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mousmeAs promised, I am now delivering Worm Pr0n. My html skills are negligible at best, and all my attempts at aligning the images to the left or right went horribly awry, so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with a very basic layout.
So this evening I set up my vermicomposter. The whole process took about twenty minutes, one-quarter of which was spent taking lots of photos, and another quarter of which was spent keeping the cats out of my way. So all in all, this should take the average person only about ten minutes to do.
Step 1: Assemble Your Tools
The first thing I did was to put everything I'd need in the same place.
1- I started out with a bin designed for composting. A large rubbermaid container with holes is ideal. I was told to make sure that the lid seals tightly, especially if one has cats. As you can see, in this picture Gretzky is making sure that I have all my stuff together. She's useful that way.
Here I have shown a view of the box from above, so that you can get an idea of the spacing of the holes. It's important for the air to circulate well, to promote the happiness and well-being of your worms, and to prevent your compost from turning into sludge. The bottom of the box should be similarly perforated.
NB: You may place your box on wooden slats an inch or so off the ground to permit the air to circulate even more, and a plastic mat to catch any run-off is a good idea as well. From what I've been able to gather, run-off is rare as long as your composter is not overly damp inside. Updates on this as events warrant.
2- With duct tape, I affixed a piece of screen to the bottom of the box. This, too, should contribute to limiting run-off, and will help with the circulation of air.
This compost-bin is George-tested and -approved, in case you were concerned about QA.
3- I also procured a 16-litre bag of compost from Pousse-Menu:
Pan-Pan, at this point, felt compelled to intervene, just to make sure the compost was up to snuff:
When questioned about their motivations, both Pan-Pan and George vehemently denied any interest whatsoever in the compost they had been trying to eat a moment before.
The rest of the tools include:
a. Newspaper, for the bedding. It amused me to use the Journal de Montréal, but it doesn't matter what kind of paper you use, so long as it's free of harmful chemicals.
b. Scissors, and a spray bottle, better known in this household as the "Bad Cat Bottle."
c. The Eco-Quartier's Practical Guide to Vermicomposting, to make sure I wasn't doing anything back-asswards.
At this stage, George decided he'd be of most use to me by sitting on my tools. He moved a moment before I took this picture:
And here he is playing innocent. "Why, Mummy, of course I would never dream of getting in your way!" Yeah. Sure.
d. Last, but not least, a can o' worms. More specifically, three-quarters of a pound of Eisenia Foetida, aka Red Wriggler Worms, aka Compost Worms. They are the sine qua non of this whole project, after all.
Step 2: Prepare The Bedding
First I cut up a bunch of the newspaper into strips. I was going to post photos of the strips in an orderly pile, but George decided that the strips were great new toys, so instead I shall give you photos of George pwning the newspaper:
After the first few strips were cut, he figured out that this was potential fun.
As I cut more strips, he decided to appropriate them all. Why not? They were on the floor, and thus his.
"Mine! All mine! Mwahahaaa!"
Of course, newsprint isn't all that great-tasting if you lick it.
This is kind of unrelated, but I was amused by the irony of coming across an article about a leopard running amok in the streets of a city in India while my cat was helping me shred newspaper.
Step 3: Install Bedding
I started with a layer of newspaper in the bottom of the box.
I then added a layer of shredded newspaper, which I sprayed with water. I took before and after pictures of the newspaper, but you can't tell the difference between the two (well, I sort of can, but whatever), so I'm only giving you the one picture.
On top of that I dumped a bunch of the compost I got from Pousse-Menu.
Beware the pitfalls of not owning a trowel, incidentally. I accidentally dumped dirt all over my floor. :P
Step 4: Add Worms
I was a little startled to discover that opening the can of worms did not, in fact, involve unscrewing the cap from the bottle (I'll admit I had been wondering how to get the worms out). Turns out the people at Pousse-Menu are a little cleverer than I am about these things. ;)
Here is the best close-up I could get of our little composting buddies, with a Canadian penny provided to give you an idea of their size. The large one is the biggest one I could find, and the smaller one is about average, from what I could see of the others. They are active little dudes, let me tell you! I couldn't get them to stay still very long for their close-up.
