Vermiculture: Our pet worms

Worms eat our garbage. They have for about seven years now. When we were living in the city without a yard to start a compost bin, we decided to try out vermiculture. Instead of dumping our coffee grounds, banana peels, and table scraps into the trash (which at the time we had to pay to have removed), we fed them to our pet worms. In return they gave us beautiful black compost (castings) and the most amazing fertilizer a gardener could ask for. Taking care of our worms is incredibly easy and hasn't cost us a cent since our initial setup seven years ago. Our worms live in a bin in our basement. You can make your own bin, but we chose to purchase one.

This bin is called the Can-O-Worms, and as you can see it is made up of several sections stacked on top of each other. You start by placing some wet bedding, worms, and a little bit of food scraps in the bottom tier. Then you keep adding scraps until it fills. Once the bottom tier is full, you add on the next tier. There are holes on the bottom of the second section so the worms are able to travel up. You fill the second tier then add the third. By the time the third is full, the worms will have completely finished transforming the garbage in the bottom section into compost and will have vacated that tier. You can then use that wonderful compost in your garden. You can also collect liquid that has built up by using the spout, and this "worm juice" as we like to call it is super drink for your plants. What's really great about this system, as opposed to making one out of a box or something (which you can do if you are on a budget), is you don't have to do anything to maintain it. You don't have to pick worms out of the bin to get to the finished product. You don't have to do ANY separating. It's amazing and worth the investment.

Here is a bit of a closer look at our composting routine. We have this wonderful compost pail that is metal and has a double filter in the lid. We NEVER smell it. Plus, it keeps insects out of it. The only time we ever have had problems with fruit flies is when we forget to dump the compost into the worm bin for several weeks. Our goal is to dump the compost once a week; then we have no problems with flies.

When we are ready to add food to the bin, we like to wrap it up in wet newspaper (non glossy pages). The worms can eat the paper too, and this keeps the food from attracting fruit flies. Here is what our top bin looks like right now:

Our second bin has been going for a while because we slowed down putting stuff in over winter. We've found that when we store the bins in the basement (which is unheated), the cooler Maine temperatures slow the worms down and they can't keep up with once a week feedings. You don't want to over feed them because they won't be able to break stuff up fast enough and it will attract fruit flies. Here is our second bin:

You can see the worms on the top a little. Worms used in vermiculture ARE NOT the ones you find in your garden. They are composting worms, and usually redworms. You can usually purchase some locally from a fellow vermiculture enthusiast, and they will reproduce and multiply so you never have to add more. Here is a closer look at one of our redworms:

Our third bin is full of compost that is ready to be used as soon as I figure out where I want to use it. It is a soft, fluffy, rich compost that will make any plant thrive.

Finally, whenever I need to fertilize one of our plants, I fill up my watering can about a quarter full of "worm juice" fresh from the spigot and then fill the watering can the rest of the way up with water. This stuff has done wonders for my plants!

If you are thinking about starting your own vermiculture system or just want to read more about it, I recommend picking up Worms Eat my Garden by Mary Appelhof. Its a fast, well organized book that is chock full of all the information you would ever need, from how to set up a bin, how to make your own bin, all about the worms' biology, troubleshooting, and more. We've referenced it countless times.

We love our worms, and this system has worked out really wonderfully for us. Now that we have two children and a big back yard, we've found that we need to start an additional compost system to keep up with our waste. The worms can't really handle much more than a compost pale a week. So we need to start a bin outside for our garden waste, yard clippings, etc. We will keep our worms because they truly make wonderful fertilizer and are a great learning tool for our little guys.

Bat houses

Zipping, Flipping, 

Skating, Chasing

I watch their preformance in the twilight.

The sun is slipping,

The sky is slate and indigo

I try to rub the sleep from my eyes.

Gentle soul,

you do not frighten me,

I am happy to see you here.

You feast on mosquitos

that cause me grief

and make me itch and fear.

