The New Bin

I said I would talk about my new bin ASAP and I suppose I should do just that now that I said I would...lol.

The new bin is not a spectacular achievement of technological wonderment. It is a simple use of some of the principles learned with vermicomposting that I think can have a dramatic impact in a small format and add some flexibility to those who don't want to go BIG with their first tries.

The bin was not super easy to make. Some parts were taken from old computer power supplies etc.

However, the science is what matters here first. The construction methods can always be refined. If we are willing to by plastic bins, we can certainly build this type of bin.

I have to date, finishing the second today, built two. Each bin is an old Toolbox with some serious internal changes.

So without wasting time, here is a snap shot of the two bins as of today.

By the looks there is nothing spectacular about them, but they do have some interesting engineering involved that some might take interest in.

They are first immune to insect infiltration. This is important. They also deal well with moisture control since they have fans. Two fans actually. One for in flow and the other for out flow.

A shot from above reveals the two fans which work each in concert circulating the air within the bin. This eliminates additional humidity and reduces any potential odor that might arise from too much moisture as I learned the hard way on a larger bin previously.

In the front, you will also notice 1/8" holes drilled to allow further ventilation. This is also the case on the side and back of the bin.

I should also mention that the system works off a low current 12 volt fan system that I created with some old saved power supplies I had from appliances long since thrown away.

Also, looking inside tells us another tale. With previous bins I built and some haste to get them running I did not take time to follow the golden rule of placing food in front of the worms urging them to move to the new food location once finished with the previous. Both of these new bins have 4 compartments. Each has access from right to left to allow the worms to move as they compost the food from one section. Eventually they will move, in this case, from right to left.

When the right compartment no longer contains worms then I will know that most of what will be left is castings to be harvested. Provided there is not a host of breeding going on, but we can deal with that as new worms are born too.



As can be seen by this feeble attempt to get close to the right side starting point of the grey bin, there are plenty of worms with a great deal of activity going on. The material in here consists of a proper cardboard bedding, some small peat size rocks at the bottom of the bin for moisture control, and the organic matter from bananas, to coffee grinds to a host of material I chopped up in my special hand blender.

Always the smaller the material, the faster the composting, and space here is somewhat limited.

In a nutshell this then sums up yet another approach to our various bin designs I have built. I have four fully functional bins now. Two with RED Wrigglers and two with European Nightcrawlers. The new bins are based on the REDs for the moment. Since European Nightcrawlers like a little more depth, I have them in larger bins where they can go a little deeper.

In all cases, so far, there is no issue with odor. Unless you dislike coffee as a smell. The worms are doing well. I know that my constant playing with the designs has reduced their breeding, but I think I have reached a point now where I can focus simply on the worms themselves and leave the bins alone completely.

For beginners reading this, be aware that not everything goes well the first time you try. If you have a new bin, put a light on so the worms don't try to escape. Don't use to much water either and do not try to feed them everyday and certainly do not overfeed them. They can break down a lot of matter, but they can get tired if stressed. Once they settle into a pattern they perform superbly.

Now on to my next bin projects....

Building the right sifters for the final product of compost that will come out in the end. This is a challenge unto itself for small areas. Farms or people with large property could employ machines to assist, but my focus is on the typical home user with and emphasis on those living in apartments. If I can get the sifting straight, then I have a start to finish vermi solution. At that point I will be much more satisfied.

However, by no means am I done tinkering...

Hope you enjoyed this post...and hope your Vermi project is doing well.

The Smoke Stack

I promised I would talk about the "Smoke Stack" idea but have yet to really present the concepts of why I created it, the way it was created, and the rationale. I have also played around a bit more and found a nice new bin idea that is built for convenience more than anything. That one I will leave you in anticipation over though and maybe write about it tomorrow.

The idea of a smoke stack bin occurred actually as most things do with me. In bed! I was either staring at something, or watching a DVD. I can't remember precisely. When I get ideas, it is ALWAYS at one of those times regardless.

I remember the traditional bin. Plastic, holes drilled in the side and / or top and lots of ventilation. Then I started thinking about how to re-use other items like cans, bottles, anything other than something we could compost. Surely I have a passion to rid the world of anything we waste, so this was in keeping with the way I think.

