Homemade Fertilizer

Not every person is happy to say, "I've got worms."  Gardeners, on the other hand, will shout it joyously to every corner of the universe if you'd let them.  And why shouldn't we?  Worms do so many things for us, for our plants, and for the soil.

Worms are Nature's fast-track garbage disposals, daily ingesting their body weight in plant waste and depositing the waste (politely called casts or castings) in a form that plants can use.  Unlike the wastes of many other animals, worm castings are actually more nutritious coming out than they were going in.  Excellent fertilizer, in other words.  Cultivated worm waste, also called vermicompost, can contain 8 times more nitrogen than compost alone.

Feeling squeamish?  That's a perfectly normal reaction, but there's really nothing to worry about.  Worms' digestive tracts contain no bacteria, so we don't have to worry about nasty things like salmonella or E. coli in worm castings.  Worms are vegans, consuming absolutely no animal products or oils of any kind, so there are no smelly by-products released during their waste production...meaning that you can keep them in your garage or basement, and they'll happily make all the fertilizer you could ever need.

Really, it's easy.  All you need is a 10 gallon tote with a small hole drilled in the side, some moistened shredded paper, a bowl of chopped (meatless) kitchen scraps, and a handful of red worms.

The variety of worms is very important.  Red worms, also known as red wrigglers, are the best species of worm to start making vermicompost.  In the wild, they occupy the top 6 inches of soil, ingesting organic matter and leaving their castings behind them.  Most of the worms you see on the sidewalk after a big rain are actually nightcrawlers, not red worms.  The difference between them and red worms is that nightcrawlers are HUGE.  They require more space than red worms, often digging up to 6 feet beneath the soil surface!  So obviously not a good choice for a 10 gallon tote, or even a 30 gallon one.  Red worms can be purchased from bait shops, the internet, or donated from a friend who also has a worm bin.


It doesn't take much to get a worm bin going.  Just moisten the shredded paper to very-wrung-out sponge level, put the worms in, and give them a bowl of kitchen scraps.  If you're just starting out, a bit of sand or garden soil would also be helpful; worms don't have teeth, and need to ingest small rocks to help the food move through their digestive tract.  They'll eat just about anything; just be careful about hot peppers, onions, potato skins, garlic, and high-citrus fruits like tomatoes.  They don't like those too much, and you'll eventually have to pick them out later.  But anything else is fair game:  celery, carrot, apple, banana, bell pepper, moldy bread, zucchini, eggplant, cooked pasta or rice, lettuce, cabbage, spinach...the list goes on forever.


Worms like places that are moist and dark, so I like to bury the food in a corner, kind of sandwiched in on top of some paper, and then bury it under a layer of newspaper to discourage fruit flies.  You'll have to add more shredded newspaper eventually, but don't stress about it.  Just add more as you need it.  I use my shredded bills and credit card offers for their bedding.  By the time our shredder is full again, it's just about time to give the worms fresh bedding.


Then, you wait.  I usually don't feed my worms more than twice a month.  They don't need much attention, really.  Just keep them in a place where the temperature is between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and they're happy.  And they reproduce like crazy, doubling their population every six weeks; so even though the start-up is slow, they'll soon eat you out of house and home!

The best way to use the vermicompost once it's done is in a compost tea.  Tea is created when you dissolve the castings in water for about 24 hours, then strain it to remove any debris.  I like to use vermicompost tea in a 1:6 solution to prevent fertilizer burn on my plants.  And the plants love it!  Truly, my home-made vermicompost puts Miracle-Gro to shame...and it's free, which is another added bonus.

Autumn Garden Prep

It's so cold and blustery this week in Central Indiana!  Thanks a lot, Tropical Storm Lee...thanks a lot.  But on the positive side, this sudden shift in the weather gets me thinking about the changing of the seasons.  Autumn is coming, and with it means putting the garden to bed...while welcoming apple season with open arms!

We only have a few weeks left of good harvest time left, and my garden plants know it; production is starting to slow down a bit.  But just because the harvest is over doesn't mean we gardeners get to take a rest!  Autumn is the season in which we must prepare the soil for next year's planting.  The work's just begun.

Unfortunately, a lot of people forget this part.  Whoops.  I know what you're thinking; I get it all the time:  "Come on, seriously?  Of all things, why is it important to prepare the soil for next year?  Doesn't it just sit there, waiting?  That's all it needs, right?"

WRONG.  Soil is a natural resource, and a preciously fragile one at that.  And probably one of the most overlooked, simply because it's EVERYWHERE you look.  But good soil is a special thing indeed:  a gardener can have the blackest thumb in the world, but so long as the soil he's working is good, his garden will be beautiful.  Conversely, an award-winning gardener can do everything right by bad soil, and his plants will still die.  Plants require a good soil to live, and one thing we can do is manage that growing medium so that it will continue to support life.

So here are a few suggestions on how to get your garden (soil) ready for winter:

1.  Clean House.  Remove all plants, vines, dead leaves, spoiled fruits, weeds, and mulches.  If they're not diseased, toss them in the compost pile.  They'll break down over winter and form a good growing medium for you to use next year.  The reason for this is to prevent insect pests from having a place to hibernate over the winter months.  If there's no shelter in your garden, they won't lay their eggs there...and the troublesome offspring hatching from those eggs will be less likely to chew on your plants!


2.  Amend the Soil.  Here you've got options.  If you have aged manure or compost available, spread a layer 1 - 3 inches deep over the top of your growing area and till it into the soil with a spade, hoe, or mechanical tiller.  If you're buying manure/compost from the store, you'll want about 20 lbs per 100 square feet.  The compost/manure will decompose into the soil, releasing the nutrients so they'll be available for the plants come spring.  It's smelly and hard work, to be sure, but your plants will thank you!


You can also do a cover crop, sometimes called "green manure."  This technique involves sowing a mix of legumes and grasses about 4 - 6 weeks before frost, which is about Autumn Equinox here (Sept 21-23).  Plants included for winter cover crops are winter wheat, crimson clover, and rye.  Some sources say to plant hairy vetch or mustard in the mix...but these plants are invasive in Indiana.  If they flower or go to seed, you'll have a HUGE problem on your hands, and will have a very difficult time getting those weeds under control.

The plants in a cover crop will germinate and establish themselves before the frost, then go dormant during the coldest part of winter.  They'll grow a bit during mid-season thaws, but mostly their purpose is to fix nitrogen in the soil and prevent the soil from becoming compacted or eroded during the cold season.  Four to six weeks before the last frost in spring, about the Spring Equinox here (March 21-23), chop the plants down to the ground with a weed eater or loppers, and till everything into the soil.  The plant material will decompose quickly, and provide nutrients for the growing season.

The key is to NOT let any of those grasses or clovers flower or go to seed.  You don't want them to reproduce; just grow and die.  You shouldn't need a whole lot of seed to do this; just a pound or two of each cover crop should be enough to cover 1000 square feet.

3.  Cover the Soil.  If all else fails, and you can't get your hands on compost, animal manure, or cover crop seed, cover the soil with leaves.  This will prevent the soil from blowing away during winter, and will prevent the worst of the elements from weathering it.  But be careful; you don't want to till the leaves into the soil.  Fallen leaves have a high carbon content, and the microorganisms in the soil will use up any nitrogen left over from the growing season to decompose them.  Best to simply use them as cover, and then pull them off in spring when you're prepping the garden.


Happy Autumn Prepping!