So I dumped the contents of the container directly into the composting-bin, as evidenced here:
Here's a pretty good close-up of the worms "hanging out" in their new home:
I then covered the whole shebang with more shredded newspaper, generously moistened with the Bad Cat Bottle, before putting the lid back on.
And that's the end of today's demonstration. I didn't take any pictures of the closed box at the end, because, well, it looks just like the closed box at the beginning, so there wasn't much point.
There you have it. :)
So this evening I set up my vermicomposter. The whole process took about twenty minutes, one-quarter of which was spent taking lots of photos, and another quarter of which was spent keeping the cats out of my way. So all in all, this should take the average person only about ten minutes to do.
Step 1: Assemble Your Tools
The first thing I did was to put everything I'd need in the same place.
1- I started out with a bin designed for composting. A large rubbermaid container with holes is ideal. I was told to make sure that the lid seals tightly, especially if one has cats. As you can see, in this picture Gretzky is making sure that I have all my stuff together. She's useful that way.
Here I have shown a view of the box from above, so that you can get an idea of the spacing of the holes. It's important for the air to circulate well, to promote the happiness and well-being of your worms, and to prevent your compost from turning into sludge. The bottom of the box should be similarly perforated.
NB: You may place your box on wooden slats an inch or so off the ground to permit the air to circulate even more, and a plastic mat to catch any run-off is a good idea as well. From what I've been able to gather, run-off is rare as long as your composter is not overly damp inside. Updates on this as events warrant.
2- With duct tape, I affixed a piece of screen to the bottom of the box. This, too, should contribute to limiting run-off, and will help with the circulation of air.
This compost-bin is George-tested and -approved, in case you were concerned about QA.
3- I also procured a 16-litre bag of compost from Pousse-Menu:
Pan-Pan, at this point, felt compelled to intervene, just to make sure the compost was up to snuff:
When questioned about their motivations, both Pan-Pan and George vehemently denied any interest whatsoever in the compost they had been trying to eat a moment before.
The rest of the tools include:
a. Newspaper, for the bedding. It amused me to use the Journal de Montréal, but it doesn't matter what kind of paper you use, so long as it's free of harmful chemicals.
b. Scissors, and a spray bottle, better known in this household as the "Bad Cat Bottle."
c. The Eco-Quartier's Practical Guide to Vermicomposting, to make sure I wasn't doing anything back-asswards.
At this stage, George decided he'd be of most use to me by sitting on my tools. He moved a moment before I took this picture:
And here he is playing innocent. "Why, Mummy, of course I would never dream of getting in your way!" Yeah. Sure.
d. Last, but not least, a can o' worms. More specifically, three-quarters of a pound of Eisenia Foetida, aka Red Wriggler Worms, aka Compost Worms. They are the sine qua non of this whole project, after all.
Step 2: Prepare The Bedding
First I cut up a bunch of the newspaper into strips. I was going to post photos of the strips in an orderly pile, but George decided that the strips were great new toys, so instead I shall give you photos of George pwning the newspaper:
After the first few strips were cut, he figured out that this was potential fun.
As I cut more strips, he decided to appropriate them all. Why not? They were on the floor, and thus his.
"Mine! All mine! Mwahahaaa!"
Of course, newsprint isn't all that great-tasting if you lick it.
This is kind of unrelated, but I was amused by the irony of coming across an article about a leopard running amok in the streets of a city in India while my cat was helping me shred newspaper.
Step 3: Install Bedding
I started with a layer of newspaper in the bottom of the box.
I then added a layer of shredded newspaper, which I sprayed with water. I took before and after pictures of the newspaper, but you can't tell the difference between the two (well, I sort of can, but whatever), so I'm only giving you the one picture.
