By: Vicki Duong

If you’re thinking about starting up a family-friendly composting project, why not consider doing one that involves worms? That’s right, worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, is a fun-filled way to get the compost you desire for your garden. All you and your kids have to do is keep the worms happy by feeding them and they’ll do all the work for you. Here’s how you get started:

All you need is a plastic 10 gallon worm bin with drainage holes on the bottom (home made or store bought is just fine), a tight fitting lid to keep the worms in the dark, moist bedding made out of one inch newspaper strips or sawdust, a pound of red wiggler worms that you can get from your local fish bait shop or from internet retailer sites like Composters.com, and some food waste like banana peels, fruit rinds and vegetable stalks. Be sure to keep in mind that this will get a bit messy, so it might be best to do this outside especially if you’re children are going to be involved. If it gets messy, it’s okay!

Start by halfway filling the worm bin with the newspaper strips; moisten the strips once you’ve reached the halfway mark. Once the newspaper is damp, push it to one side of the bin and repeat the process until the bin is full but not entirely packed and make sure there are no standing puddles collecting at the bottom. Add half a cup of sawdust or soil so that the worms have some grit to work with. Go ahead and add your pound of worms and watch as they wiggle their way down into the soil and newspaper. Next, bury your food waste into the bedding a few inches deep and cover the bedding with a five page blanket of damp newspapers.

After a few days you should notice some positive results – the worms are digging in and out of the bedding, eating the food waste, soil and newspaper, digesting it and leaving behind worm castings (explain to your kids that it’s poop!). It’s the worm castings that you really want for your garden. To keep your worms happy keep adding food wastes every few days or so and they’ll keep producing that rich black gold for you. Have fun and don’t be afraid to get down and dirty!

By: Fred Myers

It is definitely the most amazing procedure to give your garden,potting soil,or germination mixes the increased push for better growth. Castings are completely organic besides being the all natural fertilizer. Worm castings have no odor and are non-toxic to boot! The other interesting point is earthworm castings will never burn even your most senstive plants.

What are earthworm castings? It results in a fertilizer that comes directly from the earthworm. The earthworm digests the soil and passes it through its body and returns it to the soil as a beneficial altered nutrient called earthworm castings.

The earthworm castings contain such rich water-soluble nutrients. Castings will enable plants to

rapidly and without difficulty absorb these essential nutrients. The end result is the plant

needs only a minimal effort to obtain all this great nutrients in the right proportions. You will not find this to be the case with most chemical fertilizers. Indeed these fertilizers have many many nutrients,but the plant is limited in the breakdown of these fertilizers to the extent in which an earthworm is able to provide.

Earthworms themselves assist in the improvement of the soil letting the soil drain better by the

worm tunneling activity and in turn improves the aeration,porosity and the deep saturation of the

soil. The earthworm also improves soil fertility by releasing minerals that are deep in the

subsurface and can often be in very short supply on your surface soil. This is such a valuable

ingredient in your garden and with a large population they will even keep the weed growth under control. The tunneling of the earthworm does suppress many of the requirements necessary for weed development. An earthworm will frequently digest weed seeds which either destroys them or renders them useless in germination.

How could it actually be better than compost? The earthworm has the ability to transform regular

compost with additional beneficial organisms into a completely odorless form ready for immediate

use by your plants. In nature animal waste and decaying plant material are worm food not plant

food.

In planting my annuals or perennials I put a small handful of castings into each hole . Your

garden application should be made once a year at 20 pounds per 1000 square feet. In your potted

plants mix your potted plants mix a small amount of worm castings into your potting soil. Keep in mind that castings are very very potent so don’t become over zealous in your application it should be no more than one-fifth of the ingredients.

Don’t forget about worm tea! Many farmers have used it over the centuries and can be mixed at

home. However it is time consuming and requires the correct recipe but it is available in the

commercial world. There is evidence that worm tea will cure tomato blight and leaf curl. Worm tea

is an excellent 100% natural,non-toxic alternative. There are many places on the internet that you can purchase both worm castings and worm tea. Hey worms are good for more than fishing!

By: Chris Dailey

Organic gardening is a skill that most people should learn. In these dire times, pesticides and chemicals have poisons the very ground that crops are grown in, learning to grow your own food at home is probably one of the wisest decisions that anyone could make. However, before making the leap into the organic gardening arena, there are a few supplies that you need to get before you can begin to grow your own food. Here are a few tips on what you need before planting season begins.