Then it hit me that I had an enormous amount of plastic bottles. Bottles for everything from my regular flavored drinking water, to the 2 litre large coke bottles, to even prune juice. I thought to myself, that if I am already using a plastic bin and drilling holes, well why not make a larger hole and simple aerate the bin by re-using a bottle. This way one less thing goes to the curb side, I get better venting for the worms and I get to do what I love. Play around.

So I began with a typical flavored water bottle. Removed the screw on lid, cut off about an inch of the bottom then measured the opening at the top. It was exactly 1 inch and it could be screw onto whatever hole I drilled just like the top was screwed onto it.

So I created this. Essentially instead of drilling into the top of the bin I did that and just screwed in the bottles.

Bear in mind also that at present my bins are outside my home under my sun deck. There is over hang protection, but certainly I am nervous of other critters getting into the bin. Well here was also a solution slowly working it's way into the mix. Of course, I am using bottles and putting less recycling out when I make a bin, but the opening at the top of the bottle, or the bottom, depending on which side you consider up. Let's say the larger side and not the side screwed into the bin.
Well this opening can be covered!

What I did was place cheese cloth over each bottle end. For those unfamiliar with cheese cloth, it is like a gauze we use for patching up our wounds. It is often used for filtering and since it is a cloth is is great to work with.

Now I had this. Notice that outside, I have to protect my bins from animals too. Luckily my sun deck is well suited to do this easily so that was not much of a concern.

But why the concern about cheese cloth? Imagine if a fly got into the bin? Perhaps laid an egg and some larvae soon came about. That was the first thought I had. I can even tell you about all the other bugs I thought of from beetles to ants etc. Essentially I wanted my worms alive, healthy, untouched and above all the soil to remain in perfect condition. I am studying both Red Wriggler's and European Nightcrawlers at the moment, so the smallest introduction of something from another source would certainly make me think one worm was better than the other. For the wrong reason's though. That was also a major concern.

As it turns out you can see I didn't just stick to the water bottles. The bin in the rear has the prune juice one. Best if the worms don't get constipated I figure.

That is, in a nutshell, what I have come to call the smoke stack style bin. It works great, there are no other holes needed anywhere in the bin and if outside it works as well as it would indoors.

The reason though I call these smoke stacks is not because of these pictures though. It is because of the one bin I have that is the best. It is the most productive and has worked the best in the last two months. This is how it looks...













Even though it looks blue under the sun deck, I assure you it is really a funky purple colour. This is the bin that made me use the term "smoke stack" since that is what those two stainless steel posts look like to me. The question of why I would use stainless steel in this case is a simple answer too. These two "stacks" were part of a six foot high stainless steel lamp I used to have in my living room. The unit broke, but the pieces screwed together in three sections so I figured maybe one day I would have use for them and the threaded part if I ever needed a post / pole for something but needed it to have a threaded bottom like a machine screw. Sure enough, a 2 inch hole and these two pieces screwed right into place. However they are a bit heavy and started to pull apart and the lid then kept falling off. This is why there is a couple of rows of duct tape holding them together.

All in all, I find this approach a little different and most people probably do too. I do have reason to try these things though. I have mentioned it before and will again.

There are a great many people who could Vermicompost in their homes that don't. This we all know. There are just as many who either can't or won't, not because of their home but because they live in apartment buildings or high rises. Heck, even some companies are not going to go to the trouble of trying to compost the Vermi way.

Every time I try something, this is why. I am looking for the method that can be applied. As I mentioned once to Bentley at http://www.wormcomposting.ca there is a two fold approach for people like us. I call it the "message and the method". First we get a method we can convince someone isn't so creepy. Something that is more like a kitchen sink garbage disposal than a bin full of worms. Then we show them the idea, and deliver the message. If we educate correctly with the right method than we can increase the amount of people who do not, or will not, or simply cannot Vermicompost. To me, it boils down to that.

However, for the moment, I will continue on the smoke stacks, watch my worms. Then I will be back with another talk on a bin I just finished, just started today that I think will hold some potential for the small time or single person Vermicomposter.

For now, I think I will go have that flavoured water.

Daniel

What is new today?

It has been a while since I have posted, so I will be brief. I have much more to write, to do and to catch up on. I did want to summarize though to those paying attention a bit of what has been going on since last entry.

Collectively, along with involvement with some other very important projects like http://www.uffize.com most of my time has been spent pursuing Vermi Composting. A take on traditonal composting with the use of some unique methods. To best explain visit http://earthseternalknot.blogspot.com to see the writings and http://youtube.com/theeternalknot for our YouTube video summaries of the projects.

