June 28, 2010
Outdoor Vermiponics-06-28-10
I just wanted to provide a quick update on my outdoor vermiponics system. Things have been coming along quite nicely, and the rainy weather we’ve been receiving as of late certainly hasn’t hurt!
What’s funny is that I still have not even turned on the pump, nor put the white plastic sheet over top. The wet weather and relatively moderate (not scorching hot, that is) temperatures have allowed me to procrastinate a bit longer. I do plan to get things going “officially” this week though.
As you can see, the basil plants are doing quite well. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the tomato plant. It has not grown all that much, and the leaves are starting to brown in places, so I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s not going to do all that well. I have a bit of a back up plan in mind, should I need to remove the tomato, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!
I have been watering the bed manually with a watering can (when it hasn’t been pouring rain), and sprinkled some alpaca “pebbles” over the top to provide some initial slow-release fertilizer for the plants and some food for the worms. Speaking of worms – I still have not really added any to speak of. There have certainly been some in materials that have been added though (namely, in the gravel from my first system, and in some compost ecosystem material I added recently) – and I will likely just let them grow in number on their own.
Anyway, that’s basically it for now! I will likely provide another update sometime in July.
Stay tuned!
8)
Tax Rebates for Vermicomposting?
I KNEW that India was much more on the ball (than North America) in terms of their widespread use of vermicomposting, but this definitely takes the cake!
This article, from “The Times of India”, is yet another of (roving RWC correspondent) Barb V’s great finds. Here is a blurb:
“The 100 families in our society produce about 50 kilogram of wet waste every day. Instead of dumping it in the garbage bins, we dispose it in the vermicomposting pit made in our society and produce manure out of it. It is our duty to manage the waste, not the responsibility of the municipal corporation,”said Jyotsna Chowdhury, a resident of Woodland Harmony housing society. The project is not really difficult. It just needs to be run and supervised meticulously, she added.
“In our township, about 60 kilogram of wet waste is generated per day. We compost the waste in our vermicomposting plant and every three months, it produces 600 kilogram of manure. We followed the corporation’s order that the housing societies should take care of the wet waste on their own. We are trying to do our bit for the environment,”said Sunatra Pandhare, chairman of Gajanan (B) society. She said the residents were awarded a rebate of five per cent in municipal tax for implementing the vermiculture project.
Here is a link to the full article: “900 Societies Decomposing Waste”
I can ONLY IMAGINE how much more money I would be sinking into my vermicomposting projects if I knew I could get a tax rebate!
Next on my To Do list – convince my wife that we need to move to India!
😆