Dirt – The Movie
Great 90 minute movie about soil and dirt in all its many dimensions. Redworms are mentioned 5 minutes from the end.
Add comment January 11th, 2011
Last post
From me, at least. For a while.
While I have plenty more to say about the wonders of vermicomposting, I am afraid that I just don’t have the time to do this blog justice anymore. However, this blog will stay up for a long time.
I’ve invited a co-blogger, and hopefully he will continue to write about his experiences as he gets a home worm composting setup up and running. If anyone from the Denver metro area wants to do a guest post, please contact me.
I also have have removed the newsletter signup page, since I won’t be sending those out anymore.
Thanks for reading, commenting, and sending me email. I’ve learned a tremendous amount over the past two years.
Dan Moore
Add comment October 18th, 2010
Composting Dog Poop
A long time ago, I interviewed a friend on vermicomposting dog and cat waste. I recently found this useful article on composting dog waste from a couple of Alaska government agencies.
It includes tidbits like:
Composting can reduce the volume of dog waste by 50 percent.
and:
REMEMBER—It takes at least 10 dogs, preferably 20, to generate enough waste to maintain a bin.
Hot composting is one great way to take care of dog waste. And this 11 page document certainly takes you through a lot of the complexities, so if you have a lot of dogs or access to large amount of dog waste, you probably want to take a read.
Add comment October 5th, 2010
Industrial scale worm composting in Australia
I recently received an emailed question from Steve:
[I] need info on setting up worm on industrial scale for [the] shire I work for please.
And I answered:
I’ve never set up an industrial scale worm farm.
You probably want to talk to these folks:
http://www.tat-g.com.au/
The folks at Tat-G Corp appear to have a number of industrial scale vermicomposting systems. They actually have a local partner, Waste Farmers out of Denver.
Add comment September 25th, 2010
Worm composting in Pepsi Refresh Contest
Michael Walker, from Manning, South Carolina, has an interesting entry in the Pepsi Refresh challenge (here’s how it works–basically, they’re looking for great non profit ideas to help the world).
Michael pinged me, asking for votes and feedback. I gave him the following feedback:
- Have you talked to any local organic farmers to find out if they would want vermicompost, how much, and what standards they’d need it to meet?
- What is the point of the solar panels? To warm the bins? To cool the bins?
- What bins are you buying that cost $8500? The Colorado Worm Guy (another person it’d be great for you to ask questions of, his name is John Anderson) uses fridges, which he gets for free. See http://bouldervermicomposting.com/2009/06/a-visit-to-john-andersons-worm-farm/ for examples.
- Setting up long term collection of food waste is key. Who are you reaching out to to solve this problem? See this post by another great worm farmer about restaurant waste: http://www.redwormcomposting.com/large-scale-vermicomposting/restaurant-vermicomposting-post-mortem/
- What kind of volumes are you expecting?
You also should read the book “Raising Earthworms for Profit: A Multi-Million Dollar Market” by Earl Shields. I got a copy of that from the library–very illuminating. It’s a bit off topic for you (because his focus is raising earthworms, not vermicompost) but will still have useful information about keeping industrial numbers of worms happy.
Michael responded:
I’m not initially looking to sell the vermicompost, but initially use it in selected community projects. Along with my garden project at work.
The solar panels are used to heat and cool the building that houses the worm bins and power the bins themselves.
I priced a industrial worm bin from worm wigwam that’s 5′x16′. I know I could do it cheaper (and if I was paying out of my pocket I would), but I’m highlighting convenience and commercial expertise in the field already.
I’ve talked with two local grocery managers, who are willing to supply old produce. I’m in a small town and am certain to get help from the local school districts also.
So it sounds like he has put some thought into this project. If you’re interested in promoting vermicomposting and vermiculture, go give his proposal a read, and then register and vote for it. I just did, and it was fairly painless (they just want name, email and your birthday).
2 comments September 14th, 2010
New poster
We have a new writer! Peter from Organnex is planning to embark on some home worm composting, and will be posting on this blog, sharing his experiences.
Add comment September 14th, 2010
Free worms–well, almost free worms
Via the Fort Collins worm exchange list, I came across this offer from John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Man (whose website is currently down).
Now, on the one hand, 3 hours of your time, especially if you need to drive to Fort Collins from elsewhere, can be more expensive than just buying the worms yourself. But, on the other hand, you get the chance to ask John questions, see how a large scale operation works, and head home with a batch of worms for your self. When I toured his worm farm a year ago, it was quite eye opening.
If you’re thinking about keeping worms and have some time, and if Fort Collins isn’t too far away, you should contact John (cowormman at Juno dot com) and see about setting up a three hour learning experience.
2 comments August 30th, 2010
John Anderson has a new site
I just saw John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Guy, at the Colorado Permaculture Convergence today, and he let me know that he has a new site. It’s cowormman.org. Make sure you visit and check out all the information he has.
1 comment August 22nd, 2010
Q and A: So you’re ready to buy worms?
I recently had a question from a reader, Laura:
I have enjoyed your newsletter for about three months. It has been very helpful, and now i am ready to get some of my own. I don’t know if this is the correct area for questions, but I would like to purchase my worms locally. Meaning, I don’t want them shipped. Do you have any ideas that I have overlooked? I am in Denver, Colorado. I can travel to Boulder, no problem. please let me know what my next step would be. I have a proper home ready, just want them local.
I responded:
I’m so glad that you’re ready to strike out on your own and try some worm composting. The first thing I would suggest is to go to your library and check out a copy of ‘Worms Eat My Garbage’ by Mary Appelhof. It was very helpful to me as I started my worm keeping. (Or you could buy it, if you wanted to.) Then, I’d go here [to a list of Colorado redworm vendors].
And call around to see which vendor has the best price and the easiest pick up for you. If you find one that you like, or one you don’t like, or one that is not on the list, please let me know so I can update the list!
The reader ended up deciding to go with John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Man, as she had met him a number of times. She was looking for a worm club in Denver, but I’ve not heard of any “worm support groups” down there.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Add comment August 20th, 2010
Redworms in the wild
I had a call from someone who read my blog a while ago; I’m sorry, I forgot to note her name.
Her child was using redworms for a school science experiment, and had finished the experiment up. They were looking for a good home for their redworms now. In particular, she was concerned about polluting the environment with her worms.
Though this is an issue in some environments, Colorado is not one of them. I counseled her to dump her worms in the compost bin. There, they’ll either thrive, if they get enough food and the conditions are damp enough, or die, and add their nitrogen to the compost.
Add comment August 10th, 2010
