Maggie hosted another informative meeting at her home tonight, this time featuring veteran gardener Pam Stewart. Pam, a middle school science teacher who spearheaded a massive gardening and composting effort at Manlius Pebble Hill, shared composting wisdom with us. Neighbors Simone, Robin, Martha, Ellen, Tina, and Maggie gathered garden intelligence on everything from indoor vermicomposting to backyard composting.
To produce "garden gold" (worm castings) you need 1,000 to 2,000 capellini-like red wigglers, a worm bin (homemade is fine), a boot tray (to catch the valuable "worm tea") and a bedding layer (Pam prefers coconut fiber). To keep them happy, feed your worms veggie and fruit food scraps. These are vegan worms so no dairy or meat! Worms love food scrap smoothies so you can blend your food scraps with a little water, too. Watch how much fruit you feed them because too much may draw fruit flies. These little wigglers are photophobic and will die if exposed to light for more than 15 minutes so unless you're gathering your castings, keep the lid on. As long as you keep your worms above freezing, you may store them in your garage, under a sink, in your basement. In 3-4 months, expect some wonderfully rich compost to add to your houseplants and garden.
Pam spoke at length about backyard composting, too, answering questions from members--some of whom also shared their experience with composting. Tips for success in backyard composting include maintaining a ratio of 30 parts brown (fallen leaves, spent stalks, saw dust) to 1 part green (grass clippings, food scraps), watering, and rotating to help maintain a good core temperature (110 to 140 degrees is optimal). The end result? A dark and nutrient rich soil amendment. You can add vines, ivy, myrtle, vinca, coffee, eggshells, tea bags, saw dust, dirt, twigs. The "do not add list" includes anything that is diseased, seedy,has rust or fungus, pet waste, peonies, iris. By the way, Simone adds torn yarrow leaves to her backyard bin because they act as a compost activator, and uses an iron rod to stir and agitate her compost.
Finally, Robin posed a question to the group about pruning her gigantic rose bush. It was recommended that she trim it, from the top down, to a manageable height. Also, Ellen added that Rose of Sharon fixes a multitude of garden sins...and plenty of members have some to share!
