It has been three months ago now since I have started my own worm compost little factory at the house. I wrote about it in this post and also in this other post I haven given some updates about 6 weeks later on how everything was going.
Now three months later in total I can just ell you I can extremely happy with how this going and all of this is working. YAY!!
For the readers who think I have gone absolutely mental (yeah I understand it, why else would you hold worms as some pets), there is an eco reason on why using worms in the garden for getting the whole compost game right.
The idea is that you have enough food scraps and enough leaves from the garden that the worms have a proper mail from it. Do nothing for a couple of weeks, and presto...All of a sudden there is compost which is perfectly usable in the garden or in the allotment while is super nutrient rich and helps the ecosystem in the growing area.
And yes..I have started using the leftover poo
The idea is that the worms eat the scraps and that they leave poo from that food and that is the part that you use. But also parts that are not fully digested by the worms as yet as just decomposing and that is also perfect for in the garden.
So my green food scraps disappear in there and as you can see that also means egg shells for the calcium in the ground, they don't fall apart that fast but it is still good stuff. Those are also the eggs from the chickens that I take take off...see how circular the process is?
But I also use old toilet paper rolls for instance for the cardboard, that also helps with the waste management. Everything counts.
Now three months later I have had two bacthes of compost which is ready to use for in the harden. Those badges are about 3 liters each and I bury them in the ground of the allotment and also smear them out through the rest of the soil.
But the best part I find is just not have the food waste anymore. It also shrinks in size ofcourse because of the moist going out, but I can say that I have used already at least 10 kilo of foodscraps that I otherwise would toss out in the garden which also stinks like hell. That's a cool way to do something usefull with your waste I would say.
Also now it is autumn and the abundance of leaves is falling from the trees I can also use a part of these leaves to feed the worms. You can't use the leaves that dry, but they blend into the rest as well so you don't have to do anything else with them.
And don't forget the worm tea!
In this last batch the worms have produced a crapload of worm tea, which you can also use as fertilizer on a 1 on 10 mixture. This is the most rich fluid for stuff to grow, but I can not guarantee that I don't have a couple of drowned crawly victims in there as well.
Everytime I take a badge of compost I try to peel the worms out of there. They don't like daylight and the process of moving so you can see that they play dead for a bit, or they try to run for a safe space. They also run towards the wrong container here and there I think.
But these guys multiply like rabbits and this autumn they have been doing awesome business as this is their favorite working temperature between 15-20 degrees celsius.
Now it is getting colder they go into a bit of hibernation so I am curious on how the next couple of months will go. Because they are with a lot more, not I'm not sure how much they will be eating in the upcoming time.
To be continued after the winter!
The compost has a great nutritional contribution to our plants, it is good that you prepared it and this way you get rid of the leftover food.
And easy to do, so a big win-win!
My husband used to do that too and I don't like seeing a lot of earthworms.
Hahaha I am also not a big fan of seeing them too much, but these guys are in a container and like living in the dark... So not much seeing of them I have to say
But when you need to remove them from the animal manure you will see them
Not even though!. You put the container when them inside on top with the lid open. They don't like the light and will crawl down to the container underneith. Easy right :D
I see not the same way as my husband did
@karinxxl Hello I love that you make your own compost. with the Californian worms. My way of doing it is to put soil, food waste, sawdust dry leaves, soil the waste and so on, this way it doesn't smell bad when it decomposes.
Smart one on already adding soil in there. Then you already get a good mixture in there as well, I might also start doing this. Yeah adding the leaves on top really helps with the smell (and little flies) I am noticing
@karinxxl This way you don't have flies, nor will it smell bad, you also have to keep in mind that the waste is vegetable shells, eggshells, coffee, vegetable leaves. No chicken, meat, fish, cooked rice, nothing like that. I guess, you know, it's not wrong to say it anyway- Thanks for your blog. A hug, after a while you remove the compost.
It's great to make your own compost but worms ick me haha 🤣 but I do understand the appeal of making our own compost.
Hahah the good thing is that you dont really have to deal a lot with the worms themselves. They always live in the more densed part of the stuff and not really when you toss the food on top. Better said...I hardly ever see them, only when I am letting them move in another container when the harvest starts.
Warning: Worm Tea is not for human consumption lol.
I attempted making my own compost when I was still living on this island - it was unsuccessful. It was all really eeky with white worms or maggots I think and gross stuff ha ha ha. Not that kind of compost!
It expect it was too warm over there. Then the rotting already happens before the worms get their dinner. Totally yuk!!
Glad your compost did great job!
Since doing garden stuff, I am happy because no kitchen waste, like fruit skins, veggie skins, also dried leaves.
Pssst, this is from my compost
Whutttt look at this fat boy hahaha. Wow your garden is alive!
Worms look so slimy, but they are so useful, at the same time.
They could be among the most underrated creatures on earth, in terms of their valuable role in ecosystems.
They are doing good stuff in the ground to make everything grow a lot better. Winners in the ground!
Realizing that worms have great significance for humans and are very beneficial for nature.
Yes they are!
I once tried worm farming, but I failed because I neglected it. The worm bin dried out, so all the worms died. LOL