KTRV Fox 12 Melinda's Garden Moment - Vermicomposting

Melinda's Garden Moment - Vermicomposting

MELINDA'S GARDEN MOMENTS

Nationally renowned garden expert Melinda Myers helps everyday gardeners find success and ease in the garden through her Melinda's Garden Moments television segments. Melinda shares "must have" tips that hold the key to gardening success, learned through her more than 25 years of horticulture experience.  Viewers from across the country find her gardener friendly, practical approach to gardening both refreshing and informative!  On this page, Melinda shares some more extensive garden tips, which expands on the information provided in her one-minute TV segments.

Melinda's Garden Moments Garden Tips!
New tips will be added throughout the growing season, providing timely step-by-step tips on what you need to do next in your garden! To view online streaming video of Melinda's Garden Moments, visit http://www.melindamyers.com/learn-from-melinda/melindas-garden-moments-5.html

Vermicomposting

Turn kitchen scraps into useful fertilizer or soil amendment. It's simple, and a fun activity for the whole family.          

All you need is shredded paper, kitchen scraps from plants, a handful or two of topsoil or peat moss, and a container with drainage holes.

Fill the container with shredded paper, moisten, and then you're ready to start composting.   Add some kitchen scraps; bury them into the shredded paper.  Add a little peat moss or soil to help the worms digest.   And some worms. You will need one pound of worms for every half pound of kitchen scraps you want to process each day.

Continue to add kitchen scraps to your composter in pockets spread the bin.  The worms will move over to the kitchen scraps and help convert them to compost.  In a few months you will have plenty of compost, more worms to put back in the bin, add to the outdoor compost, share with friends, or use for fishing.     

A bit more information: Purchase red worms from your local bait store.  They're a real bargain as you get about 500 worms per pound.   Then buy a worm composter (available on line or through a variety of garden catalogues) or make your own from one of the many plastic bins on the market. Use one or two 8 to 10 gallon bins to handle your family's kitchen scraps. Place the container lid under the composter.  Set the bin on inverted plastic cups or blocks in the lid.  The lid will capture any compost tea that drips out of your bin.  Use this to fertilize your indoor or outdoor plants.

Harvesting the worms and compost can be as fun as making the worm farm.  Empty the finished compost onto a work surface.  Have one family member hold a flashlight over the pile. The worms will crawl to the bottom to escape the spot light.  Slowly scrape away the compost as the worms continue to move down through the compost.  You will end up with a pile of compost for the garden and more worms to start the process again and extras to share with others. 

For more gardening tips, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com


About Melinda Myers
Melinda Myers, best known for her gardener friendly and practical approach to gardening, has more than 25 years of horticulture experience in both hands-on and instructional settings. She has a bachelor's degree in horticulture from The Ohio State University and a master's degree in horticulture from University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a certified arborist, and was a horticulture instructor with tenure.

Outside the classroom, Melinda shares her expertise through a variety of media outlets. She has written 20 books, including Can't Miss Small Space Gardening, and the Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide.  She hosts "Great Lakes Gardener," seen on PBS stations throughout the United States, and "Melinda's Garden Moments", which air on network television stations throughout the country. She appears regularly as a guest expert on various national and local television and radio shows. She also writes the twice monthly "Gardeners' Questions" newspaper column and is a contributing editor and columnist for Birds & Blooms and Backyard Living magazines. In addition, she hosted "The Plant Doctor" radio program for over 20 years.

For her work, community service and media presence, Melinda has received recognition and numerous awards, including the 2003 Garden Globe Award for radio talent and the Quill and Trowel Award for her television work, both from the Garden Writers Association. She has also received the Garden Communicator's Award from the American Nursery and Landscape Association and the Gold Leaf Award for Arbor Day from the International Society of Arboriculture.

For more information, visit Myers' web site www.melindamyers.com. The site features regularly updated garden tips, podcasts, a garden club, e-newsletter, books, appearance information, "Great Lakes Gardener" television schedule and more.