I thought this article about a Durango farmer, who is also running a cafe named Evening Star’s Local Farm Food Café (where does she find the time!), was interesting because it references closing the cycle of nutrients that so many restaurants leave open. From the article:
It’s a “green” cafe, George says. She uses compostable plates, napkins and cups. Patrons who bring their own fork will get 25 cents off their order. Food waste goes into George’s vermiculture (worm) bin for later use in fertilizing crops.
The whole article is here.
June 17th, 2010
I wrote a while back about redworms in a Durango middle school. I actually contacted the teacher there (in late March) and was able to ask her some questions about her experiences.
Dan: What piqued your interest in vermiculture?
Sharon: Actually, it was Jennifer Craig (Durango Compost) whom I met at the Farmer’s market in Durango a few years ago, and I was tired of buying expensive worm casting soil for my garden. Now I have tea, and great compost.
D: How many bins do you have running?
S: I have one huge bin… a commercial metal bin that holds about 16 pounds of worms. It has a heater, but it is not adequate for our cold winters (it has to be outside on the dock at school) so I had to use rope lights wound around it with a thermal wrap over that. It worked great; however it is now difficult to regulate the heat factor, so I am wrapping it with reflective material. Unfortunately, there is no other spot.
D: How have the kids reacted?
S: They think it is very cool! Of course, some of them don’t want to touch the worms, but I make them, and then they are ok. Now, since we are turning over soil in the garden, they bring the biggest earthworms they can find and are very proud of themselves. Who can figure?
D: How have the parents reacted?
S: Great! I am holding a workshop in April to show them how to make their own worm bins so I’ll let you know how many are really interested.
D: Is it in the classroom, or in a different space? Is it inside? How do you handle odors/fruit flies (if you have them)?
S: It is on the dock. I had them in an empty room in 5 different bins, but fruit flies were an issue. No one was patient enough to see if the neem oil would work, so we took them to the big bin, where they are not a bother. I will be spraying neem oil soon to that bin. The bin odor is not an issue, as we must be feeding them the right amount because it doesn’t smell bad…just earthy.
D: How much do you feed the worm bins a week? How many worms did you start with? Do you feed them mostly food scraps? What do you use for bedding?
S: Right now we are feeding them about 4 lbs. of food a week, mostly raw food scraps and coffee grounds. Our bedding is shredded paper and newspaper. We started with 5 lbs of worms, but given our data, we think there are about 8 lbs. now.
D: How do you harvest the compost?
S: It is mechanical—a handle rotates and it comes out the bottom. I don’t like it as well as our smaller bins (we had layers of screening with bedding and food, and they worked their way up, and mostly compost was on the bottom.
D: How much time/week do you (or your class) spend maintaining the bins?
S: We take the temperature daily and feed once a week, so no more than 10 minutes a day. Sometimes we do data collecting which will be a class period.
D: What overall lessons are you trying to convey with the worm bins?
S: The worms are just a part of our greenhouse program. I want them to understand that garbage can be of recycled to benefit our garden, and that worms (red wigglers) are the most prolific entity to help us reduce waste in our landfills, and at the same time producing an incredible amount of nourishment for our gardens. If every household had a worm bin, we would have glorious gardens, among other things!
April 30th, 2010
Via the Durango Herald, I found this article about a greenhouse at Escalante Middle School. From the article:
A photovoltaic system installed at Escalante Middle School will make a campus greenhouse operational and allow students in Sharon Orr’s elective “greenworks” class to do more than grow vegetables.
…
The class of 24 students will be doing a lot more than greenhouse work, Orr said. She plans to introduce vermiculture, composting, pollination, plant identification and food preparation before the year is over. In inclement weather, the students can investigate what’s happening on the Fat Spaniel network.
March 24th, 2010
Via the Durango Telegraph, I found this story about the Durango Compost Co, which details the genesis and progress of the Durango Compost Co, founded by Jennifer Craig. This company is built around vermicomposting:
[Durango Composting Company] offers three main services: household composters and worms; public education; and commercial use and consulting. The Composting Co.’s most visible presence is at the Farmers Market, where Craig sells 35-gallon buckets of compost for $35; “compost tea,” a compost-steeped liquid used as fertilizer and to prevent plant disease; and the “Can-O-Worms” home worm composters. In addition, Craig also gives presentations at local schools and works with businesses, such as Ska Brewing and Cyprus Café, interested in worm composting.
The key to the company’s founding was the partnership with a coffee shop: “[Durango Coffee Company owner Tim Wheeler] would pay Craig to take his grounds off his hands. In exchange, he would get a cut of the profits from the final garden-ready product.”
I love to see business models around vermicomposting operations, as I believe they’re key to making the process really sustainable in the long term. I found no website for the Durango Compost Company and I was unable to find a telephone number, but the contact info for the coffee company is here.
July 2nd, 2009
