Since reading Men of
the Tundra, I have been a big fan of many of Major Marvin Muktuk Marston’s
ideas. Aside from being a strong
proponent for Native Alaska Civil Rights, he was also a big supporter of
agriculture in the villages of Alaska.
He of course made a push for reestablishing reindeer herds, but on top
of that felt that educating village populations in basic agricultural processes
would enable them to continue their self-sufficiency into the future.
By the 1940s, the writing was on the
wall with rural populations establishing year-round communities and getting
away from the migratory tendencies of fishing, hunting, and gathering. Marston established his own little homestead
in Unalakleet as a way to demonstrate the feasibility of small local operations
in the production of food. What everyone
in Unalakleet knows as the potato field/farm was Marston’s little experiment. He did not see how it would be possible for rural
populations to continually import everything, and looking at the old pictures
of Unalakleet green with gardens, we must have agreed with him.
Here we are
almost 40 years after Marston’s death still importing so much of what we use,
and the number of local gardens can be counted without taking my shoes off. So, my family is starting to see what we can
do to return to some of Marston’s ideas by growing some of our own
produce. That being said, good garden
soil is not an easy thing to get around here.
We have purchased bags of soil and composted manure through Amazon… that
is expensive and does not seem to make sense when trying to get away from
importing everything.
So…
vermicompost. Vermicomposting is the use
of worms to aid in the compost process.
It takes a while, but is pretty cool in that it squeezes every last drop
of usefulness out of the stuff that we are importing into Unalakleet. Egg cartons?
They get figured into the price of eggs and might as well be used. Worms will eat those. Apple cores, egg shells, cardboard, leaves,
grass, used coffee grounds, stale bread, wilted lettuce, all things that would
go to waste by being carted up to the landfill can be made into nice, dark,
rich soil.
Commercial
worm towers can be purchased off of the internet, but again, why not use
something we already have here? So, I
gathered together some stuff…
18 gallon Rubbermade tote
Brew bucket spicket
Peanut butter jar
7/8” spade bit
11/64” drill bit
18 Volt cordless drill
Red Wiggler Worms
We have collected
a number of 18-gallon rubber made totes over the years since we basically use
them as luggage. That would be an
explanation for another story. I
basically found a grungy one in our storage that I knew we wouldn’t miss. I cleaned it out with soapy water and then
rinsed it out well since I was going to be putting creatures in it that absorb
so much through their skin.
18 gallon Rubbermade Tote- Alaskan Luggage |
I drilled a
hole near the bottom of one side with a 7/8” spade bit to install a used
spigot that I had left over from a scratched-up brew bucket. If I didn’t have one, I don’t know if I would
have purchased one just for this job, but can say that I am looking forward to
an easy way to remove liquid from the bin.
My first worm bin had no way to drain, and became heavy with water
making it a pain to harvest castings (worm poop) from for use in my garden. I am not sure if they are made to a universal
size, but just checked it against my spade bit to assure it would work with the
hole.
A 7/8" Spade Bit easily cuts through the tote |
The spigot is threaded and has a nut that holds it in place as well as two rubber washer/gaskets |
This will make it much easier to drain off the excess moisture |
Another option
to create a draining tote is to drill small holes in the bottom of the tote and
then place it over a drip pan. I will be
putting this bin in my office during the cold winter months, and did not want
the chance for a mess on my carpet. Part
of the point is to have it someplace where students can come and see what is
going on: again, Marston’s belief of educating rural Alaskans on agricultural
techniques. So, the drip pan was not an
option for me.
This is my
first time using a spigot in a worm bin, but I figure if I just left the
opening uncovered inside that the castings would quickly clog it. I drilled 11/64” holes through multiple
places in a plastic peanut bar jar and then loosely placed the opening of the
jar over the opening of the spigot. My hypothesis
is that the water will “filter” through the jar and into the spigot and will
keep the spigot opening clear.
I used the
same 11/64” bit to drill a number of holes in the lid of the tote. I basically used that size because since
moving I either don’t have my tools or can’t find them where they have been
strategically stored. This bit just
happened to be in the case with the drill.
I wanted to use a small bit that will allow air in but not a lot of
light. Worms are photosensitive and them
escaping the tote is not a real concern as they don’t want to be in the light
of the room. If they are stored
someplace dark, I guess this would be more of an issue.
Before
adding the worms, I put in some organic material for them to get under and in
between. When I put a bin together in
Galena, I used fall leaves as we had them in abundance. Not so in Unalakleet, and so I am hoping that
the grass I pulled up and cut will do the trick. I threw in some torn up egg carton, coffee grounds
in the filter, and a couple of crushed up egg shells for the worms to get
started in.
Food for worms |
With the
organic material in the bin, I dumped in the worms. My first batch of worms for my first bin were
ordered from Amazon and shipped dried up but still alive. This is a viable way to start with a large
number of worms. It is kind of expensive
though, and so I picked up a container of 30 red wigglers for a little over $3
from the Fairbanks Walmart when I was passing through. Still Alaskan prices (the worms traveled all
the way from Michigan according to the packaging), but cheaper than ordering
them on Amazon.
Be fruitful and multiply. We're starting with 30 and hoping for more. |
I don’t see
why night crawlers couldn’t be used instead, and I would like to set up another
bin to see which worm is the more efficient
composter, but at this point, I decided to go with the same kind of worm
I had used before since I know they work.
Once the
worms are established, it is just a matter of keeping them fed. No extra water is really needed as the food
that is added to the bin supplies enough moisture. If a bin would be set up in an extremely dry
environment, it might make sense to add some water on occasion, but I have found
that simply adding green organic material is enough to keep the environment damp
enough for the worms.
Things I’ll be adding to my worm bin
|
Things I won’t be adding to my worm bin
|
Leaves
|
Citrus
|
Grass
|
Meat
|
Egg Cartons (shredded)
|
Fish
|
Vegetable scraps
|
White paper
|
Cardboard (shredded)
|
Water
|
Stale Bread and Spent Grains
|
|
Coffee Grounds
|
|
Pretty much
anything that would go into an outdoor compost pile can go into a worm
bin. The worms will let me know if they
don’t like something I put in. I put in
a piece of scrap white copier paper once to try to soak up some extra moisture
and created an exodus of worms heading for the exits.
Though I
would add fish to an outdoor pile, fish rotting in a tote in my office is not an
appealing idea and would attract flies and other pests. Same thing with meat. Citrus, though pleasant smelling, is acidic
and not something worms get excited about.
In small amounts, it might be okay.
If I was
worried about how long it took for the worms to finish the compost, I could
grind up whatever I was putting in the bin in a blender, but since I am more concerned
with ease… I just tear the stuff up by hand or put it in the bin full sized.
My little
worm bin will never make enough vermicompost for me to plant all of my garden
in, but it will reduce my dependence upon store bought soil, and if I do use
local soil will add a lot of good organic material and nutrients to the garden. It will also reduce the amount of “good”
stuff I send up to the landfill.
If other
people are doing cool stuff to make their own soil or help their gardens grow
healthily, I’d love to hear from them.
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