Dancing bat

how fast you dart! 

Only glimpses now in the moonlight.

Not with sight,

but with sound

you will never cease to amaze me.

So stay with me

safe and warm

in the little house I made thee.

All of the poetry I found about bats when I quickly scanned the internet disappointed me, as they were all about how they were frightening creatures of the night; mice with fangs and human faces. I find this incredibly misleading and disheartening in a world where bats populations are slowly fading but needed more than ever before. Bats in Maine are are threatened by habitat alteration, commercial pesticide use, control practices, and wind power development. They are also threatened by the White-Nose Fungus (Geomyces destructans) Disease. White-nose syndrome causes hibernating bats to awaken more often during hibernation and prematurely use up fat reserves needed to survive the winter. For those of you who don't know very much about bats, take a minute to read this quick introduction that I found on the Bat Conservation International website, it's fascinating:

Bats are essential to the health of our natural world. They help control pests and are vital pollinators and seed-dispersers for countless plants. Yet these wonderfully diverse and beneficial creatures are among the least studied and most misunderstood of animals.

Centuries of myths and misinformation still generate needless fears and threaten bats and their habitats around the world. Bat populations are declining almost everywhere. Losing bats would have devastating consequences for natural ecosystems and human economies. Knowledge is the key. 

The more than 1,200 species of bats – about one-fifth of all mammal species – are incredibly diverse. They range from the world's smallest mammal, the tiny bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to giant flying foxes with six-foot wingspans. Except for the most extreme desert and polar regions, bats have lived in almost every habitat on Earth since the age of the dinosaurs.

Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, including many of the most damaging agricultural pests and others that bedevil the rest of us. More than two-thirds of bat species hunt insects, and they have healthy appetites. A single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in a single hour, while a pregnant or lactating female bat typically eats the equivalent of her entire body weight in insects each night.

Almost a third of the world's bats feed on the fruit or nectar of plants. In return for their meals, these bats are vital pollinators of countless plants (many of great economic value) and essential seed dispersers with a major role in regenerating rainforests. About 1 percent of bats eat fish, mice, frogs or other small vertebrates.

Only three species, all in Latin America, are vampires. They really do feed on blood, although they lap it like kittens rather than sucking it up as horror movies suggest. Even the vampires are useful: an enzyme in their saliva is among the most potent blood-clot dissolvers known and is used to treat human stroke victims.

Here in Maine we have 8 species of bats, the most common of which are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. These bats both eat moths, beetles, mosquitoes, and flies. As bats don't do well in cold temperatures (because there aren't really any insects to eat) they either migrate to warmer places or use a hibernation site called a hibernaculum. The hibernaculum protects bats from predators, light, noise, and other disturbances.

Little Brown Bat (batworld.com)

One fantastic way you can help boost bat populations here in Maine, and to encourage them to live on your property (excellent mosquito control) is to instal a bat house. Often times bats will prefer bat houses over natural structures and bat houses can even become a hibernaculum. They are more likely to live in your bat house if it is in a warm, sunny spot (either on the south side of a house or on a pole) in an open area at least 20 feet from trees. They also like to be not to far from a water source, which is easy in Maine since there are so many rivers and lakes distrubuted across the state.

We installed our own bat house onto our house early this spring. Not only do we want to help out the Maine bat populations, but we also have a lot of mosquitoes in the summer due to a vernal pool in our back yard. We are hoping that the bats will come gobble them up so we can enjoy our evenings outside more!

Here are some guidelines for installing a bat house in Maine from the Maine IF&W website:

• If you are making a bat house to use in Maine, paint it with multiple coats of flat black exterior latex and place it where it will receive full sun. Maine bats need and seek a home that bakes in the sun – a nice warm place to raise their young – and one that lets them decrease their metabolic needs during roosting.

• Build or buy a bat house that is at least two feet tall and 14 or more inches wide. Bigger is better. A roughened or screen-covered landing platform measuring three to six inches should extend below the house.