The goal of both http://www.uffize.com and http://earthseternalknot.blogspot.com is to bring aspect of life into perspective that can assist us in our day to day living conditions.

It should be stressed that although I am involved, the brain child of most of this work comes from Mark Cicero, a Western University student of brilliant mind and forsight. His desire to improve our lives, all of us, will come into greater evidence as time passes.

For my part, I experiment. I create the creepy experiments that create foul odours and sometimes unique solutions to various problems. I am proud to be part of this and I consider anything we do as social creatures here in our local world and around the World of paramount importance. I have fought many challenges in my attempts to perfect my part of what is occurring but happy to say that with each failure one more lesson is learned.

In short, my message is simple really. Get involved, check out the links and see if you can help us make this world more efficient, cleaner and just a better Planet to live on.

Cheers

Daniel Herrington

Something NOT to do with your Vermicomposting Bin

Often as we start a bin, we like to try all sorts of things. For my part, patience is the last on my list when trying something new that has so many approaches and so much potential. In the Vermicomposting World, even in the short time I have been at it, I have tried so many things to get my worms to perform better. Often, this is an exercise best left alone and not tried, but at the same time my grasp sometimes exceeds my ability to wait for results. Essentially the faster the better.

In the tradition of regular maintenance, a Vermicomposting bin should be moist. Perhaps like a wet sponge and not much more. Certainly not so moist that water collects at the bottom. Likewise, as one begins with a small quantity of worms, breeding is the key over time. Feeding them slowly for instance and not everyday. Letting them settle and getting into a groove that eventually allows them to focus on the task at hand and then simply breed.

I was curious to play with my one of my bins while at the same time not wanting it to get too dry. I thought I would drill a few holes in the underside of the plastic container I used and then add a good deal of water. The idea was the run off would collect in a container under the bin, allowing a modest but not excessive amount of water to stay in the bin. My hope being that the worms would have a nice moist environment, no water collection and I could use the collection unit as a way of making sure everything was in order.

It worked. It worked very well, however, there was one small but lethal problem. The bin stayed nice and moist, the worms were adjusting well, and the collection unit was certainly showing any over flow. It was that overflow which became the problem.

In keeping with the study of Vermicomposting, one will stumble across the word VERMI TEA or COMPOST TEA eventually. An apt word indeed. It looks like tea simply put. A dark juice like material that varies from appearances like normal tea to perhaps something like prune juice. The idea with this tea is that it is an incredibly rich liquid fertilizer. However, it has one major draw back. IT SMELLS REALLY BAD!

Enter my problem. In the overflow bin I was actually creating a variation of Vermi Tea. I would doubt it was very potent of super rich plant nutrients, but it sure stank. It smelled unlike anything I could imagine. A blend of manure with dirty socks worn for a year if you could imagine such a thing.

It ended up that once again, humbly speaking, I had to transfer the contents of the Bin into another. Naturally the transfer was easy, I simply up ended the one bin dumping the contents into a new one. In so doing, the material at the bottom of the old bin was now at the top of the new one. WOW what a smell.

So, dear friends, if you wish to spare yourself embarrassment, keep your friends and neighbors close by, avoid the strange stares of passers by and stay ahead in your Vermi world then just leave things alone. Keep your bin moist, add your organic waste and smile knowing you are doing your part for humanity. Just be sure NEVER EVER to drill holes in the bottom of your bin and try what I tried.

Once again, another experiment completed, one more lesson learned and hopefully some advice to the new and curious in the Vermicomposting world.

Humbly yours,

Daniel

The Skinny on Composting

Of all the writing so far, I have yet to have discussed what is really needed in the basic composting world. Vermi or traditional composting. What follows is a brief discussion on what the low down is on composting in general...

enjoy!

Compost Materials

Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. The pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps.

Mixing certain types of materials or changing the proportions can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. Achieving the best mix is more an art gained through experience than an exact science. The ideal ratio approaches 25 parts browns to 1 part greens. Judge the amounts roughly equal by weight. Too much carbon will cause the pile to break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen can cause odor. The carbon provides energy for the microbes, and the nitrogen provides protein.