If you are a regular gardener, or an organic gardener, most of the needed supplies needed are relatively the same. Everyone needs a hoe, pail, shovel, and a hose to get water to your crops. Themain difference is that most organic gardeners will not be at the local hardware store purchasing weed killer or other pesticides or herbicides in order to take care of their garden quickly and easily.

Most organic gardeners know that by using these types of products, you can affect your food in a detrimental way and you can end up eating many of these poisons which become part of the food you are ingesting. You have to ask yourself if you would actually drink the poison that you are spraying on the plants. If not, then why would you want to eat it alter when it has become part of the plant you are about to eat!? The answer is that you wouldn’t and that by taking a time out, looking at a game plan, and deciding what to do way in advance, you are ensuring your success with your crops now and in the future.

You will also notice an overall shrinkage to the crops and the yields will be lower. Of course, if you are an organic gardener, you will be subject to the same things that all other gardeners will face. You must simply take care of them in a different way which will allow you to create a better tasting, and better for you, line up on your kitchen table.

Typically, an organic gardener, or any gardener for that matter, you will need some kind of a shovel with a spading fork by which to dig into the soil to begin to prepare it for planting. A pair of gloves is also necessary so that you can begin to take the weeds and the rocks out to of your soil, sometimes even with the help of a hoe or a pry bar to dig up even the toughest stones invented in your ground.

Once your soil is ready, and you have properly prepared additional product for your soil such as compost or worm castings, it is time to mix your soil with the organic fertilizers and do so in about a month in advance. This will allow the compost to break down further and will allow a proper mixing of the compost with the soil to make it even more healthy for the seeds to grow in.

Organic gardening supplies can be purchased at virtually any store. The supplies you will need as far as tools are basically the same as those needed by conventional gardeners. What you will need that is different are the composting additions that are typically bypassed by ordinary gardeners that will use pesticides and chemicals to protect their crops from on coming pests.

One might wonder why there are so many pests in the world. Most every insect or plant has some sort of purpose which has to do with the natural equilibrium of the area where they are located. If these insects are killed off, this causes an imbalance that cannot be replaced except over time.

This is why using strategies that are involved in the organic field, you will need to find an organic gardening supply store that can help you get all of the tools that you will need in order to make your endeavor a success.

Timing is everything, therefore get your supply list going for your organic gardening needs. Planning too late will lead to a lack of preparedness for event that may arise that will literally kill your crops overnight. So be forewarned and take the time a few months in advance so you are ready for any organic gardening problem, no matter what it is or when it arises.

If you have not created one yet, you will need to box in an area for your composting pile or even an area for your works so that you can create your own worm castings. By doing these things in advance, you will be prepared as you begin to get ready to plant your organic garden. Organic gardening supply tips can also be found by consulting local neighbors that also grow organically.

By: Warren Peters

What is vermicomposting? Vermicomposting means using worms to make compost. This is very easy to do and needs just a little bit of garden space and you can even do it in your basement or your garage. This is one great way to use up your kitchen waste and not let it go to waste. Let’s show you how easy it is. All you need to do is follow these very easy steps.

First of all, you need to get yourself a storage bin, a plastic one is best. If yours is a family of six, you need a size that’s around 1′ x 2′ x 3.5′. At the bottom of the bin, drill around 10 holes, each one to facilitate drainage and place a tray underneath the bin to hold the drainage.

Now put in some nylon mesh at the bottom of the bin so the worms don’t escape through these holes. Now you need some bedding and for this, you will require some newspaper. Shred them and wet them well. You should make sure they stay moist and don’t get dry.

Now add the worms to the bin, preferably red worms which are thought to be the best as far as composting is concerned. These are the most common worms you are likely to find in most gardens and lawns so you can just collect them from your garden or order them from a gardening store.

Make sure the bedding and the worms are on one side of the bin and put in vegetable peels and other kitchen waste, taking care not to put in any meat or fat products. Don’t put in too much or you’ll find that the stuff tends to rot. Now keep the bin in a cool, dark place.

It should take around 3 months for the worms to turn the waste and the bedding into compost. Now put in the bedding and more waste on the other side of the bin. The worms tend to migrate to the new food supply. Put the bin out in the sun and the worms will go right into the bedding and you can take out your compost from one side of the bin. You can put it for your plants or save it for later.

