March 27, 2009
Over-feeding Challenge Update
Hoards of springtails coating the surface of a rotting sweet potato
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post outlining my hair-brained plan to try and ‘over feed’ some of my indoor worm bins. Later that same day I added close to 30 lb of rotting food waste to various systems in my basement – with certain bins (and ‘Inns’ – haha) receiving the vast majority of the material.
What I didn’t mention was the fact that I was leaving the next day for a bit of a mini vacation up north – a trip that would keep me away from home for almost a week (you may have noticed that there were no new blog posts during that time). If I had been using enclosed plastic ‘worm bins’ I likely would have been worried about what I might find when I got home, but I ended up leaving with nary a concern.
As I explained in my first over-feeding post, I only use open systems now, after discovering how much easier they are to manage – so I felt pretty confident that the increased aeration of the systems and the well-established worm ‘habitat’ would help to prevent any major disasters from occurring.
I must admit, I’m almost a little embarassed by how BORING the results seem to be ! haha
Apart from the odd mortality in the one bin that received the most waste (along with too much water, I might add), the results seem to be very positive across the board. A lot of the materials have disappeared or are at least unrecognizable, and the worm concentrations up near the surface seem to have increased.
I expected to see increases in ‘critter’ populations. Other than an apparent increase in springtail numbers (I think so anyway – there were a lot of them already in the systems), there didn’t seem to be any obvious population explosions. I suspect that if the bins had lids on them I would have ended up with a lot more mites and white worms.
I have noticed some funky smells – but again, it only seems to be in the bin that received the largest quantity of waste materials, and too much water. Undoubtedly, there were (and are) some anaerobic microsites, even with the ample air flow.
Anyway, I know this wasn’t the most exciting ‘challenge’ of all time, but hopefully it will at least hammer home the importance of a good ‘habitat’ and lots of (passive) aeration!
Now, I need to come up with something a little more interesting to test!
8)
Storing Food Waste Before Feeding Worms
Here is a question from Melanie
You mentioned this on your site :
“I like to keep food waste in an old milk carton that sits under my
sink. Aside from the convenience of not needing to take it down to the
basement (where my indoor bins are located) or outside (to my outdoor
bin) multiple times per day, this also allows time for microbial
colonization of the materials – and don’t worry, you won’t have a
stinky mess in your container if you do it properly (I’ll definitely
write more about that in another article).”Did you ever discuss this further on your blog? I’ve looked and looked and
can’t find it.
Good question Melanie!
I never DID end up writing more about that (that happens quite a bit – haha), but it’s certainly a good topic to talk about.
While the “old milk carton[s]” have long since been retired, I do still keep a container under my sink (photo below). It is a unit specially designed for the task – essentially a compost crock with biodegradable bag insert.
I have to laugh a little when I see these scrap holder containers with tightly fitting lids and carbon filters. I’m sure they work perfectly fine – but WHY create conditions that lead to bad smells in the first place?!
If you use a fairly well-ventilated system, and add some bulky, absorbent ‘bedding’ types of materials at the bottom, and interspersed throughout, you shouldn’t end up with odor issues. My favorite bedding material is shredded egg carton cardboard – it is VERY absorbent and easier to work with (shred etc) than corrugated cardboard (another worm favorite). I try to remember to add a handful of it each time I start up a new scrap bag.
So that is pretty much it, Melanie – the real secret is providing ventilation, and including absorbent, carbon-rich bedding materials along with the food waste!
Hope this helps.
8)