Leaves represent a large percentage of total yard waste. If you can grind them in a gas or electric chipper shredder or mow over them, they will reduce in size making them easier to store until you can use them in the pile, and they will decompose faster - an issue with larger leaves. They are loaded with minerals brought up from the tree roots and are a natural source of carbon. A few leaf species such as live oak, southern magnolia, and holly trees are too tough and leathery for easy composting. Avoid all parts of the black walnut tree as they contain a plant poison that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can be toxic to other plants. And avoid using poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac.

Pine Needles need to be chopped or shredded, as they decompose slowly. They are covered with a thick, waxy coating. In very large quantities, they can acidify your compost, which would be a good thing if you have alkaline soils.

Grass Clippings break down quickly and contain as much nitrogen as manure. Since fresh grass clippings will clump together, become anerobic, and start to smell, mix them with plenty of brown material. If you have a lot of grass clippings to compost, spread them on the driveway or other surface to bake in the sun for at least a day. Once it begins to turn pale or straw-like, it can be used without danger of souring. Avoid grass clippings that contain pesticide or herbicide residue, unless a steady rain has washed the residue from the grass blades.

Kitchen Refuse includes melon rinds, carrot peelings, tea bags, apple cores, banana peels - almost everything that cycles through your kitchen. The average household produces more than 200 pounds of kitchen waste every year. You can successfully compost all forms of kitchen waste. However, meat, meat products, dairy products, and high-fat foods like salad dressings and peanut butter, can present problems. Meat scraps and the rest will decompose eventually, but will smell bad and attract pests. Egg shells are a wonderful addition, but decompose slowly, so should be crushed. All additions to the compost pile will decompose more quickly if they are chopped up some before adding.

To collect your kitchen waste, you can keep a small compost pail in the kitchen to bring to the pile every few days. Keep a lid on the container to discourage insects. When you add kitchen scraps to the compost pile, cover them with about 8" of brown material to reduce visits by flies or critters.

Wood Ashes from a wood burning stove or fireplace can be added to the compost pile. Ashes are alkaline, so add no more than 2 gallon-sized buckets-full to a pile with 3'x3'x3' dimensions. They are especially high in potassium. Don't use coal ashes, as they usually contain large amounts of sulfur and iron that can injure your plants. Used charcoal briquettes don't decay much at all, so it's best not to use them.

Garden Refuse should make the trip to the pile. All of the spent plants, thinned seedlings, and deadheaded flowers can be included. Most weeds and weed seeds are killed when the pile reaches an internal temperature above 130 degrees, but some may survive. To avoid problems don't compost weeds with persistent root systems, and weeds that are going to seed.

Spoiled Hay or Straw makes an excellent carbon base for a compost pile, especially in a place where few leaves are available. Hay contains more nitrogen than straw. They may contain weed seeds, so the pile must have a high interior temperature. The straw's little tubes will also keep the pile breathing.

Manure is one of the finest materials you can add to any compost pile. It contains large amounts of both nitrogen and beneficial microbes. Manure for composting can come from bats, sheep, ducks, pigs, goats, cows, pigeons, and any other vegetarian animal. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid manure from carnivores, as it can contain dangerous pathogens. Most manures are considered "hot" when fresh, meaning it is so rich in nutrients that it can burn the tender roots of young plants or overheat a compost pile, killing off earthworms and friendly bacteria. If left to age a little, however, these materials are fine to use.

Manure is easier to transport and safer to use if it is rotted, aged, or composted before it's used. Layer manure with carbon-rich brown materials such as straw or leaves to keep your pile in balance.

Seaweed is an excellent source of nutrient-rich composting material. Use the hose to wash off the salt before sending it to the compost pile.

The list of organic materials which can be added to the compost pile is long. There are industrial and commercial waste products you may have access to in abundance. The following is a partial list: corncobs, cotton waste, restaurant or farmer's market scraps, grapevine waste, sawdust, greensand, hair, hoof and horn meal, hops, peanut shells, paper and cardboard, rock dust, sawdust, feathers, cottonseed meal, blood meal, bone meal, citrus wastes, coffee, alfalfa, and ground seashells.