On top of that I dumped a bunch of the compost I got from Pousse-Menu.
Beware the pitfalls of not owning a trowel, incidentally. I accidentally dumped dirt all over my floor. :P
Step 4: Add Worms
I was a little startled to discover that opening the can of worms did not, in fact, involve unscrewing the cap from the bottle (I'll admit I had been wondering how to get the worms out). Turns out the people at Pousse-Menu are a little cleverer than I am about these things. ;)
Here is the best close-up I could get of our little composting buddies, with a Canadian penny provided to give you an idea of their size. The large one is the biggest one I could find, and the smaller one is about average, from what I could see of the others. They are active little dudes, let me tell you! I couldn't get them to stay still very long for their close-up.
So I dumped the contents of the container directly into the composting-bin, as evidenced here:
Here's a pretty good close-up of the worms "hanging out" in their new home:
I then covered the whole shebang with more shredded newspaper, generously moistened with the Bad Cat Bottle, before putting the lid back on.
And that's the end of today's demonstration. I didn't take any pictures of the closed box at the end, because, well, it looks just like the closed box at the beginning, so there wasn't much point.
There you have it. :)
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Hm.
Date: 2007-01-21 06:18 am (UTC)*cues evil laughter*
Re: Hm.
Date: 2007-01-21 06:28 am (UTC)Re: Hm.
Date: 2007-01-21 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 10:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 03:26 pm (UTC)It's not possible to do outdoor composting in Canada during the winter months: the food freezes and doesn't decompose properly.
The alternative is to do indoor composting, aided by compost worms. Worms eat approximately their weight every day in organic waste and turn it into a highly rich compost. This compost can then be saved and used in your house plants, or if you have a garden (like my landlady does) can be used there.
I have a compost-bin that, in theory, is big enough for one or two people. However, there is a smaller size (for just one person who doesn't cook much, I guess) and a larger size (for three to four people).
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 03:28 pm (UTC)The commenting was much fun. It took twenty minutes to do the composting and two hours to edit/crop/resize the pictures and write the post! Talk about labour-intensive. :P
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 03:55 pm (UTC)Nice work on this one!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 02:41 am (UTC)I shall see if I can find the aforementioned programs. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 04:27 pm (UTC)I like the bits about your QA testers as well. I don't see Smudge among the lot, though. Was it his day off?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 05:20 pm (UTC)I wonder something though. If we calculate the energy provided to the worms through the leftovers and scraps, and the energy used by the worms to reproduce, and then we calculate the energy equivalency of the high-end proteins provided by dried worm powder, and used that powder to provide us with caloric energy, how much of an energy loss would our end-to-end food process have?
I mean... it takes 1 unit of energy to extract 30 units of energy in traditional oil extraction. Then a ratio I don't know to transport and raffine that energy into usable forms of oil relative to the agricultural industry (pesticides, gaz for the pesticide planes, for the tractors, for the fertelizer, for powering the water irrigation system, for the plastic to wrap the food products, gaz to transport it to the supermarket, etc). The ratio between food and it's production is that there's 10 units of energy consumed for every unit of energy (in the form of food) brought to your local supermarket. Then there's another ratio between raw and cooked food, and yet another ratio of the % of the food we actually eat, and the rest we throw away - or vermicompost. Hence my initial question.
bleh. too complicated for the early sunday afternoon.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 05:37 pm (UTC)Maybe it's the lack of coffee, but I truly don't understand what you're driving at here. :)
The point of composting is not energy, it's reduction of waste.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 05:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 06:26 pm (UTC)A: manure worms!
Ba-da BUMP.
t!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 02:42 am (UTC)Sadly, that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking when I got the paper. I think the next time I shall get "Le Monde" from my parents, so that my worms will be erudite. ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 03:13 pm (UTC)Although for some reason it didn't click with me that you were doing this indoors. Shows how much I know about the process.