Organic Needle

Vermicomposting Battle Number Three: Making the Mitey Fall

Posted by organicneedle in worms

That stern “hungry robin” talk I had with my worms before departing for vacation must have worked. They managed to NOT invite every fruit fly in the neighborhood in for a quick egg lay, but they did seem to make some new friends. The mites. If it looks like someone spilled a container of mustard seeds in your bin…and you are fairly certain no one is in fact sneaking into your bathroom in the middle of the night and spicing your worms…then you have mites. Fortunately for us, we fully expected a full entomological safari to be taking place in the bathroom so a few mites seemed like easy pickens.

So how did we manage to rid the bin of the mites? Ask nicely and I may tell you. A little nicer. Well…you don’t have to be pushy about it. Okay…here is our trick. Conventionally you mix the shredded paper throughout and moisten it. We do this and add a layer of completely dry shredded paper to the the top as well. A little mixed in seems to help with absorbing the worm tea, and the the dry on top helps absorb the condensation because, I may have mentioned,…NY is a tad muggy. This top layer method also helps with the unwanted critters by covering the smell of the food a little better. The bonus of all of this is that the mites, being the snobs they are, seem to like to live in the penthouse of the worm bin, the upper layers of paper. We simply go in once a week and peel away the infected layers. Bye bye elitist arachnids. (Extra bonus…the fruit flies like to lay their eggs in this layer too.) I have read that a melon rind on top will also attract the mites but we don’t really want to attract any newcomers, so we’re sticking with this. Yes…the paper goes in the garbage which isn’t ideal, but it allows us to have a very healthy worm population without the out of control extra gross populations. Just in case you are a mite sympathizer…here is a head shot.

Vermicomposting Battle Number 2: Worm & Man Verses The Elements

Posted by organicneedle in worms

So you are thinking of starting your own worm bin, are ya? You’ve read all the books, chatted up Bentley, fondled your neighbors compost and eyed their tomatoes enviously? Well…let me tell you something. They are a lot of work. Just when we semi-eradicated the fruit fly population we got hit with a massive heat wave here in NY. Now I was under the misguided impression that worms like it hot. I guess I bought me some artic worms because they totally freaked out. The morning after the first day I found about ten dried up worms on the bathroom floor. I opened the lid to find the rest of them in a pile under the lid, stepping on each other’s heads/asses to get out. Being the genius that I am…I didn’t put the 100 degree day together with the mass exodus. After spreading them out and giving them a firm talking to,( I may or may not have mentioned the robins), I popped the lid back on and assumed that would be the end of such behavior. Next day ol’ Needle pops in for her 30 seconds of alone time. More carnage. Now the light bulb flickered. Just maybe, just maybe it has to do with the 100+ heat days? Opened the lid and there were my little guys once again disobeying orders and trying to flee. Now I did the reg. check for odd smells, molds, weird bugs etc. to see if something else was driving them away. They all looked healthy…stampeding, but healthy. Time for some thinking. Run the air conditioner 24/7? Not good. Hire 1000 individual worm fanners? No room. Ahhhhhh. I could dig little tunnels in between the soil and rotting veggies to give them some place to go to cool off . Although it is clearly the lamest of the three options, it worked. Sure enough…the next day no dead worms. I opened the lid and they were all grooving in their new hallways. (I guess we will need a wormbin hall monitor for the summer.)  Was it a fluke? Perhaps. The heat wave ended the next day so I had no longterm trial..but since I am an egomaniac I will assume I am their hero for saving all of their lives. If I listen reeeeeaally hard at night I swear I can hear them chanting my name.

