Worm Workers

18/08/2024

Pleasure your soil with

18/04/2024

Foodwaste is unsmart.

16/06/2023

stopped in Cleveland and my family was thrilled to host Keisha & Casey with and their friends Chad & Brian.

We went on a in the at West Creek Reservation
Watershed Stewardship Center.

We found some interesting fungi, a tree frog and lots of microorganisms.

My personal highlight was a moving diatom that looked like a dough roller.

Thanks to Mayim and her colleagues for organizing .

Thank you to & for bringing them to .

Save travels to Nova Scotia and keep sharing the message of the microbes.

31/05/2023

🎙️🌿 Join my microbe buddy as he introduces you to the captivating world of

"Friends in Low Places: Compost & the Soil Food Web".

Hosted by the Cleveland Seed Bank on Saturday, June 3rd at 11 AM.

Discover the incredible role of microscopic life in breaking down organic matter, cycling nutrients, and nurturing the soil that supports the plants we grow! 🌿🌱

Make sure to register and secure your spot for this event! 📚🔬✨

https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/nglGVZgXSBNu0QPd8v15Sw

17/05/2023

Meet us at the Heights Eco Fair on May 27th!

We’ll bring the worms and the microscope to explore how composting works.

Bring a sample of your own compost if you want to learn what’s in it!

It’s going to be great! Head over to and check out their website to learn about the other children’s activities and things for grown ups that are offered.

18/04/2023

This is your chance for a with catalyst_bioamendments in Cleveland! June 13th - 15th.

14/02/2023

The USCC's new director of industry development Matt Ball shares some thoughts on the Benefits of Thermophilic Composting Worm Feedstock. At the US Composting Council, we focus on making compost through the controlled aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegradable materials. Whether it’s in a backyard, or a permitted facility, fulfilling the chemical and physical requirements to promote aerobic decomposition is paramount to success.

However, other methods of composting exist that when paired with the thermophilic composting process, will also produce stable organic matter that’s teaming with biology.

Vermicomposting uses worms to recycle food scraps, manure and other organic material into a valuable soil amendment called vermicompost. However, feeding worms an unprocessed organic feedstock can be detrimental to the process, potentially introducing pathogens and generating higher temperatures as the feedstock breaks down, which can harm the worms. Thermophilically pre-composting the feedstock prior to feeding it to the worms can mitigate these issues and improve the speed, efficiency, and output volume of the vermicomposting process.

Benefits of Thermophilic Composting Worm Feedstock:

Size Reduction - Throughout the composting process, there is substantial volume reduction of the compost pile. This size reduction will help keep your feedstock supply contained and easier to manage.
Reduces Odor Potential - When raw feedstock decomposes (nitrogenous feedstock in particular), volatile and odorous compounds will accumulate and be released into the atmosphere. By composting your raw feedstock in an aerobic system, potential odors are diminished.
pH Moderation - A worm bin should maintain a fairly neutral pH (pH of 6-7). Composting raw feedstock will help process organic acids which can build up naturally through organics decomposition, typically rendering a pre-compost with a fairly neutral pH.
Pathogen Reduction - Thermophilic compost will achieve temperatures of 131 degrees F or more for a minimum of several days. This temperature is hot enough to kill any unwanted pathogens that are in your raw feedstock and keep them from contaminating your worm bin. In addition, the beneficial biology present in an aerobic compost will out-compete human and plant pathogens that typically thrive in a low oxygen environment.
Vector Attraction Reduction - Thermophilic compost will drive out vermin, fly larvae, and many other vectors that may be attracted to an unmanaged pile of decomposing organic material.
Reduces Volatilized Ammonia - Ammonia can kill your worms. If raw nitrogenous feedstock (such as manure) is not balanced with a substantial carbon source, there will be excess nitrogen during decomposition - and this will be volatilized as inorganic ammonia. Pre-composting with a good C:N ratio will allow the biology an opportunity to sequester the available N or have nitrifying bacteria convert it to plant-available and non-volatile NO3.
Terminates W**d Seeds - Worm bins do not achieve thermophilic temperatures. The high temperatures achieved during thermophilic composting will terminate any seeds that enter your system via raw feedstock.
Homogenized Feedstock - Pre composting raw feedstock will turn a heterogeneous mix of different solids into a homogeneous mix that will be equally available for your worms to consume.
Lower Biological Demand - The amount of oxygen required for microbial respiration drops dramatically as thermophilic composting progresses. Pre composting raw feedstock will insure that your worm bin will not go anaerobic due to the large amount of oxygen being consumed by microbes in a worm bin during early stage decomposition.
The benefits of properly composting organics obviously don’t stop with the worm bin. Properly managing a thermophilic compost pile at any scale, ensures the final product will be safe, stable, and a beautiful resource to be applied to the land.

