Boulder Vermicomposting

Interview: Outdoor vermicomposting

March 22nd, 2010

I received an email from Jim McIntyre at Covered Bridge Organic, in Ohio.  He’s another worm bin vendor, but with a slightly different take.  His focus is on outside worm bins, as well as hot composting.  Currently, he is running trials on keeping worms outside during the Ohio winter, using a two shell composting system, with leaves or other insulation in between.  I was able to ask him a few questions about his experiences.

Dan: How long have you been doing composting?  How long have you been doing worm composting?

Jim: I’ve been composting, though not continuously, for 20 years. Began with windrow composting of dairy and horse manures used in growing produce as a member of Covered Bridge Organic Farms Coop. The Wishing Well composter I developed is a spin-off from the ag coop. At a recycling trade show nine years ago I bought the working display model from a vermiculture exhibitor and kept it working in the basement, then in the garage when we moved.

We’re an independent distributor of the smaller Soilsaver Classic compost bin along with our larger Wishing Well design. When I needed more room in the garage two years ago, I dumped the worm bin contents into a Soilsaver that was set up outside by the back door. As fall came, the worm bin’s indoor space was gone. I had to figure a way to leave those poor worms out in the cold. I made a blanket of leaves stuffed between the larger Wishing Well bin surrounding the Soilsaver containing the worms. Easy, an off the shelf fix, or so I hoped. After a cold northern Ohio winter, I opened the bottom gate on the Soilsaver to find hundreds of worms in the very first shovel full.

D: Why do you prefer outdoor worm composting to indoor worm composting?

J: Worms belong outside. No flies, odor, chance of spillage while moving,  floor space taken up, nor mess on the floor while cleaning.

D: What are possible upsides/downsides of outdoor vermicomposting that people should consider?

J: The two factors to affect outdoor vermicomposting are weather and volume. Temperature extremes need to be avoided: summer’s heat and winter’s cold. The volume of the bin’s contents needs to be of sufficient mass to allow for migration of the worms to a favorable environment.

D: What particular challenges of indoor vermicomposting does outdoor vc overcome?

J: As above–Worms belong outside. No flies, odor, chance of spillage while moving,  floor space taken up, nor mess on the floor while cleaning.

D: How do you use your vermicompost/castings?

J: Mid-spring, as weather warms, I remove the Wishing Well enclosure from around the Soilsaver worm bin, open the bottom access doors and begin to shovel out the finished material onto a 2 foot by 3 foot piece of plywood placed over  a wheelbarrow. As worms avoid light by migrating into the pile, the top layers are pealed into the wheelbarrow until remaining worm mass is saved. Continue to harvest, then place the worms back into the bin. Wheel barrow contents is then used in spring planting.

D: How is surrounding a soil saver with a wishing well and stuffing leaves between superior to using hay bales or bags of leaves?

J: Makes a more visually attractive outdoor appliance that is easy to assemble. Offers an insulated winter worm composter that can be separated into a spring through fall yard waste composter, the Wishing Well, and a separate worm composter, the Soilsaver, for 9 months of the year.  Leaves are free, hay bales can be hard to find and costly in urban areas.

D: Any advice to starting worm composters?

J: Worms are not tender creatures with exotic needs. They can ingest a wide range of organic materials, survive in a temperature range from 30′s up to almost 100F, migrate to find food, avoid light and pH extremes. Composting worms are native to Europe, and have been introduced  to every other continent except  the Antarctic. They’re hardy creatures which are native all over the world.  Keep them outside where they belong.

D: As far as your business goes, have you found people receptive to worm composting?  Is outdoor hot composting an alternative or a first step towards worm composting?

J: This is the second year of field trials. Although I’ve found much supportive data on the Net, we’ve not yet developed a product package. Outdoor hot composting during the summer in the Wishing Well could be a preliminary step to worm composting in the Soilsaver during winter.

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