Vermicomposting Battle Number One: Man Verses Fruit Fly

Posted by organicneedle in projects, worms

I have said it before people…but it needs to be said everyday to everyone you know…and loudly… Fruit Flies Are EVIL. Any fly sympathizers out there need to read my tale of woe and victory and they too will understand and find themselves warning passing strangers. Here it is. When we went away for a week and left the worms unattended we had no idea what trouble they would attract. I, fortunately, had moved the worm bin into the bathroom for the week for fear that some uneaten goodies might pick up a stink I would not want permeating into my bedroom. Nothing puts hubby in the mood like a little rotting onion/fermented bean combo. Thank goodness I did because when we returned it was like that scene from Amityville Horror House…but with tiny fruit flies. My husband decided to take control of the situation and go at them with a weapon seldom seen chosen by our fiercest warriors…Method All Purpose Spray with a very manly cucumber scent…the strongest cleaner we keep on hand. After he burned through about half my supply I gently suggested that plain water would probably also take the beasts down. (I say gently because by this point my otherwise scholarly husband had taken on the appearance of Rambo…only instead of a machete he had holstered the Method squirt bottle and started murmuring something about taking my EEEEEEEiiiiidooooos for a ride to the country.) Once he eliminated the airborne we decided, bravely, to investigate the actual bin and see if our worms had survived the onslaught. Good news…the worms not only survived, but looked like they took the week of privacy to get their love on. Population booming in worm town. Anyhow…back to the evilness of flies. I warn anyone eating their lunch to turn away for a moment. Gross Alert. In addition to the fruit fly nymphs desperately trying to get out of the way of the dust buster my husband was now wielding, we noticed tiny little grains of rice everywhere. That’s funny…I don’t remember adding rice to the compost….ever. Oh…and rice doesn’t quite move does it? That’s right people…our bin was infested with fruit fly larvae. Yummy. Now with turned stomaches…but determined hearts, we set about rescuing our bin. First we removed the entire newspaper layer off the top…making sure no worker worms were caught catching a siesta. Next we got one of the boys tiny beach shovels and began the process of scooping out writhing piles of fly maggots, sorting through each scoop to make sure there were no worm egg pods or worms in the mix and heaving them into an old plastic bag. It took about an hour to go through the whole bin and we lost some of the hard earned worm poop…but it was a major victory in the history of vermicomposters verses fruit flies. And for worms everywhere. (I don’t know who he was fooling with all the tough talk about evicting the worms….you never saw any man search more throughly or gently to make sure each worm made it safely back into the bin. I swear if I weren’t looking he would have sung each one a comforting little ditty and offered tummy rubs.)

Now don’t get me wrong, we still get the occasional fruit fly. For that we are doing the ol’ wine/soap combo trap. Simply place a little wine or vinegar in the bottom of a dish with a few squirts of dish soap. The evil doers fly in for happy hour and don’t make it out. Diabolical…perhaps…but it keeps them from doing it in my worm bin. When worms get freaky…cool. When flies do it…gross.

What Brings the People to ME!

Posted by organicneedle in blogtastic, worms

What is it about my little blog that brings forth the masses…okay how about the few and the proud? The few and the bored? Give me something people. I know some of you are reading because I, being the tech whiz that I am, okay being married to a uber techie, have a tracker. A long time ago Burbanmom wrote about some of the funny things she found in her tracking and I, seriously having no original thought of my own for today, decided to steal the concept and look through my own list and pick my “award winning” fave five. (Give me a break…my husband is out of town for the week and I’m lucky if I get time to pee and brush my teeth in the same day. Choices…choices. Being the classy lady of mystery that I am….I shall leave you hanging as to which area got the attention it deserved.)

Bitch seems to be the most popular. When people are looking for bitch they just seem to find me. I should be more reflective on that…but one can’t read too much into their search trackings, now can they? So shut up and read the next friken line.

I’ve Got Worms comes up a lot…but I don’t think people are searching for composting advice. (My worms are totally out of control, by the way…more on that next week.)

Teen Jean Snack…what the F***? Who the hell is reading this blog?

Gerbil’s Butt…Maybe I don’t want to know.

And the award goes to……………..

Mold in My BOX Come clean…which one of you fine ladies was brought to my blog through this one? We won’t judge… much. (Although search topic number one serves as its own disclaimer.)

