How-to: Vermicompost!

By: Laura Binford

Want to improve your soil health, process your own food waste and have the cheapest pets imaginable? Allow me introduce you to vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is the process of using worms to break down food scraps and other organic matter into a valuable soil amendment called vermicompost, or worm compost. It is one of the best ways to take care of food waste and provide nutrients for your garden.

The Basics

You’re going to need worms, but you don’t want just any worms. Some worms are invasive and can actually do more harm than good when released into the garden. You want earthworms, specifically red wigglers. These can be purchased at any bait shop, but if you’d like to know where your stock comes from, there are many reputable worm farmers (yes, that is a real thing!) who will happily ship them to you. Your new pets will need food, but don’t go emptying the whole fridge into the worm bin just yet! There are a few things you’ll want to avoid. All vegetable scraps are encouraged. Never put meat, dairy, or eggs into your worm bin, and avoid things that take a very long time to break down, like avocado pits or citrus.

You will also need to provide bedding material. Without this, the food scraps become a smelly, rotten mess and your worms can become sick. Shredded newspaper is the most accessible, but plain, brown cardboard works as well. You just want to avoid any glossy paper or cardboard. If you notice your worms are staying too moist, simply add more of these “browns”. If you see that your worms are sluggish and dry, mist them with water and add more food scraps.

The Setup

Vermicomposting doesn’t take much time, energy, or space; my first worm bin setup was housed in the laundry closet of my 600 sq. ft. apartment. There are several different methods to vermicomposting. When you are setting up your bin, consider the space you have, how much money you’d like to invest, and time you want to spend harvesting your castings. The single bin setup is the simplest and cheapest to set up. These bins can be made of two plastic storage containers and one top. Drill holes around the bottom perimeter of the bin for drainage and an additional row around the top for air flow - remember, these are living creatures! Place the bin inside of the un-drilled storage bin; this will be used to trap the “juice” released when the worms are busy working. You can use this valuable, nutrient-dense “worm tea” as fertilizer, just make sure to dilute first! Just like in their natural habitat, your worms want to live in the dark, so make sure to attach the top lid tightly.

After a couple years fumbling with the single bin setup, I’ve upgraded to a worm tower. There are many models available for purchase, both plastic and wood, but can be easily built with hardware cloth and wood. In this system, there are stackable, mesh levels. The worms, food, and bedding are placed in the lowest level. When the worms have almost fully processed the food in the bottom, you begin to add food and bedding to the next level. Your brilliant new pets get the message and move up to the next level. The process is repeated until the top level, and then begins again from the bottom. I love this method because the castings are easy to harvest, simply remove the bottom tray and use the compost as needed. No sifting necessary!

The Benefits

When your worms have processed your organic materials, you put that hard work to use in your garden! Do not expect your worm compost to be as fluffy and uniform as the worm castings you buy in garden centers. When it is “done” it should look like rich, dark compost with few to no whole pieces of food left. If you are using the single bin method, you will have to sift out the finished castings from the organic materials and the worms. You can do this with your hands or a homemade sifter made from hardware cloth on a wood frame. Don’t worry if you miss a few worms! Red wigglers reproduce at a rapid and almost constant rate, and your bin won’t even miss them. When you notice your bin is becoming too crowded, you will want to set some loose.

Find a spot in your garden and release them into the soil to do their thing outside. Cover them with leaves so they will feel welcome in their new home. You could even give the extras to a friend! Maybe it’s just me, but I’d love to receive worms from a neighbor. Enough cookies! Bring the worms!

I use my worm castings on almost everything in the garden, including flowers, shrubs, trees, and vegetables. MiracleGro has nothing on these worms! Chemical fertilizers are not only harmful to our natural ecosystems, but they are also harsh on our plants and our soil. Worm castings are a much gentler fertilizer that is kinder to our plants, waterways, and our wallets! Aside from the initial investment, this is an essentially free way to have fertilizer (and a few hundred wiggly friends) for life.

Garden to Table: Sicilian Eggplant and Herb Caponata Recipe

Caponata is a sweet and sour Sicilian dish, often likened to Ratatouille, that features nuts, fresh herbs, vinegar, sugar and one of summer’s prized jewels: eggplant. Caponata is often eaten as a main course with bread or pasta, but it also pairs well with fish, as a side, and is a perfect topping for bruschetta.

The dish cooks well in a single, large pan, and since the eggplant is chopped into bite-sized pieces, there’s no need for salting or brining beforehand, which cuts prep time down significantly. These two characteristics make it a busy weeknight favorite. 

