sb country n news-towers for worms

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-TOWERS FOR WORMS

recently i started researching the internet on how to
do worm composting

at the school garden i had taken a storage bin
drilled holes in it
then
made a composter out of it
adding all the greens and browns you need to make a
composter work
we added some worms to the mix
however
the bin was so heavy it was hard to handle
so
i decided to convert it to a worm composter
thus
the worm composter internet search

man
i love youtube videos

as i was searching i hit this link
about worm towers using 5 gallon buckets
and
putting them in your garden

i was intrigued i must say

bascially
you dig a hole in the garden the depth of the bucket
take the bucket and drill holes in it on the sides
and the bottom
i did 3/8 in holes

then
in the hole i dug in the ground
i added shredded newspapers
thats worms candy they love it
plus
i added some compost
then
i dropped the bucket into the hole
then
in the bottom of the bucket
i added more compost and shredded newspapers
then
i wet this down good
worms like it moist like a sponge after you wring it out
then
i added shredded food scraps
like veggies fruit bread rice pasta egg shells preferably crushed
no meat no bones no sauces no oils
then
on the top of the pile
i keep moist shredded newspapers
covered with a thick moist newspaper or cardboard
then
i put a lid on the bucket
in my case
i added a square concrete paver over the bucket
to keep in moisture
to shut out light
to keep out varmints
then
all i do is add clippings from the garden
removed plants as long as they arent diseased
as i go along
then
when the worms get this all composted up
it will take several weeks
the worm compost that is left is used to fertilize the garden
plus
the worms go out into the garden to dig around
loosening up the soil
fertilizing it as they go
then return back into the worm tower
the buried 5 gallon bucket
for more food

so i added 4 of these spaced 4 ft apart down the middle
of my garden which is about 20 ft x 10 ft

so now
we recycle all our food scraps in the buckets
or
donate them to the schools worm composter

is this the ultimate food recycling idea or what

thank you mother nature

the organicgreen doctor

worms, alzheimer worms

Walk to End Alzheimers
we are also walking in the bell county/temple 
walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 3 2012

you can walk free but a donation to and or joining
my organicgreendoctor team is appreciated

WORMS

in digging in my compost pile
digging in my garden
digging in my flower beds
one thing i noticed was that there were very few worms

there use to be lots and lots of worms in my landscape
while wondering what happened to those worms
i realized that the drought that weve had here has taken
a toll on my worm population in my soil

since i dont irrigate my landscape anymore and i
dont water my garden in the summer unless its being
used to grow plants
which is usually only one 4 ft x 12 ft raised bed while i
let the other rest for the summer
what is happening i think is my worms are dying from
the lack of moisture
they are provided tons of organic material in the form of
compost and mulch and newspapers used as mulch

so i have found this worm farm in austin texas to order
some worms from
in fact they are giving a seminar on worm composting at
my favorite organic nursery the natural gardener on
saturday november 10th at 1000am

so i ordered 2 lbs of worms
yep just like you would order chicken or beef
theres 800-1000 per lb
so i got 2000 worms +-
they were a little sluggish when they arrived via mail
it was cheaper to have them shipped then to drive to go
get them
my mailman told me he has delivered worms before that were
all dried up
mine were alive just a little slow

once i dumped them in a hole in my garden they became
more active
i divided them into several groups and placed them in each
of my raised garden beds
all have plenty of organic material and moisture from recent rains

didnt put them into my compost pile as its in the chicken run
dont think they would have lasted long the way those chickens
go after the compost pile every day

now just need to wait until they can multiply
they are hermaphradites so each can produce babies
up to 200 per worm

hope they are ready and working hard for my spring garden next year

ALZHEIMER WORMS

well thats what i call them
alzheimer worms
their official name is
caenorhabditis elegans
c elegans for short
they are 1 mm long live in the soil and are transparent
they are used in research because you can see everything
the digestive system reproductive system nervous system

at the walk to end alzheimers this weekend in austin
researchers from ut austin were there talking about the
research they were doing on this itty bitty worm

they have developed a worm
the ones i call the alzheimer worms
who develop alzheimers in 3 days
so they can test drugs on these worms and in 3 days see
if they work to prevent alzheimers disease
they can tell by looking at the nerves in the worms to see
if they have degenerated
have those beta amyloid plaques

they are testing many new drugs and chemicals and
are also testing the bexarotene the anticancer drug that will
be used next year in a clinical trial in humans to see if it
slows down the alzheimer process in the brain

so who would have thought that a composting worm would
help me at home in my garden and in the research lab to
evaluate treatments for this awful disease

makes me have a new appreciation for those worms now

the organicgreen doctor