What I Learned on My Spring Vacation by Organic Needle

Posted by organicneedle in family, recycling, worms

I’m back. It was a great vacation. My 4 year old learned to swim on his own. My 2 year old learned about half the English language. My husband got nice and toasty brown. I remained white and pure as the driven snow. (Okay, 1/2 that statement is true. I will let you decide which half.) We all got to spend time with my brother and his surprisingly normal family. A rather successful vacation. The teacher in me feels compelled to report on what little tidbits I learned…even though I tried really hard not to use my brain all week.

Jetblue recycles 70% of the garbage they collect on the plane. Cool beans. (More on Jetblue tomorrow.)

Worms need supervision or they will invite every fruit fly in the neighborhood over. (Oh…and fruit flies are evil. Very evil. More on this later in the week as well.)

Bloomberg’s policies to squash public smoking rock. I forget how absolutely foul it is to have people blowing toxins all over you. Florida is filled with smokers and there are ashtrays everywhere. Yuck. Thank you Mr. Mayor! (There may be more on his anti-fat policies too…if I am feeling researchy later in the week.)

I really like my family…even my smelly brother who resides there.

Whole Foods is criminal in their pricing when they do not have competition. Their prices were about 2x as high in FL as they are in NYC. When you come to NYC to get a bargain…something is shady. Very shady.

Old people DO drive reeeeeeeallllllly sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooowly. And apparently enjoy themselves a little adult entertainment. Strip clubs,adult toy shops, and arthritis centers aplenty. Geriatric G-String anyone? (No more on that later in the week…I promise.)

Thanks Worm Man

Posted by organicneedle in blogtastic, projects, recycling, worms

Having worms isn’t as glamorous as they make it out to be people! It turns out my worms are a liiiiiiiiittle on the lazy side. My bin started growing a lot of white fluffy mold and I wasn’t seeing a whole lot of the food magically turning into worm poop. I guess my expectations were a bit high. So…worried that my little Eeeeeeedooooos were in peril I contacted the worm superhero Bentley at Redwormcoposting.com and he in no time at all reassured me that my little guys were probably just fine. Here is my letter and his very fast, very helpful response which he posted on his blog earlier this week.

This question comes from a vermicomposting beginner, wondering how best to deal with an overfed bin.

I am a newbie and way overfed my worms. Can I just leave
them alone for a few weeks and let them work it out or do I need to
clean out their whole bin and start over? They seem to be enjoying
themselves, but I am worried about the white fuzzy mold growing on the
food they haven’t gotten to yet. It is only slightly musky
smelling…for now.

This is a great question, and deals with a problem I’m sure MANY worm composting newcomers encounter.
You never mentioned how you knew you had overfed your worms though. The fact that they are still “enjoying themselves” seems to indicate that all is still ok. That being said, it is always much better to err on the side of caution when concerned about the health of the bin.

I will assume that the presence of large amounts of unprocessed (now covered in fungi) food is what tipped you off. Indeed, this is a good indication of an overfed bin. If you see that the worms are not even coming close to processing everything that is being added then it’s definitely time to ease off with the feeding. I’d recommend either adding new wastes to an outdoor composter or some sort of food scrap holder (a bucket with bedding in it works great) in the meantime, if at all possible.

You definitely don’t need to completely start over - especially given the fact that the worms are still happy. I would recommend adding a decent amount of fresh bedding to the bin then simply letting it sit for as long as it takes for the food materials inside to be broken down. Once it looks like the worms have processed most of the wastes you can start adding new materials (slowly) again.

The musty bin odour you described is also another indication that the bin is still in OK shape - if you smelled some really foul odours it would likely be an indication of all the excess waste materials going anaerobic.

Anyway - hope this helps!

It sure does Worm Man! I strongly recommend reading through his site if you are interested in starting your own vermi love affair. He has a lot of great information. Hmmmm. I should ask him about the “hungry robin coming to the door” motivational technique I have been using.