By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News
staff
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| Red Wigglers, a.k.a. "Rhody Worms" at the Worm Ladies of Charlestown (photo by Will Collette) |
He’s since gone from raising worms
in a plastic-bin setup dubbed the “Worm Factory 360” to building his own
worm-growing contraptions in his basement. Porter and his wife, Madeleine, are
among the members of a new vermiculture cooperative called the Rhode Island Worm Farmers
Cooperative. Its members are passionate about worm farming and
sustainability.
The couple presented at a workshop
about the new cooperative during the recent Rhode Island Compost Conference
& Trade Show, held at Rhode Island College. Cooperative members began
meeting last fall, and now meet monthly. The cooperative officially became a
registered nonprofit earlier this year.
The Rhode Island Worm Farmers
Cooperative is operated by worm farmer members. The organization’s mission is
to improve the local environment by using worms to compost organic matter that
would otherwise end up buried in the landfill. Members say they are dedicated
to creating healthy soil and economic opportunities.
The cooperative’s products are castings — worm waste — and worms. During monthly meetings, members share strategies, resources and experiences.
Porter said he started raising
worms like most people, in a bin underneath the kitchen sink. He originally
wanted to keep the bin in the bedroom, but his wife preferred the kitchen idea.
Like most people who start vermicomposting, the Porters were concerned about flies
and smell. They haven’t been bothered by either.
Both Jim Porter and fellow
cooperative member Bob Sabo told those gathered at the March 10 workshop that
there are many types of worm bedding, such as newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons
and coconut coir. They also both use a food processor to grind up the organic
matter they feed their worms. The finer the better.
“Worms have small mouths,” Porter
said. “If you throw in egg shells they’re going to stay in the bin for a
while.”
The worm farmers differed slightly
on how often they feed their workers. Porter feeds his worms weekly; Sabo,
every three to four days. Both, however, put the chopped-up food into a hole or
channel and then cover it up.
“You don’t want to overfeed the
worms,” Sabo said. The chemical engineer also said he uses a spray bottle,
filled with collected rain water or dehumidifier water to avoid chlorine, to
keep his worm bins moist.
They both stressed that worms need
oxygen to live, that the bin can’t become too wet and that the pH balance is
important, because if it’s too acidic the worms will die.
Monique Bosch, a founding member
of the cooperative, said vermicompost is much richer in microorganisms than
compost, providing plants and soil with more nutrients.
“It’s important that we do this
work to make it possible for soil to come back to life,” she said, referring to
society and not just the cooperative. “It takes a hundred years to create an
inch of soil, and we’re running out of good soil. Worms are a solution —
indoors and year-round.”
For each cooperative meeting,
Bosch brings a microscope, so members can check on the quality of their
vermicompost. “You want a nice combination of bacteria and fungi,” she said.
“It’s really important to know your compost is alive and well.”
Bosch said a single drop of
vermicompost is teeming with life. She said it’s good to see nematodes and
microarthropods under the microscope, but ciliates are a bad sign. She noted
that some insect larvae is OK.
The following are some tidbits
that were offered during the hour-long workshop:
- One to two worm bins is typically enough to handle the average amount of household food scrap.
- Worm castings hold a lot of water.
- Worms self-regulate their population.
- Worms eat the bacteria on food, not the actually food.