of livestock, manuring, composting, and to dependence on chemistry. The troubled farmers saw themselves as innocent victims of happenstance, needing to hire the chemical plant doctor much as sick people

ves of humus from millennia of manuring. As long as humus is present in quantity, small, affordable amounts of chemicals actually do stimulate growth, increase yields, and up profits. And plant health doesn't suffer nor do diseases and insects become plagues. Ho

es developed gradually and erratically, and there was a long lag between the first dependence on chemicals, the resulting soil addiction, and steady increases in farm problems. A new alliance of scientific experts, universities, and agribusiness interes

we were living longer but as individuals, we were feeling poorer. Actually, most of the statistical increase in lifespan is from children that are now surviving childhood diseases. I contend that people who made it to seven years old a century ago had a chance more-or-less equal to ours, of surviving past seventy with a greater probability of feeling good in middle-and old age. People

sed their concerns to other health professionals. Rudolf Steiner, observing that declines in human health were preventing his disciples from achieving spiritual betterment start

livestock and made unemotional but very explicit connections between soil fertility, animal, and human health. Any serious garden

nsely ideological struggle that developed between the organic gardening and farming movement and the agribusiness establishm

the average farmer's weak ethical condition would be unable to resist the apparently profitable allures of chemicals unless their moral sense was outraged, Howard underto

cial nutrition, artificial animals and

c Front _makes readers feel morally deficient if they do not

a pile of vegetable rubbish you would be severely punished. There are many fantastic stories as to the lengths the Chinese will go to get human excremen

verely punished for wasting

icides, and attacked the scientific agricultural establishment. With a limited technical education behind him, the well-meaning Rodale occasionally made overstatements, wrote oversimplifica

onald Hopkins' Chemicals, Humus and the Soil is the best, most humane, and emotionally generous defense against the extremism of Rodale. Hopkins makes hash of many organic principles while still uphol

began to realize that there was a sensible middle ground. However, I suppose Robert Rodale perceived communicating a less ideological message as a problem:

"Organic" as a movement had come to be defined by Rodale publications as growing food by using an approved list of substances that were considered good and virtuous while shunning another list that

n be applied to decide what is the best way to go about raising crops. These people began to discuss new agricultural methods like Integrated Pest Management [IPM]

inancial support. So he split off the "farming" from _Organic Gardening and Farming _magazine and started two new publications, one called The New Farm where

s Conf

t now cast this heretical book down in disgust but finish it will come away with a broader, more scientific understanding of the vital role of organic matter, some certainty about how much c