Susan B's Page

Hi Susan!

Let me know if I posted to you twice - it looks like I wrote to myself =)
This "forum" is a little complicated or too simple. I like GardenWeb.
I tried to write you the 1st time but the Steve guy gave me a dud link!
And I have NEVER seen cocoons! I see stuff on the GardenWeb forum but no PEs and when I asked, I was told that PEs are PESTS! I want to try and throw some in my garden "box" but I would still feed them. . .
Someone at work has a sister but that person is an introvert so I don't push. But I don't know anyone directly. I'm trying to get neighbors to do this and I would give them worms - not a tree hugger but it's a good way to reduce garbage, right. . . Well, you know - on the Big Island you take your stuff to the dump yourself!!!

I wish Mindy would have given us the emails of the participants, with their OK of course, in our group. There was an older couple I would have liked to have kept up with - and they grow veggies & orchids.

I read too that you can compost dog & bunny doo - but you can't use that black gold for veggies.

Visit GardenWeb. . .

Hi Susan, okay...act 1 (haha)
My picture is an old poster about Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense. These gardens were planted in people’s yards, empty lots to support the war effort in WWl and WWll. Canned fruits and vegetables were sent for the soldiers. What I liked about learning about this is that they made it a family or community effort and a national duty.

Hi Susan! Worms are becoming more popular here in the Philippines, but are used mostly in farms. There are a few foundations that help educate farmers about staring a vermiculture to help turn their bio-degradable farm waste into vermicast, thereby producing their own fertilizer. We still have to get city folks used to the idea of having a worm bin at home.

To put an image in the wiki you can first type something like this in the text of your wiki [[Image:blahblah.png]] (doesn't matter what "blahblah" is.. nor does it have to be the name of the file you're using.. just any descriptive label there is fine). Then when you save that wiki page there will be a link there.. when you click on that link you'll be able to upload the image. There lots of options too to change the look of it.

Did I add that page? I thought Steven did, It's what I made but I'm only using one layer right now, I can post some pics.

I've been composting for quite a few years now & have become sort of the County Resource for worms on Kauai. (I managed to keep mine alive after getting them at a county sponsored seminar w/ Joy (last name?) from Maui). I thought I had PE, but I was informed earlier this year by Ted Radowitz from UH that I have EF. I use mostly Worm Factories, which seem to work pretty well. I'm pondering different schemes to increase my breeding, since I've got about twenty names on my list of people who want to buy worms (I use the profits to buy more worm related lodgings and harvesting tools....) Anyway, just wanted to check in with the locals and see what you're up to on Oahu - I was reading about Olomana Gardens in Waimanolo and they sound like they have an interesting setup. Keep in touch! Later, N.

Hi Susan Glad you asked.

I decided to add the plastic into my bin half way through making it.

Carl had his bin up and running for a couple weeks when i was makeing mine. He reported having trouble keeping the bin wet enough. Carl's bin is twice as wide as mine, it has to hold two to three times the volume. My bin is only just over a foot thick. I thought keeping my bin damp would be a problem so i stitched the plastic in to help keep the moisture level up.

It turned out to be a legitimate concern. I had a lot of trouble keeping the bin moist enough at first. Especially when i started running the stove to keep the house warm. I think that if my bin had been square it wouldn't have been needed.

The top 6 inches was always dry even if i watered every day and there was never any leachate. I ended up putting a cardboard "lid" directly on top of the shredded cardboard. It keeps the air flow down and the moisture in.

I am not adding nearly as much water when i do add it. The shredded cardboard is now damp all the time and i am down to watering only once a week. I am now getting a little leachate.

I wanted to make a blue barrel flow through bin at first. Still do, but used barrels are around 70 bucks and i didn't have anyplace to put a barrel for the winter. But i did have all the stuff needed to make a fabric bin on hand and it could go in the house for the winter.

This summer i am planning to make a new one so i can keep it in the garage all year long. A squair one. I plan to stitch in water hoses into the fabric sides so i can add the fish tank heater to keep the bin warm. I think it will also work to help cool the bin in the summer all i will have to do is hook it to my garden hose.

how come you farm india blues arnt they pest worms

these worms are only good for tropical areas and are good for fishing bait and are okay for composting the reason that they are good for fishing is because they are bigger then red worm and are very wiggly

Say Hey -

I don't check this site very often either, but I've got the email alert set up to tell me when's there's an incoming message. We're still here, but I haven't had much time for the worms except to dump in some food once or twice a week. Maybe with some nicer weather I'll be able to get outside a little more and get things moving a a little faster.....