Setting up a worm compost bin is something most anyone can do in the comfort of their own home without the smell of rotting garbage or attracting numerous flies while producing either vermicast (worm castings) or vermicompost (a combination of worm castings and partially decomposed organic matter)..
Across the country and the globe, weather has raised havoc on some areas from drought stricken areas to major flooding. This has left us with global shortages of some major crops such as corn, pumpkins, peanuts and even coffee beans. Hence the price of these products, by products such as animal feeds is soaring raising the end consumer costs on everything from vegetables, dairy products to beef.
I remember last year my wife could not even locate a can of pumpkin at Christmas time to make her pies. This year she is stocked up!
What amazes me is the fact many times the news states the high prices will remain in effect until next year’s crop.
What if next year the weather patterns remain the same or even worse?
Now being many of us are not going to be growing our own peanuts or coffee beans, you can offset some of the costs by planning now to plant your own vegetable garden or container garden on your deck this coming spring.
The process of composting vegetable scraps, newspapers… takes approximately 3-4 months to complete with a worm bin unless you are utilizing a system such as the 14 Day Worm Castings. Hence to insure you have plenty of organic fertilizer for your plants this coming spring, now is the time to start your own worm bin.
I do not recommend the multi-tray worm farm systems which can cost a hundred dollars or more, but rather a simple worm bin which can be made from a Rubbermaid style bin within a matter of twenty minutes or so for around $10.00 – $15.00. A homemade system will breathe better and allow more room for burying food scraps within. The following link you can find a previous post with simple step by step directions on how to build a worm compost bin.
I was shocked this summer when I was checking on prices of tomatoes at the local grocery stores which ran on average $1.99 per pound for regular tomatoes. Organic bell peppers were selling for $4.99 each! And the entire time I was picking them daily from our garden for free…
Below is a picture taken on October 19th 2011 of a tomato plant over eleven feet tall still producing tomatoes using the Earthwormponics set up. In fact I picked the ripe one in the right hand side of the picture yesterday for my ham sandwich! I mention this as I was growing bell pepper plants and Romaine lettuce right beside the tomato plant in a five gallon bucket set up which utilizes a system with a constant drip and worms living within the rock growing medium.
Earthwormponics Tomato Plant Mid October
Based on grocery store prices, this one container saved us over $250.00 this past year alone!
The savings can then be applied towards items most of us will not be growing the primary ingredients for, i.e. coffee, peanut butter… which will most likely continue to soar for several years to come.
Hence now is the time to begin worm composting to insure you have plenty of vermicast and or vermicompost on hand for you spring plantings. To locate which worm may be best suitable for your needs, visit Organic Worm Farm where I have built a special program to help you locate the worm that is right for you!
Bruce
I am looking for a home for one of those fancy 3-tiered worm bins I’ve been using for the past 2 years. It has a very healthy, prolific population of red wigglers. I moved into a space too small to allow for this, so I’m looking to give it away (or loan it for a year or so).
Contact me with your phone number and times when you could pick it up. I’m in Brookline, in the Boston area.
I would give preference to someone who would be willing to share worms with me later when I move into a bigger place and can set up a new worm bin.
Thanks!