Sunday, July 13, 2008

why not?

Ok, So I've been spending some time online in a vermicomposting forum.... ok.. yeah... I'm a bit of a dork... a bit obsessed of late. And by "some" I mean... hours reading information.
My bin has been doing really well, and after reading some other people's past projects, I want to give it a try too. Tonight I went out and bought three mini bins. (Pictures to follow sometime tomorrow) I've got three projects in mind. 

One- the ark- I've read it's a great idea to have a secondary colony set up... just in case something goes wrong, so you don't have to start from scratch.

 Two- the 4 worm challenge- taking 4 adult worms, and seeing how long it takes to get an established bin going/ see how they do after 3 months... do a count at the end.

 And finally, Three- the Eggsperiment- pretty much the same as number two, but starting with just egg cases. I haven't decided how many eggs to start out with... because I'm not sure if I can successfully have all the cocoons hatch. I've heard pretty wet is good - for the bedding I mean... to encourage the cocoons... I've heard that the darker they are, the sooner they are to hatching... so- I'm not sure if I should have older cocoons, or a variety of ages, or... just whatever I happen to scoop up first. Any ideas?

I was chatting with Bethfield today about what I want to do with all this... I know I don't have the time- nor am I committed to- making a business out of it, but... I might like to have a go at making the "worm tea" tea bags to sell at the farmers market. That sounds like something fun... and it's not too much of a commitment  ... we all know how good I am at finishing what I start.

... don't be surprised if a mini bin shows up under my desk at work.

3 comments:

Amanda said...

umm could explain the worm tea bags a little more... mmm wormy?

Anonymous said...

That was interesting! My father-in-law is trying out composting as well, but I don't know much about it, since he lives 4 hours away..

Hmm, cocoons, do you get worms from cocoons?? I didn't know that..

ilex said...

Madam LBo, wetter is better for worms to lay egg cases. One trick I read on-line- try freezing food scraps, then thawing them, then putting them in a blender. Feed blended scraps to the worms. Apparently they eat the food faster when it's blended; plus the extra moisture makes them more reproductive.

I've never blended, but I have frozen- freezing alone makes more moisture when it thaws (especially if it's raw plant pits- freezing bursts the cell walls). Just be sure to allow the frozen bits to return to room temp- worms can't knit sweaters...