Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is exactly what is sounds like: composting with vermis, which is the Latin for worms.

I first became acquainted with vermicomposting when I started at Grow Food, Grow Hope in November 2009. One of my coworkers was attempting to vermicompost in a container he kept in his desk and usually the 1st thing he said to you after "hello" was "want to see my worms?" However, the worms jumped ship, were all over the office, and then were banned permanently.

Since that day I had a small adventure into composting with worms. In my ignorance in the nature of compost I assumed that worms were always necessary for compost and therefore dug up worms from the backyard to add to my porch compost bin (an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tub I drilled holes in and added my food scraps to). These worms of course were never seen again as they were cooked in my compost bin.

And then the research began.

Now that I have done my homework and realized that compost is SUPPOSED to get above 120 degrees to cook properly. And vermicomposting is done almost entirely by the worms and that they eat their body weight in food every day.

With that information I am ready to make compost with worms! For more information on Vermicomposting check out this great detailed website "Cathy's Crawly Composters".

And in my next post I'll show you how to make your own vermicomposter out of an old dresser drawer!

Comments

Crafting Fails

Let's be honest, sometimes things just don't go as planned. Like when you have this brilliant idea to do screen printing on the cheap and your ink runs everywhere. Ink bleeding everywhere Or when you melt the fabulous tote bag you were working on. Melted Mandala Sometimes you just have to admit that you don't know what you're doing and Google it. And that's what I do. So look out for some tutorials in the near future of things that I've probably screwed up previously and finally gave in and Googled how to do. What sort of things have you failed at recently?

DIY Mug Stencil

I wanted to do a follow-up of my previous post to show you how easy it is to use the same process on a mug. I had these great plain mugs I got for 99 cents at a local discount store and I decided they needed to say something cheeky. Boring Originals So I went ahead and created a stencil using 631. This is an example where removable vinyl or stencil material is a MUST...if you use 651 you're going to cry because the vinyl is not going to want to come off everywhere and you're just going to end up frustrated...so make sure you understand your materials before creating the stencil. Now let's talk paint, you can use oil based sharpies on your stencil, but I already had this glass and ceramic paint available (and my sharpies are all mysteriously missing). Keep in mind you CANNOT use just any paint as it will not stick to your mug. This paint is made exclusively for glass and ceramics. Then, once you're done painting you must FOLLOW THE DIR...

Shoes

Shoes Shania Twain Tell me about it... Ooh! Men. Have you ever tried to figure them out? Huh, me too, but I ain't got no clue How 'bout you? Men are like shoes Made to confuse Yeah, there's so many of 'em I don't know which ones to choose (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ah, sing it to me If you agree There's the kind made for runnin' The sneakers and the low down heels The kind that will keep you on your toes And every girl knows how that feels (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ouch, ah, sing it with me Chorus: You've got your kickers and your ropers Your everyday loafers, some that you can never find You've got your slippers and your zippers Your grabbers and your grippers Man, don't ya hate that kind? Some you wear in, some you wear out Some you wanna leave behind Sometimes you hate 'em And sometimes you love 'em I guess it all depends on which way you rub 'em But a girl can never have too many of 'em It's amazing what a little polish will do... Men ar...

(Re) Chic