Harvesting Alternatives

Seems people are really complaining about the hand sorting process which can take several long hours. One smart lady suggests adding a hardware screen over the finished vermicompost and adding new bedding material and food on top of that. The worms crawl through the hardware screencloth to get to the fresh food. If I don't want to get vermicompost instantly, then this would definately be the alternative for me.

Yet another idea would be to put everything in the bin on one half side, then put in piece of 1/4 hardware wire in the middle between the old stuff and fresh stuff. I've been reading that people like this one a lot and the remaining vermicompost has very few worms remaining in it after a time.

Still yet another idea is a hardware wire sifter! Easy enough to make.

Until next time....or the next great idea...

Worms photo album - Photobucket.com

A photo album of one very successful vermicomposter! Awesome pictures. I know now what a worm cocooons look like, and the other good creatures that will eventually make thier way into my bin. Cool beaners!

Until next time...

Worm Bin Goals

Continous worm supply plus vermicompost
Maintenance level: Medium

This will harvest fewer worm castings, but you should still have ample quantities of vermicompost to use on your house plants and garden, and enough worms to set up your bin again. About every four months you will need to prepare fresh bedding and select one of several techniques for seperating worms from vermicompost (I've opented to sperate the worms from the compost so that I can satisfy my curiosity about how many worms in pound I end up with).

Marked calander to prepare fresh bedding on the 12th of Feburary.


Worms are still crawling around bin from the shock of the new environment. Placed brighter bulb in lamp and will plan on leaving it on for 24 hours streight.

Until next time...

Rune Casting Tray

Woh-hOOo! I'm almost finished with my rune casting tray. I just want to decorate the outside of it and then seal the outside. The tray bottom was made by using crackle medium. Gold on the bottom than blue on top. Then I put a thick layer of glaze on top of all that to give it some depth and the look of a glass top. The heart symbolizes the heart of the matter being asked about.
Here is my sample casting for this week:
The upside-down runes I ignore. There are the trio of birds near the heart, and in the bottom section which is for Catylists. The double rings is way up top in the section for stability, and lastly the moon WAY off into the distance in the void which is for future outside influences.

So to interpret, a catalyst is One that precipitates (or cause to happen) a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences. So these birds signify something that is gonna happen. My notes tell me that the trio of birds carry a message of some unexpected news that may alter your life completely (eep!), particularly if this rune leads. Oye. Yah it's a lead being so close to the heart.

Next would be those rings in the upper quadrent in stability. This is the rune of love. It can also mean engagement, marriage or a new/renewed relationship about to emerge, sometimes speaking of the need to refresh and find a new approuch in an existing partnership. Huh...very interesting.

Last, but curtainly not least would be that Moon where out there in the future. The four marks represent the four main phases of the moon, and accordingly you can expect changes to occure within the next 28 days. This stone is particularly feminine and often appears in response to questions about womans issues such as menses or pregnancy. This rune is a messenger; telling you to be aware that big changes are coming to your life. Whether that change will be positive or negative is best found by relating it to the rune closest to it.

Well there is nothing close to it...and Goddess I hope I don't somehow become pregnent...that is the last thing I would ever want. I have gone to great lengths to NOT become pregnant, and if somehow it were to happen I don't think it would live for very long with my IUD still in.

So something big may be heading my way, and a renewal of love, within the next 28 days? Okay now I am anxious...but nothing is written in stone. That's didn't help me any.

Until next time...

Escapees?

Hummm, when I checked on the bin this morning, I found three worms had made thier way into the handle reservor. Wonder why they did that? The book says that it may be the initial shock to the new environment, or that there is something vibrating the bin. Well...nothing is near the bin that would cause vibrations other than the computer speakers which are off at night. So it must be the shock. The book recommends leaving the lid off for a day while having a bright light on. The worms don't like light and will burrow deeper into the bedding. And so that will be my course of action while watching the moisture level. Sure enough when I put the plant light on the opened bin, the three worms in the handle high-tailed it down to the bottom and in thier little minds...saftey. Look at them go!

I buried pomogranite scraps last night in #2 spot and sprayed the surface lightly with some water.

The other day when I was looking for my Worms Eat My Garbage, I had considered doing a finding lost objects spell because by that time I had been looking for it for two days. I was also sick, so I decided against it because I didn't have the energy to do it. So instead, I just sat in the puter chair and wondered where the heck it had gone to, or if I had given it away. I bought it at a rummage sale two years ago. Then while sitting there, an image flashed in my head of where it was. It was only a millisecond flash, but I knew exactly where to look. The image was of the plastic bin on the very bottom self of the far bookcase behind my altar supply table. Sure enough, there it was under some papers in the plastic bin! Amazing. Psychic skills at work yet again...and while I was sickly. Unfortunately this has not worked in finding my good fabric scissors, the ones I paid $20 for. Grrrr...I'll have to try that lost objects spell when I am better.

Vaccumed the apartment today...and now I suddenly have loads and loads of energy. It was either the exercise of vaccuming or the act of cleaning the place that has lifted my mood so much. It smells nicer, looks nicer and the sun is shining away. Ahhhh....

BF wants me to make some more beef stew. He really loves that crock-pot recipie I have. That makes me feel good. I will wait until after pub night this friday night to get the veggies needed to make sure I have enough to have fun on.

My silly Luna Bird pecks on her cage door to let me know she wants out. When I let her out, she flys somewhere, snuggles down, and just sits there watching me. LOL Silly bird.

Until next time...

Vermicomposting-Worm composting

My Worm Bin:

So I've decided to venture into this worm composting skit. I've always wanted to try it but never really did. So now I have over 1000 redworms crawling around a 10 gal rubbermaid container filled with shredded paper, some leaves, a few handfulls of dirt and sand.
I got the worms in the mail today. A whole pound. So now I am gonna keep a journal here on the progress, and on paper for Cella. This will count towards environment. I'll be burying some scraps tonight in plot #2 in the bin.
The book (Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhoff) says to track the temperature, moisture, and possibly the pH but I don't have the equipment to do that. Moisture readers are expensive!!


'Til next time...








My Worm Bin inside with fresh bedding.