Now how do you use this compost that you have made? Compost is organic matter that is really great for your plants. You can add it to your lawn, your plants in the garden or your potted plants. You’ll find the soil improving with better aeration and moisture-holding properties.

This is where your plants will get their nutrients from and thrive. You can also use it as mulch, spreading it on top of the soil after mixing it with a bit of topsoil. You’ll find compost helps prevent many diseases.

You’ll find in your garden that all the organic matter does decompose eventually. However, vermicomposting hastens the process and gives you garden soil that is fertile, moist and rich in nutrients. So your plants grow better, look better and survive better. All it takes for organic matter to decompose are ideal conditions in which earthworms, bacteria, fungi and bugs can work.

They need moisture, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. So if you were to mix in nitrogen-rich substances like grass clippings or manure from livestock, you’ll find decomposing happening quicker. Carbon can be had from leaves and twigs. Or you could fling in a handful of lawn fertilizer which will provide the carbon-nitrogen needs.

Do remember to water it a bit in case it doesn’t rain and the mix gets dry. A bit of turning around once in a while gives it the oxygen it needs. Just a little bit of care and you are well on your way to great compost!

By: Chris Dailey

Organic compost is a potent resource for nutrients, however, because of this, there is something that needs to be said regarding its use with bulbs and how much compost to use with these plants as you carry them over into the next season. Typically with plants that are used in the springtime such as an Amaryllis, there is a certain process that must be done prior to a successful planting so that they can bloom in the spring season. Here are a few tips on how to use organic compost in a proper way in order to prepare your plants with bulbs to bloom in a healthy way.

There are many examples of what to do with bulbs and how to have them successfully treated so that they can almost on autopilot bloom when the right time comes. Let’s say for example that you acquired bulbs that flower in the spring, but you did not get them all planted in time so that the process can occur. What you want to make sure happens is that you have enough organic fertilizer in the pot prior to the cold season where the bulbs will sit for weeks in order to allow the roots of this plant to absorb enough nutrients in order to be ready for a fresh bloom the following season.

What will happen is that a plant that does not have enough nutrients will have a bulb that will not root and therefore will not grow or bloom successfully. Sometimes a good avenue is to wait until the following season, but the problem is that initially nutrients were not stored. This is where using organic compost, whether purchased or created from a worm bin, can be used in order to ensure that each season your blooms are successful. Here is the process.

Remembering that most roots need temperatures above freezing but no more than 35 or 40 degrees in order to prepare them for the growing season in spring, you need to expose the roots, once it has finished blooming, to the right amount of water and fertilizer throughout the winter in order to properly treat the bulb. In what I would call a resting season, a period of about seven to eight weeks, once the leaves have died back and the plant is growing no more, stop adding new fertilizer and only used a trickle of water until springtime reoccurs. Doing so will ensure that the bulb has time to rejuvenate and be ready to bloom in the spring.

What you want to be careful with is how much fertilizer you use. If this is regular fertilizer you can use a normal amount in proportion to the plant that you are growing and also the space and amount of dirt that you are using. Obviously you would not mix half fertilizer and half dirt as this may have a burning or adverse affect on the root system. If using pure worm compost, you could actually grow a plant in this with no dirt with no adverse effect to the plant, however in that we are focusing upon bulbs, the period of time where the plant is dying back, compost needs to be used in small amounts as you also decrease the water supply. This gives the bulb the opportunity to die in essence and be reborn in the spring.

One other thing to consider with this system is the container that the plant is in. Make sure that the bottom of the plant has ample drainage. Do not use stones or pebbles at the bottom of your container and if you can make sure it is not a plastic pot or container but one that is made of clay which dries out much faster than any kind of plastic. What you want to be sure of is not getting root rot in the last few days prior to the plant dying back because this will affect the nutrient flow into the bulb which will have fill effects in the springtime season.

To conclude, compost is a necessary ingredient in all planting, whether you are using it on a large scale farm or on a small scale in your home with a few plants. Be careful of the type of fertilizer that you use. If you are using straight worm compost, this is a safer bet in bad you can actually grow plants in your warm fertilizer without an adverse effect to the plant. Make sure that you back off on the amount of composting material you used in the dirt weeks prior to the plant dying off. This will be signified by losing its leaves and flowers at any.

Finally, bring almost all watering and composting efforts to a standstill before you clip the plant and store it in a cold covered area to be ready for the next spring season. In this way you can create a healthy and predictable replanting of your bulbs while safely energizing them for the next season with your organic compost.