 |
| Photo Credit |
Take coffee grounds for example... I drink my java, dump the coffee grounds onto a plate or pan to be dried, the grounds are then "fed" to my red worms or they go into the big outside composter for the earthworms, and they use it as fuel to make castings which is worked into the soil for nutrients to grow more things.
The coffee when brewed is typically acidic, but because the acid is water soluble, most of it is removed in the brewing process. The pH balance of the grounds is closer to neutral and therefore fine to use with your redworms. In fact, it's a good source of nitrogen for them. And they love it!
Egg shells are another example. Lately I've started saving some of my egg shells and drying them in my Excalibur dehydrator for a couple of hours (along with the coffee grounds to dry them out).
Next, I put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them up as fine as I can.
These are then sprinkled over the contents in the composter and the worms process it like the coffee grounds. The calcium from the shells provides nutrients, but also acts as a buffer if conditions in the bin are getting too acidic. Supposedly it also helps in reproduction for the red worms. Eventually it gets converted to castings and goes into the garden.
The chickens get nourishment from things in the soil, either plants or insects, I eat the eggs the chickens produce, the shells from the eggs go to nourish the worms, and the worms create more nourishment for the soil.
 |
| Photo Credit |
It's a beautiful world.
And now you have two new treats to feed your red worms!
Love composting! Vermiculture is a great way too! Today I'm giving a Composting seminar to a Daisy troop too! :)
ReplyDeleteI already consume and add these things to my com-poster. I just recently added red worms. They are an amazing addition to any garden. Thank you for pointing out in the article the fact that you get to see the cycle of life. It is something that amazes me every day! So much so that I now refer to the compost's final products as "black gold" It really helps our sandy yard become a garden of eating!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really want to start composting. I need to build a composting bin or bins. What do you use? Do you use the finished composted dirt for seeds and plants?
ReplyDeleteLeslie, have fun with the daisy troop! I'm sure you'll do a great job.
ReplyDeleteSusy, I have a post on how I set up my compost bin - just look under "gardening" in my older posts in the right sidebar.
You're using an electric dehydrator to dry coffee grounds and egg shells before giving them to the worms? It seems counterproductive to use grid power in order to sustainably compost some things. Maybe there is another (unpowered) way?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you dry the coffee grounds & egg shells beforehand?
ReplyDeleteRed worms love rabbit manure. So consider rabbits into the equation. Their manure can be put directly into the garden but the worms love to dine on it. I raise American Chinchilla Rabbits a rabbit listed on The American Livestock Breed Conservancy list as critical.
ReplyDeleteI save my egg shell and when I notice the hens egg shell is thinning I crush the egg shells and feed them back to the hens. They love them.
This truth of the circle of life NEVER ceases to amaze me...like you, the more I learn, the more I am so completely amazed by God's creations.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful world indeed.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I have a question,how do you get the castings or compost without disturbing the worms? Do you start the worms in a new home or what. Blessings jane
ReplyDeletejimmycrackedcorn - True, I am using electricity. I haven't always done it this way... I use to just lay it all out on trays and air dry them, and I can still do that if necessary. However, I had stuff everywhere and it took a lot longer; as long as I'm only using a low wattage appliance for a short time, I don't feel too bad about that. I can always go back to air drying if necessary, so it's not a cycle that is DEPENDENT on the electricity - just convenient. Perhaps this summer when it's dry outside again, I'll go back to it, but we've had so much rain and moisture lately that the dehydrator was quicker and easier. ( I have one of those gadgets that measure wattage/usage and I have been thinking I should plug it into the appliance to confirm it's low wattage usage.)
ReplyDeleteJennifer, the eggs crush much easier when dry and the dry coffee grounds help balance out the moisture if the bin materials get too wet. When that happens, I just adds some coffee to help counter the wet.
Jane, you can sift through it a bit, or I've heard people start putting their scraps at one end of the bin and allow some time for the worms to work their way over to that side to eat and then you can harvest the castings from the other side. This is something I need to look into further. A lot of people opt for the "professional" tiered worm composters because the stacked model encourages the worms to work their way up; that way you only harvest castings from the lower trays when the worms are done. But you're talking over $100 as compared to an $8 project.
We crush our eggshells and put them in with the chicken feed. They love it! and the calcium helps strengthen their shells. I guess you could rotate between giving the crushed shells to the chickens and the compost!
ReplyDeleteAmy, gosh we love your blog! You always give such great info... and now we're hoping to move into a country setting and all of this is exactly what we need to know. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAll my worms died because it got too hot here in Florida. My SO won't let me bring the bin into the house. I miss having a worm bin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea of using the dehydrator for egg shells. I have always put them in the composter after a simple crushing, but they take forever to break down, and of course still appear, when the compost is ready. I will definitely give that a try. I am now on the way to learn more about red worms ~ :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, it is a beautiful world. I agree - the eggs crush MUCH easier when dry. The crushed shells are good for tomatoes too - prevents end blossom rot.
ReplyDeleteStaci
Staci, I hadn't thought of the egg shells for the tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited, I just got a worm composter. My sister gave it to me, since she gives her scraps to the chickens. I just need to get some worms. I appreciate the advice on coffee grounds. My sister said NO COFFEE (I like my coffee:).
ReplyDeleteOur job corps students are building a compost bin to teach our students about composting. We got the idea from a job corps in Washington that has a group of students called the "Verminators." They go to other schools and teach them about composting and will even build bins for them. It is a great program. Hope we can get ours up and running.
What memories...I grew up with a "compost pile"...in suburban Orange County! My dad was such a rebel! ;}
ReplyDeletem ^..^
Do you have a post for how to get started? I want to start growing worms to feed our chickens next winter when bugs are scarce. Did you buy worms to start or does your soil naturally have them? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh, we crush our egg shells and feed to the chickens too. It's my 5 year old son's job to smash them up w/o getting any outside the bowl! He does pretty good most of the time.
Kelly, you'll find more here:
ReplyDeletehttp://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/03/vermiculture-getting-started.html
Great post! I really want to start composting. I need to build a composting bin or bins. What do you use? Do you use the finished composted dirt for seeds and plants?
ReplyDelete