Following is a chart listing common composting materials

Type of Material Use it? Carbon/ Nitrogen Details Algae, seaweed and lake moss Yes N Good nutrient source. Ashes from coal or charcoal No n/a May contain materials bad for plants. Ashes from untreated, unpainted wood Careful Neutral Fine amounts at most. Can make the pile too alkaline and suppress composting. Beverages, kitchen rinse water Yes Neutral Good to moisten the middle of the pile. Don't over-moisten the pile. Bird droppings Careful N May contain weed seeds or disease organisms. Cardboard Yes C Shred into small pieces if you use it. Wetting it makes it easier to tear. If you have a lot, consider recycling instead. Cat droppings or cat litter No n/a May contain disease organisms. Avoid. Coffee ground and filters Yes N Worms love coffee grounds and coffee filters. Compost activator Not required, but ok. Neutral You don't really need it, but it doesn't hurt. Cornstalks, corn cobs Yes C Best if shredded and mixed well with nitrogen rich materials. Diseased plants Careful N If your pile doesn't get hot enough, it might not kill the organisms, so be careful. Let it cure several months, and don't use resulting compost near the type of plant that was diseased. Dog droppings No n/a Avoid. Dryer lint Yes C Compost away! Moistening helps. Eggshells Yes O Break down slowly. Crushing shells helps. Fish scraps No n/a Can attract rodents and cause a stinky pile. Hair Yes N Scatter so it isn't in clumps. Lime No n/a Can kill composting action. Avoid. Manure (horse, cow, pig, sheep, goat, chicken, rabbit) Yes N Great source of nitrogen. Mix with carbon rich materials so it breaks down better. Meat, fat, grease, oils, bones No n/a Avoid. Milk, cheese, yogurt Careful Neutral Put it deep in the pile to avoid attracting animals. Newspaper Yes C Shred it so it breaks down easier. It is easy to add too much newspaper, so recycle instead if you have a lot. Don't add slick colored pages. Oak leaves Yes C Shredding leaves helps them break down faster. They decompose slowly. Acidic. Sawdust and wood shavings (untreated wood) Yes C You'll need a lot of nitrogen materials to make up for the high carbon content. Don't use too much, and don't use treated woods. Pine needles and cones Yes C Don't overload the pile. Also acidic and decomposes slowly. Weeds Careful N Dry them out on the pavement, then add later. Sod Careful N Make sure the pile is hot enough, so grass doesn't continue growing.

The Bin recovery

In my last post I mentioned that I had gone from 1 to 3 bins as a matter of accident. In the process of consolidating to one bin, I carried worms over into to other bins intended remove excess waste. It was my intention to toss out the contents of what was placed in those other locations, only to discover I transferred worms into them as well. As such, I started to get busy trying to save all the worms wherever they were.

Today I reduced back to two bins, eliminating the pail which contained the least amount of worms, although I did save them.


Now this pail can move on to other uses. For the moment it is clean and drying out.

As for the "bin of concern", well a few things happened there too. Since the worms seemed to have reduced or gone deep, I have separated the material into sections of feeding. Created a "smoothie" type drink for them using a blender and separated the area I am concentrating on for their recovery from the other area of the same bin. As is shown in the following photo...


On the right is the material place in prior. It is covered for the sake of darkness should any worms actually be under there, even though I could find none.

On the left is the area of concentration. You will notice it is separated from the right section by a mesh material. The worms are free to travel once they need to look for additional food, all of which will slowly be brought over from the right section into the left.


By sectioning off the bin, I can now see what is going on a little better. I can also add more appropriate material to speed up the worm recovery process and hopefully get them breeding soon so they can chew away the rest of the material. Naturally making way for more food and ultimately the harvest yet to come.

All in all, things are working. The worms on the left look good now. They are more active and with a little time I think they will recover well.

Thanks for visiting and check us out at YouTube.com at http://youtube.com/TheEternalKnot

Daniel

May 20 - Part 2 - Later in the day.

Upon discussion with my friends assisting in this project, we have decided to incorporate material not just dedicated to Vermi Composting but also to other environmental concerns.

My personal Blog has recently drifted from items concerning me to items concerning the environment. Hardly the right approach if we wish to consolidate around multi solutions for our local environment.

In the near future you will have the opportunity of viewing projects from Water collection, to Fungal reasearch to our loved Vermi composting.

Since out Vermi projects are getting stable and will need time to mature, it gives us an opportunity to branch in areas we have yet to share. Some in print for a long time in my personal Blog.

I hope to unite all these so we can talk about what can be done. Done with nature curing nature's problems.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy what we publish.