Riding for Red Wrigglers

[iwasjustjoshin]

Hello Steemians,
If you like to Garden, you’re probably already ok with a bit of dirt here and there, I encourage you to check out Vermicomposting!

I started Vermicomposting about two years ago when I found out the local council was getting people set up with a compost bin, bedding and a pound of red wrigglers for $25. I have had it out on my balcony since then, I feed the worms my garbage, who in turn provide me with their castings which I mix through the soil to fertilize my plants. My own little ecosystem. I love gardening and this provides me with healthier plants while reducing my waste and feeds the worms- everyone’s a winner!

I recently took a Holiday and was gone for 5 weeks. Well, things got a little dry in my compost bin and when I came back there was very little activity going on so yesterday I got out my bike and rode to Burnaby to pick up a pound of worms and reinvigorate my compost.
But first, a ride to Robert Burnaby Park to pick some Blackberries. I bought a container with me for that exact reason, Late summer, Vancouver is bursting with Berries. Mostly blackberries but you can find an occasional Blueberry bush. I barely scratched the surface and gathered more than enough to keep me busy in around 20 minutes.

Blackberries stowed I found my way over and picked up my wrigglers. A quick search earlier in the day was all it took to find www.burnabyredwrigglers.com The friendly man I spoke with was totally into vermicomposting, super knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions I had.
Now for the nitty gritty. Like anything, you can go as in depth into a subject as you like but I like to keep it simple. A 50/50 mix of green matter (veg scraps, tea bags, egg shells ect.) and brown matter (shredded newspaper, dead leaves, straw) Keep it moist, keep it dark, turn the compost once a week. Feeding kinda depends on your population (they can double their size in ideal conditions within a few months) but once a week/fortnight and you harvest in 1 – 3 months. It requires a little maintenance but it’s not crazy. In fact, for the most part you want to leave them alone to work their ah…magic. And the rewards are great. You reduce your waste, produce compost to fertilize your plants and give to friends and your gardening endeavours will produce healthier, stronger plants.

Now what to do with the Blackberries?

Comments

[bitcointycoon]

We used to have wild blackberries that grew in our backyard when I was a kid. I loved going back and just eating all of the ripe ones! This year I tried to grow a blackberry bush in a container on my balcony, but it didn't do well at all.

[iwasjustjoshin]

I tried a Raspberry bush this year with the exact same results :)

[bitcointycoon]

Heartbreaking, especially since I spent so much time working on it. Oh well, I learn something new every year I plant my tiny garden!

[drabs]

Do you ever hunt for your own wrigglers? I wonder if they are easy to breed

[iwasjustjoshin]

The only thing I've heard about trying to find your own worms is you have to be careful you have the right species. If you find burrowing worms I think they're called, which are pretty common, they have different requirements and it won't work. And yeah with the right conditions, they will breed.

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