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vermicomposting

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Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 9:41 am Post subject: vermicomposting
Is vermicomposting able to deal with any waste that I wouldn't normally put in the compost bin? In other words is it worth building one to reduce the amount of waste I send to landfill?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 10:28 am Post subject:

Not really.
IMHO another way of dealing with the same types of waste.
The end product is very different though.
Compost is good for bulking up organic deficient soil.
Vermicompost is more concentrated & complex.
Plus if successful you have a surplus of worms & worm cysts to add to the soil as well as casts (vermicompost).
Or if your soil is already worm rich a useful protein treat for your hens.

This PDF is about the best resource I've found online.
It's about farm scale vermiculture but everything can be scaled up or down.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 10:35 am Post subject:
My ordinary plastic "Dalek" compost bin teems with worms and I assumed all compost bins did, but maybe I'm a vermicomposter without knowing it? Sounds posh .

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 10:46 am Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

Not really.

pity,I'm trying to find something to deal with the cooked and meat waste from the kitchen. I tried bokashi but that, while it worked, was too much hassle and somewhat temperamental.

TTouch Homestead

Joined: 13 Oct 2011
Posts: 703
Location: Cardigan, West Wales

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 10:48 am Post subject:
Take a look at the jora composter. According to their site it deals with cooked, but looks like an insulated rotating bin to be honest. We have one, but I really don't use it enough, as it is too far away from the house to be convenient and I am a lazy mare when it is cold/wet!

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 10:58 am Post subject:

JB wrote:

Tavascarow wrote:

Not really.

pity,I'm trying to find something to deal with the cooked and meat waste from the kitchen. I tried bokashi but that, while it worked, was too much hassle and somewhat temperamental.

Easiest option: Don't generate waste - eat what you buy/cook. Failing that, cooked veg matter can go in the normal compost bin, which only really leaves meat waste. I put bones out for the foxes, but if you don't like that idea or don't have foxes handy, bones can be burnt, buried (deep) or go to landfill. Waste fat is trickiest to deal with I suppose. I don't generate much and I put it in the landfill bin, but you could make fat balls for the birds, soap or cosmetics with it.

Finsky

Joined: 10 Sep 2011
Posts: 847
Location: Notts.

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 11:09 am Post subject:

I've got Mary Appelhof's book "worms eat my garbage"..and there is description how to deal with meat and bone waste in wormery.
It is not recommended in big quantities..but small amounts of 'dinner waste that are chopped/broken/minced into smaller pieces can be dealt with in wormery as long as the wormery is working well. It might be problem during winter unless bin is kept in warmer place and worms are active.
Personally I would not put into any meat waste into wormery. Mine tends to deal with veg waste quite quickly so the contents have good turn over...animal waste would need more time.
But..I've put odd dead bird or other things into compost bin..dug them deep and left them be for long while when I've not been in hurry with using the contents.
You could always burn bones etc..and resulting ashes are fine to put into ground.

TTouch Homestead

Joined: 13 Oct 2011
Posts: 703
Location: Cardigan, West Wales

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 12:13 pm Post subject:
Also just found these guys who state cooked and raw... https://www.ridan.co.uk/homepage/

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 12:32 pm Post subject:

marigold wrote:

Easiest option: Don't generate waste - eat what you buy/cook.

Try telling that to a three year old (and for that matter Mrs JB)!

Quote:

I put bones out for the foxes ...

and rats and every other vermin and I'm not sure the chickens would appreciate my enticing foxes into the garden.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 1:20 pm Post subject:

Funny isn't it, that single households are regarded as bad for the environment because we don't share facilities, but no account it taken of the fact that we generate so much less waste than families!

Obviously you wouldn't want to attract foxes if you have chickens, though if the birds are securely housed they should be safe enough. Where I live the foxes live two gardens away and will visit anyway. If they were destroyed, others would come into the territory. I put waste out for them at dusk and they scoff it within the hour. Our foxes get very little human food since we got the wheelie bins and as they eat rats I reckon they are more useful than not in an urban garden. Cats kill the mice, dunno what the magpies and seagulls eat, but I can't think of any other vermin that is likely to invade my garden in the short time the bones are out there.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46211
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 12 8:16 pm Post subject:
in a well maintained heap a few bits of animal waste are fine and will join the soil very rapidly a mixture tub is another option

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