Cold Front Precautions

Matt Smith insulates the vermicompost bins at Better Farm.

We've got a bit of a cold front tearing through the North Country for the next couple of days, hopefully for the last time before we really hit the spring stride. Precautionary measures are in order to brace our worms and plants from the below-freezing temperatures headed our way throughout the weekend.

The Worms
We've got 10,000 red wrigglers living outside in our newly constructed vermicompost bins. The critters aren't fans of cold temperature, and when the thermometer dips to around 30 degrees it's definitely time to warm the worms up. Matt and Nick surrounded the bins today with straw, and threw a thick layer of straw above the worms for good measure. If you're working with worms outside, tonight's a good night to move them inside or pile them up with good insulation.

The Plants
The bulk of our plants are in the greenhouse, leaving just the asparagus, onions, garlic, peas, and lima beans outside. A layer of hay over the seedlings or seeds will do the trick for any plants you're worried about; or you can experiment with a simple cold frame (check out simple design plans here).

The Worms Have Arrived!

Ten thousand worms arrived this morning via Priority Mail from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm and The Worm Ladies of Charlestown. Their function? To do all the dirtiest work in Better Farm's new compost initiative, which takes food waste from local grocers and turns it into fertile potting soil.

Our on-site composter extraordinaire, Matt Smith, was like a little kid on Christmas morning. Here he is, about to open the first box of worms:

Worm Advisory!

We went out to the bins Matt and Nick built two weeks ago to get them ready for their new residents. First step? To shred cardboard and newspaper so the worms have a nice, cozy bedding setup (thanks to Redwood's own Knorr's Grocery and Felder's Service Station for giving us their scrap cardboard and newspaper):

Then Matt watered the bedding so it was damp, like a wrung-out rag:

Onto the bedding went the worms (we could have used gloves for this, but what fun would that be?):

Former artist-in-residence Brian Purwin gets his hands dirty.

We sprinkled in a little dirt:

Then it was time to give the worms the biggest buffet of their lives. Here's some of the food waste Matt's been collecting:

Here are Brian and Matt feeding the worms:

We filled the bins about halfway up so as to not overwhelm the tired, hungry, thirsty worms who've spent the last three or four days in transit:

This puts us about six weeks away from having our first batch of fresh potting soil and worm-casing fertilizer. Stay tuned for results!

Thanks to the following businesses for partnering with Better Farm on this project and allowing us to stop in each week to load up on food for our worms. Their willingness to participate is keeping tons of food waste out of landfills:

Alexandria Bay Big M Supermarket
The Mustard Seed in Watertown
Great American Food Stores in Watertown 

Felder's Service Station in Redwood 

North Star Restaurant in Alexandria Bay

Vermicompost Project Coming to Better Farm this March!

Vermicompost photo from IU Kelley School of Business.

We'll be joined in March by Matt Smith, a clean air advocate and leading member of 350.org's New Jersey coalition. He's been making headlines for his work building opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and fracking legislation, and pushing for sustainability and cleaner energy policies. When he moves to Better Farm next month, he'll be launching a vermicompost project that will incorporate community involvement, sustainability initiatives, and lots and lots of worms. Our interns will be playing a big part in getting this operation up and running; and their involvement will educate them so they can initiate similar projects back home after leaving Better Farm. Here are some excerpts from Matt's project outline.

Vermicompost Project Proposal for Better Farm

Mission: Design, construct and operate a scalable vermicomposting system to be located at Better Farm for the following purposes.

Goals: 

• Develop a low-cost vermicomposting system that is scalable for municipal and commercial use.
• Test which combinations of organic materials demonstrate the quickest decomposition times.
• Test which combination of organic materials offers the highest composted nutrient yields.
• Test which environment(s) including temperature, aeration frequency, moisture content etc. provide the quickest decomposition times.
• Develop a low cost, scalable system for converting worm casings (poop) from composting into liquefied organic fertilizer.

Project Scope: Conduct research and field Studies of existing vermicomposting operations in New York State and surrounding areas to identify a system design that meets the project goals. Construct the vermicomposting system (will need project support to complete this step). Acquire Red (Earth) Worms for vermicomposting. Partner with local households, farms, food stores etc. to haul away their organic waste for vermicomposting on Better Farm. Partnerships will be designed to benefit all parties involved, with a dual goal of promoting Better Farm's existing outreach and community engagement efforts. Operate and maintain vermicomposting system on Farm for duration of project.

Additional Information: If the amount of organic soil and or liquefied fertilizer exceeds practical use on the farm, soil and/or fertilizer will be sold. All activities related to the construction of a vermicomposting system, including partnering with individuals and other organizations in the community, will adhere to the mission of Better Farm and principles of the Better Theory.

Worm Dirt: Taking topsoil to the next level

Worm dirt from the 1000 Islands Bait Store in Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

Using Better Farm's no-till, no-weed method of gardening means piling cardboard, dead leaves, compost, and fresh soil on top of each other in our raised beds and gardens. This technique yields an intimidating harvest of huge veggies and fruits that feed us (and visitors to our farm stand and the Redwood Farmers Market) all summer and fall. As important a presence as any of those ingredients, however, is the worm.

Worms are more than fish bait! They  help water flow through soil, break down organic matter into plant food, and excrete castings that are like fertilizers on steroids. They turn soil over better than any rototiller and are one of the coolest organisms around. Worm- and castings-rich soil is considered "Black Gold" among green thumbs and compost enthusiasts.

You can buy worm castings online or at specialty gardening stores, or you can do like us a pay your local bait shop a visit. The stuff you get from bait stores is a little rougher around the edges (you can see chunks of cornmeal in the dirt, for example), but it's also cheaper and local. Weigh your options!

The 1000 Islands Bait Store in Alexandria Bay, N.Y., sells nice-size bags of worm dirt for $3.50/bag, which is slightly cheaper than what you'd pay for a bag of soil that's not chock-full of awesome little worms. It took about four bags to fill each of the raised herb beds at the farm. The rest will be sprinkled in and around our seedlings when we transplant them outside.