Slow Fade

It's been over 3 months since I cut up the "compostable" Sun Chips bag and threw it in the bin. Seems to be no signs of breaking down. See the red arrow below.

Next update in 3 months.

Breakfast for 2...thousand

When I eat breakfast, so do my little friends. This is what the red wiggler breakfast consists of:

Egg carton, egg shells, coffee filter, coffee grinds and burnt toast (toaster's fault, not mine).

Insight

For those seeking daily insight to motivate your soul, look no further than the very trash on your sidewalk.

Back Outside

Although I had been tricked several other times during this deceiving spring, I think now the cold weather is finally gone for good. Therefor, it's time for good ol' compost bin to get back outside, where it belongs.

Now I actually have room to move around in my rolly desk chair next to my desk.

Sun Chip Challenge

I love Sun Chips, mostly because they taste amazing. But only the original ones. I don't know why they had to go and ruin them with all these other stupid flavors. Anyway, SC recently came out with these "compostable" bags. I have to say I'm skeptical since the "compostable" plastic cups I threw in my compost from last summer are still in tact, but we'll see if Sun Chips can live up to their word.

Now feast, little wormies!

Only time will tell. I'll let you know.

Egg Stamp

Seriously? Is it really necessary to put a "USE BY" stamp on every single egg?

That ink better be soy-based if that shell is ending up in my compost bin.  It's bad enough that Duane Reade only sells eggs in styrofoam cartons.  Makes me cringe.

Compost Journey

Kate Zidar's class on Waste Management rekindled my hidden desire to compost things. The benefits of composting in a 4-story walkup apartment building in the city were surprisingly overwhelming. The diversion of smelly organics from a several day stay in our building's trash room at the bottom of the hallway was a major motivation, as was the constant food source for a hard working army of worms. It was these worms, however that helped me understand the true challenges of urban composing.

Prior to this year, my only experience with composting was in a back yard, with lots of space. Composting in plastic bins is a completely different animal, and there was a learning curve. I started with a plastic chinese food container with newspaper, random food scraps, coffee grinds and a small handful of worms Aurelia (from the union square LESEC compost stand) gave me. Our team upgraded to a few bigger bins as the compost mass increased steadily until currently occupying a 20 gallon bin. However, 2 colonies of worms suffered throughout the journey.

With the 10 gallon bin sitting in my kitchen with a vented lid, the smell was too noticible to keep as it was (even while excluding all meats and dairies). However, reducing the air vents provided an unexpected quick death to my worms, as their oxygen ran out. $11 got me another 1/2 lb. The solution to keep these ones alive was to move the bin out to the fire escape, as I could keep the lid off entirely. This seemed the perfect solution until the massive rains of the summer of '09 overflowed the bin on two occasions. The second occasion drowned my second colony of worms, as effectively draining my bin was more tedious than i thought, especially when the darn rain wouldn't stop! Covering the bin again was still a challenge as the water kept getting in. I needed a better setup.

I arrived at the following solution:

This worked perfectly, until of course the harsh December frosts posed a threat to the third colony of worms. I contemplated insulating my bin, maybe dropping the entire bin into a larger bin lined on the inside with a sandwiched blanket, but then another thought crossed my mind. Since I was bringing many of my outdoor plants inside to survive the cold, what if I also brought the bin back inside, keeping it both warm and accessible. I had blue polystyrene and 6" flex duct so I could keep it lidded with a passive exhaust out the window. It seemed crazy enough to try...

For the past month, the team has been doing great. The worms, right within view of the kitchen, wait patiently each day for their feeding. The only hurdle with this setup were the fruit flies, trapped inside the bin, but inevitably escaping when the bin was opened for feeding and stirrings. The solution, which has worked thus far, including spreading concentrated deltamethrin around the perimeter of the rim and brim of the bin, where the flies previously congregated. It worked immediately. It should be noted that deltamethrin should not come into contact with the compost matter nor human skin, as it is toxic and not for amateur use.

I currently have a steady enough flow and enough compost to occasionally re-pot certain plants and also provide some hearty richness to friends upon request. If you want any, let me know.