For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Bentley (“Compost Guy”) Christie and I’ve been a crazed worm composting fanatic (or “vermiholic” if you prefer) for more than 13 yrs now. I created this website back in 2006 with the simple intention of sharing my passion with the world. So far so good! Things have certainly progressed since the early days, though, and the website has provided me with an amazing opportunity to get to know a LOT of other “worm heads” from across North America and around the world!
The last time I tried to test out the use of European Nightcrawlers in a stacking worm bin I had to pull the plug on the experiment fairly early (due to lack-of-space issues in my basement, and an annoying outbreak of Scuttle Flies). Ever since then I’ve been hoping to start up a similar experiment.
I had been using primarily coir and peat moss as bedding and it’s
become obvious that my system is too anaerobic (I still have worms but
definitely not the pound I started with). (more…)
It’s been more than a month since my last VB48 update, and who knows how long since my last video (lol), so I figured why not combine both of these long-overdue activities and shoot a video VB48 update!
As I point out in this work of cinematographic genius (uhhmmm…), this bin has become much more of a vermiculture system than a vermicomposting system. I am far more focused on growing loads of worms than I am on producing nice vermicompost (giving no thought to that at all, in fact).
My lower “skirt” has performed marvelously since I installed it – the two tray down below are both loaded with worms (mostly Euros), and there is NO mess down on my basement floor! I have even set up two similar tray systems up on top for raising even more worms, and those in combination with my bio-plastic “mulch” layer are currently the only thing acting as a cover.
Having loads of fun with “The Beast” – too bad I don’t have more time to play with it! lol
It looks as though gum is NOT ideal for vermicomposting (go figure – haha!) – at least not the particular varieties I used for my recent gum vermicomposting experiment.
What`s interesting is that some of the invertebrates – namely springtails and mites – did show an interest in the two pink pieces of gum (Trident watermelon flavor as I recall) – at least initially (see first image below). Perhaps this had something to do with available sugars.
Continuing with my theme of “how many crazy things can I vermicompost?” (lol), I decided to toss in part of a “Cheese String” the other day. I wasn’t expecting much due to the fat and salt content of the cheese, but have ended up quite surprised by the results.
Not sure “vermicomposting” is the appropriate term – since the worms are not-surprisingly showing zero interest in the cheese – but springtails, mites and a small beetle variety have been going to town on it!
While I’ve been pretty quiet about it, I’m happy to report that things have continued to move along with my “Worm Inn vs Plastic Bin” challenge. Last Tuesday (April 16th) I added some food scraps – specifically, watermelon and banana waste – to the two systems. Since the waste materials were pretty chunky (I’m sticking with John’s original suggestion to avoid optimizing them too much) it was tough to weigh out exactly-equal portions. As such, I decided to add (more…)
This little experiment is a hat-tip to Larry “Garbage Guru” Duke – who suggested gum vermicomposting as a potential idea for our “Worm Inn Project Challenge”.
I’ve vermicomposted a LOT of different things over the years, but for some reason gum has never really crossed my mind as something to try (even though I’ve been a regular gum-chewer for quite some time).
