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Re: [GWL]: City tree lifespans/ worms

>Yes, fruit flies can be a nuisance. But many people have found ways 
>to deal with them to keep the population down to a manageable level. 
>Covering food waste deposits is a major key. One person has found 
>that placing about 20 lady bugs in his bins in the fall keeps any 
>fruit fly problem from developing.

It's convenient to keep a worm bin outside as those of you can do in 
warmer climates. An added advantage is that bins can be large enough 
to handle a considerable quantity of food waste for a family. . . 
difficult to accomplish with an inside worm bin. My current worm bin 
is a wooden bench alongside my patio; it's a piece of furniture. I 
deal with Michigan winters by insulating it and placing a 2 gal. jug 
of water with an immersion heater (bird bath heater) inside. Keeps 
the center core from freezing, and the worms stay alive and slowly 
active around this core.

The advantage is that I can continue to turn food waste into 
vermicompost all year round. I'm looking forward this spring to 
suspending some of this nutrient-rich humus in a net bag in an 
aerated bucket of water and producing vermicompost tea which I'll 
then spray on my lawn and plants. Based on samples sent to Dr. Elaine 
Ingham (http://www.soilfoodweb.com) many worm composts have been 
shown to have excellent numbers of beneficial microorganisms. . . 
bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes (beneficial). When used as a 
foliar spray coating leaves getting 70% surface coverage with 
beneficial organisms, the pathogens don't take hold and Voila! 
disease suppression without fungicides! Good compost works, too,for 
making teas, but it's more difficult for the average householder to 
get access to enough vegetative material to create really good 
compost (cubic yard minimum). With a worm bin you can get the 
inoculum and high titer of beneficials without the volume required 
for compost. Multiply the organisms by making tea, spray them within 
24 hours, and you add nutrients, generate nutrient recycling by 
adding organisms to the soil, and reduce pathogens without toxics.

Room for lots of stories here, garden writers! Let's start adding 
life back to the soil!

>Some of us don't have worm bins anymore because we got tired of 
>waving fruit flies away.  In California you can keep worm bins in 
>the garage or outdoors.  In colder portions of the country, they 
>must be in the house.  Margaret Lauterbach


Mary Appelhof
-- 
Mary Appelhof, Author of "Worms Eat My Garbage"
Flowerfield Enterprises
10332 Shaver Road
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49024 USA
PH:616-327-0108  FAX 616-327-7009
http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/wormwoman.html

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