• The house can be single-chambered or multi-chambered, but chambers should be three quarters to one inch wide; including variety in size will provide for the needs of different species.

• The houses should be caulked during construction and (preferably) screwed rather than nailed. The idea is to create a tight microclimate inside the house, one capable of trapping both the heat of the day and the warmth generated by the bats themselves.

• Place the house in full sun, preferably on its own pole; the next-best location is on the southern side of a building in full sun. The optimal temperature range is between 85 and 104 degrees F. Do not put it on a tree, which provides too much shade and is too close to hawk and owl perch sites. Keep the area around the entrance clear of obstructions for 20 feet.

We had purchased our house from a local greenhouse, and on the instructions it said not to paint it. But everything I've read about installing bat houses say to paint it black! I'm also not sure the house is big enough. So we might end up altering this one, or making a completely new one, but its a start.

Yesterday, while I was outside at twilight, I caught a glimpse of something flying just over my head. I brushed it off as a bird until something in my unconscious mind reminded me it was dark and the birds were sleeping. When I looked up again, I saw the beautiful site of a bat zigging and zagging in the moonlit sky. It was circling and darting with such speed and grace, I couldn't help but take a moment to stand there quietly with my toddler and observe it. I do hope this means that some bats decided to move into our little house. Even if not, I am very excited to see them visiting our property!

If you want to read more about bats, here are some great resources (include info how to build/instal houses):
Bats in Maine: Maine IF&W and Maine Audubon
Bat Conservation: Bat Conservation International and Organization for Bat Conservation

Birdhouses

Somehow I completely neglected to write about the birdhouses we installed last winter, but I will remedy that now. So far we have two birdhouses: one with a 1 1/8" entrance hole which is well suited for chickadees, and one with a 1 1/4 " entrance hole which is well suited for downy woodpeckers, titmice and nuthatches.

These birdhouses we made from a pre-cut kit from our local nursery; we just had to assemble the pieces and mount it to the tree. There are plenty of resources for building your own birdhouses from scratch, including one of my new go-to books Attracting Birds to your Backyard by Sally Roth. But the main things you want to keep in mind when building a house are:

• The size of the birdhouse should be appropriate for the type of bird you are trying to attract (for instance chickadees like small houses, flickers like large houses, screech owls like extra-large houses, etc.).
• The entrance hole size should be appropriate for the type of bird you are trying to attract.
• The bird house shouldn't made out of treated wood (you don't want to poison the birds!).
• If you want birds to nest in it that summer, you should try to get it up by late winter/very early spring.

Why go through all the trouble of installing bird houses in your yard? Their are numerous benefits:

• Habitat Replacement. As man continues to develop, cavities that are appropriate for cavity-nesting birds become less available. It may not seem like putting up a bird house will make a big difference, but cavity-nesting birds really do have trouble finding nesting sites these days.
• Native Species. Invasive species, like house sparrows, are numerous and out-compete native species for nest cavities. Appropriately sized and placed birdhouses can give native species a better chance.
• Baby Birds. Who doesn't love seeing baby birds visit their yards and feeders?
• Diversity of Species. Having a variety of birdhouses will attract a variety of bird species to visit your yard, giving you the opportunity to enjoy their colors, antics and songs. 
• Protect the Ecosystem. Birds are a vital part of ecosystems, and by helping conserve birds, you are helping to promote healthier ecosystems (which benefits all life on earth).
• Controlling Pests. Birds eat insects and will help to eliminate unwanted pests.
• Weed Control. Birds enjoy eating weed seeds...which mean less weeding for gardeners.
• Learning Opportunity. Birdhouse building is a great hobby, an easy way to teach children simple woodworking skills, and a great way to teach children how to care for the environment and develop and interest and love for wildlife.

I encourage everyone to have at least one birdhouse, they are a fantastic addition to any property!