I'm Digging this VermiCompost Idea (Literally and Pun Intended)

I hate to admit it, but I am a miserable failure when it comes to vermicomposting. Mostly, it's been a lot of heat, a lot of drought, and whole lot of worm death - poor, brave, little guys gals dual-gender invertebrates!

But, I've been thinking about a plan to be successful without having the worm composter in the house. (Not everyone likes the idea of worms in the kitchen.)

I had something like this in mind

The plan is simple - a normal dual or triple bucket setup, but mostly buried in a shady place. That way, the worms get to live at a stable temperature with really great insulation. My garden will get the benefits of vermicomposting and I won't have to deal with all the senseless worm death at my hands. Definitely a win-win situation.

But you know me - the guy who writes much faster than he builds (and I'm a pretty slow writer.) So, I have not actually tackled the project.

But I do check my email. Today I received an email from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. The email featured a new product that caught my eye. It's not the same idea as mine, but it's pretty darn close.

Uncle Jim's WormFeast!

 

Bury it, throw in your scraps, let your native worms do all of the composting work! All that for $29.90 and free shipping! It looks like the Mesquite Hugger may be trying Vermicomposting again soon. The WormFeast doesn't really allow you to harvest the compost or compost tea, but it does fertilize the immediate area around it while breaking all your scraps down into a much more earth-friendly substance. Place it in your garden and you have some good stuff happening down in the dirt!

 

Now, where did I put that over-used debit card and the posthole diggers this time?

 

May all your digging be worthwhile and may some wiggly invertebrates do the dirty work in your personal carbon reduction!

It's easier...

I struggle with easier.

It's easier for me just to turn on the tap.
It's easier for me just to pay the electric bill.
It's easier for me just to drive a car.
It's easier for me just to pump gas.
It's easier for me just to throw plastic dishes away.
It's easier for me not to save and eat leftovers.
It's easier for me just to ignore the news.
It's easier for me just not to vote.
It's easier for me just to buy a new one.
It's easier for me just to trash it.
It's easier for me just to shop at the big store.

Yes. Those things are all easier.

(Here)

 

It is time to find a new adjective.

It's worthwhile for me capture rainwater.
It's worthwhile for me just to conserve electricity.
It's worthwhile for me to walk, pedal a bike, ride a bus, or carpool.
It's worthwhile for me to choose renewable energy in all forms.
It's worthwhile for me to wash dishes.
It's worthwhile for me to save and eat leftovers.
It's worthwhile for me to follow impactful stories.
It's worthwhile for me to research and vote for my beliefs.
It's worthwhile for me to repair my stuff.
It's worthwhile for me to compost.
It's worthwhile for me have a garden, shop local, or buy used.

(My favorite)

 

May you find life rather than ease. (Thank you for reading!)

PCR: There is a leek in the garden - reproducing itself!

My favorite visual pun in years - There's a leek in the boat!

PCR = Personal Carbon Reduction

There is a blizzard going on outside, so naturally, I am thinking about gardening. A few years ago I found a bag of potatoes that had been in the pantry a little too long. I took them out beside the house, dug a few holes, and dropped a potato in each. With very little watering I ended up with some impressive plants. Then I became busy at work, quit watering the plants, and they promptly died, snagit! But I have to admit, the initial stages of the planting were pretty cool.

Today I ran across an infograhic from the Cooking Stoned blog - it's not what you think - that shows several kitchen veggies (and a little fungi) that can be grown from kitchen scraps. Click the link to see the graphic and check out the blog:

Food That Magically Regrows Itself from Kitchen Scraps

I am thinking green onions, celery, garlic, potatoes, and leeks - leeks are an important source of punnery.

May your gardening skills sustain and prosper you while the garden monster munches carbon!

Bonus link for today: "Green Onions" Booker T and the MGs

PCR: A Brave and Trashy New World - Composting at Home

This thing fit the Mesquite Hugger budget beautifully!

A compost pile, vermicompost, a compost tumbler, closed bin, open bin - I have been on the fence getting started with composting. Then it came to me in a dream. No, that's not right. Then I was driving home while lazily daydreaming and I saw a sign - "Free". And I was inspired by that sign. So, I pulled Lucy over and loaded up the free 2'x4'x3' shipping crate and hauled it home.

Now it's in the backyard filled with some overly ambitious spring weeds, some newspaper, coffee grounds, and lots of 1" holes.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The EPA Advice for Composting at Home

The EPA Composting .pdf

Do I know what I'm doing? Not at all, but it's a start. The goal? More of that personal carbon reduction. Less garbage in the landfill and some healthy soil to grow vegetables. And I can use the compost on our foodisfreeproject.org planter.

I am now thinking of going compost crazy - I want to get some worms and do some vermicomposting, I want to build a tumbler from an Instructables plan. We can have three competing methods of compost and do a comparison. Compost party anyone?

I will keep you (com)posted.

May each step turn our garbage into something good.

More on Vermicomposting (Worms!)

Avoiding the Fridge Clean-out Horror

The Ghost of Veggies Past

It usually coincides with shopping day - which is depressing enough - but one of the most depressing days around our house is fridge clean-out day. That's the day when we realize that our grand plans for cooking and eating healthier foods at home have gone horribly wrong.

And that is a failure on several fronts:

• we are trying to eat healthier
• we are trying to spend quality time at home together
• we are trying to save money
• wasting fresh and healthy food is a terrible thing
• and I haven't built a composter yet - so it's all waste

And I am the bad influence at home. My wife will suggest that we cook at home and I will suggest that we are both tired, that we hate doing dishes, that the house is too full of dogs, and that I have a coupon to this or that eatery.

So, I pay attention when I see an article that offers suggestions that help us to reduce our food waste in hopes of learning to do better. Green Living Ideas offered up one such article today: 5 Money-saving Sustainable Food Strategies

May you not know the horror from the fridge or pantry!

PS. We have two great and lovable young dogs up for adoption - please let me know if you interested in giving them a great home!

Kylie the Cuddler

Matilda - sweet and very smart