Composting and Vermicomposting

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Composting and Vermicomposting Building Healthy
Soil!

• The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
• CBG Sustainability Symposium 2008
• Lara Roketenetz and Denise Natoli Brooks

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Introduction

• Why compost?
• Contributes to sustainable lifestyle along with
  recycling
• Reduces landfill waste by weight
• Yard waste (9)
• Food waste (15)
• Reduces landfill waste by volume
• Yard waste (8)
• Food waste (6)

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Why Compost?
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Why Compost?

• Adds nutrients to soil feed the soil, not the
  plant!
• Compost is a natural fertilizer
• Compost is primarily humus organic soil matter
  which allows for easy flow of water and air to
  growing plants

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Yard Waste Composting

• Left to decompose naturally, leaves can take up
  to 2 years to break down into humus
• Outdoor composting accelerates this process
• (4 to 18 months)

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Yard Waste Composting

• Many different types available from simple
  mounds to 3 stage bins and everything in between!

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Yard Waste Composting

• Recipe
• Layer equal parts of green and brown waste
• Pile should be kept as moist as a wrung-out
  sponge
• Allow the pile to bake at 90 to 140 degrees
• Turn the pile to let in air the more you turn,
  the faster it decomposes

Green Waste Grass clippings Green leaves
Vegetable garden scraps Floral clippings
Brown Waste Twigs Dry leaves Straw Sawdust
Shredded newspaper
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Vermiculture

• The use of specially bred earthworms, esp. to
  aerate soil and convert organic matter into
  compost also called vermicomposting
• Easy winter composting
• Great teaching tool for kids
• Manageable size
• Great for folks with no/small yard
• Worms as pets!
• Very fine compost- no screening needed

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Compost Worms
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How do worms produce compost?

• Worms eat organic matter and pass it through
  their digestive systems, producing castings, or
  worm poop

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Materials for Vermicompost

• Bin
• not necessary to buy
• Kitchen scraps
• Bedding
• shredded, non-glossy newspaper
• Coir (coconut bark)
• leaves, grass clippings
• handful of soil
• moisture of wrung-out sponge
• Worms
• Lid with fabric or air holes

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Vermicomposting Notes

• Read before you start
• Location
• Fruit fly prevention
• Separation method
• Passive
• Active

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What else lives in my bin?
isopod (sowbug)
fruit fly
mite
centipede
mold spores
white or pot worms
millipede
springtail
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Responsible Composting

• Do not compost invasive weed species
• Seeds of certain plants such as garlic mustard
  and honeysuckle can live in the seed bank for
  decades

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Responsible Composting

• Freeze vermicompost before using it in your yard,
  especially if your gardens are close to woodland
  areas
• Worm egg casings or cocoons can hatch and spread
  to new areas

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Worm ecology

• None of the earthworms in our area are native!
• Native earthworms in the Great Lakes area were
  extirpated with the last ice age 11,000 to 14,000
  years ago

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Weve been invaded!

• Earthworm invasion began with European settlement
• Invasions continue through improper dumping of
  fish bait, mulch/compost, tire treads, road
  building, landscaping, any activity that moves
  soil

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Worms effects on the environment

• Soil in uninvaded forests has a rich humus layer
  called duff and is covered with a layer of leaf
  litter

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Soil Effects
Soil in uninvaded forest
Soil in invaded forest
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Vegetation Effects
Vegetation in invaded forest
Vegetation in uninvaded forest
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Compost Workshops

• Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
• 2600 South Park Blvd.
• Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120
• 216.321.5935
• Lara x 240, roketenetz_at_shakerlakes.org
• Denise x 226, brooks_at_shakerlakes.org
• July 8th 6-8pm
• September 27th 12-2pm or 3-5pm
• Sign up on sheet!