healthykids
(worm tea) from the compost and dilute it with water to sprinkle any garden with an extra dose of natural fertilizer. Both will promote strong, healthy plants that are resistant to disease.
Our family has maintained a four- level worm bin just outside our kitchen door for five years, and for me, the hard- est part of getting started was opening the box of wigglers. Now, we have more worm castings and worm tea than I can use, so I routinely pack up the castings into resealable plastic bags, pour the tea into bottles, and use both as much- welcomed gifts.
KIDS DIG WORM COMPOSTING
Red Wigglers Turn Kitchen Scraps into Gardening Gold by Jessica Iclisoy
Y
our family loves to shop at area farmers’ markets, investigat- ing greens and other veggies to make meals bursting with vitamins and minerals. Yet, it’s not always easy rais- ing children who love to eat the fruits, veggies and salad makings you tote home. So consider mixing in a strate- gic science lesson—all you need are a few thousand wiggly worm friends to gobble up kitchen scraps; waste that would normally go into the trash and municipal landfill. For kids, worm com- posting gives food preparation a special mission: The worms must be fed! Worm composting, also known as vermiculture, produces nutrient-rich worm castings. In kid parlance, that’s “worm poop.” This organic matter pro- vides the perfect soil conditioner and organic food for plants, indoors and out. It’s also easy to harvest the liquid
A well-designed worm compos- ter is opaque and has a secure lid and ventilation holes. Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply, in Grass Valley, California, offers both a deluxe bin and inexpensive do-it-yourself worm bin kit at
GrowOrganic.com. Or, find step-by-step instructions to build your own at the educational website,
RedWormComposting.com, which also lists reputable sources for worms (the pictures alone are enough to juice kids’ interest).
Keep these tips in mind for suc- cessful composting, indoors or out:
n The best worms for composting are red wigglers. According to the Peaceful Valley company, one or two pounds of mature red worms can convert 3.5 to 7 pounds of food scraps into castings in one week.
natural awakenings April 2011 33
n Newspaper provides cover. Shred or tear old newspapers into strips and place a fluffy layer on top to cover food scraps and discourage flies. Also use paper on the bottom to provide bedding for the worms.
n Keep the worm bin moist. Periodic spritzing with a spray bottle or fine mist from the hose will keep wigglers mois- turized and on the move.
n Worms prefer a vegetarian diet; so don’t add cheese or meat scraps to the compost pile. Do feel free to toss in cereal, grains and rinsed, crushed egg- shells. If possible, chop up all vegetable waste prior to adding it to your bin to speed up the composting process.
Jessica Iclisoy, the founder of California Baby natural baby care products, writes about natural living and backyard organic gardening in Beverly Hills, CA. She also maintains two worm bins and three composters. Connect at Jessica@
CaliforniaBaby.com.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72