Well, I appreciate blogger trying to fix the picture posting issue, but this new thing is no better. Forgive the confusion, but I'm giving up.
This is my latest experiment- worm bins. I had researched them a while ago... or I should say my husband researched them and it just seemed so complicated. Then I heard from someone else that it doesn't need to be so perfect. And so we dug in. I started with 2 smallish rubbermaid totes. I used a drill to poke holes on every side but the bottom. I filled one bin up with scraps. That was some grass clippings and kitchen waste mostly, I think. Then I bought a tub of worms. Funny story there... I was out on the bike when we stopped at the store for the worms. We went into the library with the worms safely in my bag (I didn't want them to get too hot if I left them in the trailer trunk). I was careful that they didn't open so you'll have to keep reading to know where the funny part is. We left the library with our books and no worm incident. We got home and I set the worms on top of the car as I unloaded the kids from the trailer. Yes, I forgot about them as I figured I would, but it was ok to set them there as they were adequately shaded. Later that evening we loaded up to go somewhere. My husband loaded the wee one on that side of the car and never noticed the worms. I didn't think of it until after returning home. I went walking down the street looking all over for my worms and never saw any trace of them. I hope they busted out of the tub and didn't get cooked! Anyway, we did manage to replace those worms and I had my bin ready for them so they went straight in. This past weekend we got a second set of worms for bin #2. I filled it with spent bean plants, a huge pile of beet and banana peels, cantaloupe rinds and a few egg shells. I dumped the worms in after I checked to see that the first bin was working properly. I didn't see any worms in bin #1, but I didn't dig either. I figured since there was no mold and even a few sprouts, that the worms were thriving. These bins reside in our garage where they won't get opened by marauding night varmints or cook if the shade shifts. When the compost is ready, I hear you just dig out the compost carefully and set any worms into a new set of scraps. Should be fun!
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| Just scraps |
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| The worms from the local hardware store (and bait shop). |
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| The worms on the scraps... look closely! |
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| My first worm bin on the left after about 3 weeks, I think. |
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| My 2 bins. |
My compost bin has turned into a maggot bin. We made ours out of a 55gal drum on its side with wheels so we could turn it easily. It's making great compost but is full of maggots(I think) when we open it to add more you can hear them moving around there are so many!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm... I'll check but at last look all was fine. But we don't re-open it and add to it. That was one thing that was suggested is to do several in smaller containers. I think it was to allow the worms to do a better job on finishing the compost before you give them more, but maybe the maggot aspect is part of the reason too. We fill the bin and let them compost to completion, empty and refill.
ReplyDeleteGet some chickens and those maggots won't be a problem anymore. :->