Ingredients

1 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1 to 1 1/2 pounds globe eggplant (such as the Black Beauty, Nubia or Rosita varieties) cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 medium yellow onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces 

4 scallions, white parts only, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 rib of celery, diced finely

1 red bell pepper, diced into 1/2-inch pieces

5 large large cloves of garlic, diced finely

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 to 4 tablespoons water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step 1

Toss pine nuts with extra-virgin olive oil and roast in a heavy-bottomed, large pan on medium-low heat until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Step 2

Heat 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in the same pan, over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and flip it occasionally, until softened and charred in spots. The eggplant will initially absorb all of the oil, but as it cooks it will release it back into the pan.
Step 3

Move the eggplant to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the center, and follow with the onion, scallions, celery, and bell pepper. Add some of the salt and stir frequently until newly added vegetables have softened and are aromatic, about two or three minutes. Add the garlic, stir everything together, and let it cook for a minute or two longer.

Step 4

Add the reserved pine nuts, mint, parsley, tomato paste, cinnamon, raisins, capers, sugar, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, then toss to combine. Add the remaining extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Then add some of the water to the pan, one tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is sauce-like but not too loose. You might not need all 4 tablespoons. Season with black pepper and salt, to taste.

Step 5

Caponata can be eaten cold or room-temperature atop bruschetta, or hot with bread or pasta. Top with extra torn mint leaves and parsley, or with a drizzle of olive oil.

Adapted from Kenji López-Alt’s Sicilian Eggplant and Pine Nut Caponata.

Make your own bird saver to prevent birds from hitting window

By Guest Blogger: Ann Morrow

Ann and Don installed this homemade bird saver made of parachute cord to prevent birds from hitting their window.

During these challenging COVID-19 times, many of us are spending more time in our homes and yards.

It is no wonder that interest in home-based activities such as bird watching and gardening has soared in the last six months. Even veteran birders and gardeners have honed their skills, expanded their species yard lists, and enjoyed new sights and sounds in backyard habitats.

In our third-acre suburban lot, my husband and I are more acutely aware of the subtle progression of seasons simply by being at home continuously through spring and summer. We have watched plants bloom and set fruit. We have noted bird migration and watched resident birds find mates, build nests, and raise young.

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We have also noted a few less-desirable sightings: frequent patrols by free-roaming cats and, the focus of this article, window/bird collisions.

We do not think the collisions are common at our house, but the unmistakable thud as a bird strikes a window is deeply disturbing whenever it happens. Last year a Swainson’s thrush, a species seen solely during migration in North Florida, died after hitting our large living room window. We think of our yard as a safe spot for migrants to rest and refuel, so it was indeed a sad day.

Other victims include cardinals, titmice, and Carolina wrens. The most recent strike was a red-bellied woodpecker. It hit the window and landed upside down in a large planter. It flew off after 20 minutes and we hope it did not later die from internal injuries, a common outcome after window strikes.

Donna Legare and Jody Walthall were inspired by Ann’s success and made a bird saver for their large bird window.

Estimates vary, but it is safe to say that hundreds of millions of birds die each year from window collisions in the United States. The good news is that researchers have devised several simple and inexpensive solutions. We applied bird stickers designed as collision deterrents on one of our smaller windows. For the large living room window, we opted for the Acopian Birdsavers (www.birdsavers.com).

Designed by a family of engineer/naturalists in Pennsylvania, Birdsavers consist of a curtain of vertical strands of paracord (one-eighth-inch diameter parachute cord), spaced about four inches apart and hung on the outside of windows.

The cords break up reflections of vegetation and sky so that birds perceive the window as a solid object to avoid. Because many people find the Birdsavers products to be aesthetically pleasing, they are also called Zen wind curtains. They are used in a variety of commercial and residential settings.

You can order custom Birdsavers or buy the inexpensive materials and follow excellent do-it-yourself instructions provided by their company. We made our own for our large front window (approx. eight feet wide and four feet high).

We spent about $12 on materials: 100 feet of olive drab paracord ordered online (Made in the USA) and a 10-foot section of vinyl J-channel (optional) from Home Depot.

We are pleased with the result and will test its effectiveness over the coming months. This simple fix is a good addition to our other yard management practices: avoiding the use of pesticides, providing a source of clean water, and planting a diversity of native plants for food and cover.

We hope we can give birds and other wildlife a fighting chance in our small slice of habitat.