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So for the first time in a while I decided to tend to my compost bags. I bought mesh bags a while back to put the leaves in--I figured, aeration is an important thing in composting, so I thought a mesh bag would help with the aeration. (The bags are actually meant for laundry.) The blue bag has is a finer mesh, and has been going since September. The white one has bigger holes, which concerned me a bit because I knew bugs would get in there (I have nothing against bugs of course but I turn the bags over occasionally so the bugs get everywhere).
Well, turns out that the larger mesh bag is composting about the same rate as the blue one because... worms get in there. The mesh is large enough that they're living right under it and have been clambering into the bag to munch. I suspect it also makes it useful high ground during the rainy season that the earthworms have someplace to clamber to where they can still nom but without the drowning problem. The castings fall down to the ground, really beautiful castings too. It's mixing with the regular dirt and all the other stuff they're either not eating or haven't eaten.
So I figured, ok, I'm better at this now, and clearly I've got SOME worms, so I shredded all the paper that's supposed to go into recycling to make a LOT of bedding (IIRC, one needs about six inches, but I never really made that much the last time I tried vermicomposting). I have a bin that's supposed to be for composting but lack of aeration meant it wasn't really that useful as a compost bin. Anyway, dug some worms up, I think I even found a couple of eggs, and dumped them onto the bedding, and stuck some leaves in there. I really don't have enough worms for a bin that big, sadly--a bucket alone ought to have some 200 worms to make short work of the compost. Still, I'll give them some time to populate the bin; give 'em a couple of months and see what happens.
I also dug up some castings, sorted the worms out and used it for the seedlings that have been growing in the small pots that I've got on my fence. They've been at seedling stage FOREVER. They're finally showing signs of a true leaf but urrggghhh I don't know what their problem is. So I put more soil around their bases to help them stand up. I guess I'll transplant them at the end of the month, once I've got the beds properly set up.
I also started a bag of potatoes using some shoots growing in my cupboard. I figure, with a plastic bag, I can keep adding more and more dirt, which is supposed to help the stems grow roots. They sprouted out really happily, very nice green shoots, but they kinda... broke in my hands? I'm not sure what's going to happen now. Anyway!
Tomorrow I plan on even more cleaning! Been exhausted all day (so it turns out, moderating #NotYourAsianSidekick is a WHOLE DIFFERENT BEAST from #steampunkchat; for starters, my job was to keep it going and I decided to draw the trolls out of it) so I did laundry instead (finally changed my sheets... holy crap I am filthy or something). But tomorrow it will be even more intense: tidying up the kitchen and the bathroom, clearing my floor, vacuuming even more intensely. Then I'll go to campus and do the same to my desk.
I'll have an actual holiday at some point.
Well, turns out that the larger mesh bag is composting about the same rate as the blue one because... worms get in there. The mesh is large enough that they're living right under it and have been clambering into the bag to munch. I suspect it also makes it useful high ground during the rainy season that the earthworms have someplace to clamber to where they can still nom but without the drowning problem. The castings fall down to the ground, really beautiful castings too. It's mixing with the regular dirt and all the other stuff they're either not eating or haven't eaten.
So I figured, ok, I'm better at this now, and clearly I've got SOME worms, so I shredded all the paper that's supposed to go into recycling to make a LOT of bedding (IIRC, one needs about six inches, but I never really made that much the last time I tried vermicomposting). I have a bin that's supposed to be for composting but lack of aeration meant it wasn't really that useful as a compost bin. Anyway, dug some worms up, I think I even found a couple of eggs, and dumped them onto the bedding, and stuck some leaves in there. I really don't have enough worms for a bin that big, sadly--a bucket alone ought to have some 200 worms to make short work of the compost. Still, I'll give them some time to populate the bin; give 'em a couple of months and see what happens.
I also dug up some castings, sorted the worms out and used it for the seedlings that have been growing in the small pots that I've got on my fence. They've been at seedling stage FOREVER. They're finally showing signs of a true leaf but urrggghhh I don't know what their problem is. So I put more soil around their bases to help them stand up. I guess I'll transplant them at the end of the month, once I've got the beds properly set up.
I also started a bag of potatoes using some shoots growing in my cupboard. I figure, with a plastic bag, I can keep adding more and more dirt, which is supposed to help the stems grow roots. They sprouted out really happily, very nice green shoots, but they kinda... broke in my hands? I'm not sure what's going to happen now. Anyway!
Tomorrow I plan on even more cleaning! Been exhausted all day (so it turns out, moderating #NotYourAsianSidekick is a WHOLE DIFFERENT BEAST from #steampunkchat; for starters, my job was to keep it going and I decided to draw the trolls out of it) so I did laundry instead (finally changed my sheets... holy crap I am filthy or something). But tomorrow it will be even more intense: tidying up the kitchen and the bathroom, clearing my floor, vacuuming even more intensely. Then I'll go to campus and do the same to my desk.
I'll have an actual holiday at some point.