14/04/2022

This is Adam's eye at 10x magnification. He was part of a group of students who came by today to check out my urban compost lab.

They learned about composting, worms and soil mircrobes. We dug in some piles and took a look at samples with the microscope.

I am using the iLab cam attachment for iPhone and it's always fun to just zoom in on our eyes. This helps to visualize the concept of magnification and scale/size of objects for children.

Having a microscope is like a never ending pass for the zoo because there are so many microorganisms we can observe.

I love holding these workshops. Today we even went overtime because everybody was geeking out so much.

Early childhood education is another tiny puzzle piece to

They also got a starter batch of worms for the compost at their school.

Dividing a squirm of worms multiplies composting :)

02/01/2022

3.9 millions pounds! Great work Belt Riders

3.9 million pounds diverted from the landfill in 2021 all thanks to your help and participation.

Let’s see what we can do in 2022!!

Double that perhaps???

❤️

10/10/2021

These girls just met the worms and said 5 stars, would recommend.

09/10/2021

I had an inspiring time at the

09/10/2021

Come in out to the Cleveland Heights Eco Fair today from 11am to 3pm. Lovely kids programming and great people over here.

21/09/2021

Did you register for our , yet? Come join us for an introduction into upcycling your organic waste. I am going to inspire you to start a worm bin and encourage you to keep it going.

11/09/2021

In our hands-on workshop you will learn what vermicomposting is and why it is a great method of composting.

Currently, an average of 35% of our regular trash is compostable and should not go to the landfill.

Vermicomposting can be done right in your backyard, basement, or even apartment. The worms help to break down your food scraps and other organic waste and the worms do all the heavy lifting for you.

A worm bin can be very easy to maintain and does not require a lot of work on your end. This workshop demonstrates how to take care of the worms and how to set up a smooth process in your own home. We will talk about common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

We will look at a flow-through worm bin and how it makes managing the composting process a breeze.

If we have time left after answering your questions about your individual context, we will also take a look at a vermicast sample under the microscope.

With a simple process in place, you can easily compost leftovers, food and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and other organic matter.

Worms are only one component of the composting process. Additionally, hidden to our eyes, there are billions of microbes working on that same process. We can see them with a microscope and looking at this microcosm is truly fascinating.

The microorganisms are also what makes finished vermicompost a wonderful garden amendment. Using vermicastings for house plants, vegetables, and/or flowers has big advantages to using chemical fertilizers.

Vermicomposting is an upcycling process: you are turning organic waste into a stable form of humus that is totally safe to apply anywhere on your property. Even if you aren't a gardener, you will end up with a desirable, safe, and odorless product.

16/06/2021

A wormy book recommendation for

As you may already know, worms are both girl and boy at the same time. It's perfectly fine if they want to get married. In fact, I encourage all my wormies to have a lot of s*x as well. Let's celebrate love in all forms.

Book by and

11/06/2021

We want to increase our community engagement and meet more neighbors. Otherwise we won't reach our "100 household goals" this year. Let's keep this momentum going.

The full letter is on our website, the LINK IS IN OUR BIO. Thanks for sharing. Please post to your stories, tag a business or organization in the comments. Messages with leads / tips also welcome!

10/06/2021

While reaching out to the neighbors, I discovered another long time composter in . He sent me the photo and this text:

Thank you Worm Workers for spreading the word about vermiculture. My wife started composting years before I met her, and I took up where she left off 13 years ago. We've been using these large open bottom bins all that time, and use two of the green Exaco ECO 2000 Kitchen Compost Pails to collect kitchen waste. I use a long handle 4 tine pitchfork to turn the compost, and try a couple times a month to empty and refill the bins for a complete turn. Every spring I spread the resulting granular compost on the gardens, and start the process again. We put everything in, from fall leaves, mown and ornamental grasses and hellebores to compostable food containers, egg cartons, the occasional paper bag hand shredded, and as you can see from this photo, paper shreddings from the home office. I feel open bottom / open top bins are important to encourage participation by worms, insects and bacteria from the garden, and permit rain and snow to enter. I introduce scraps all winter long as well (though I don't turn it during winter as the worms hibernate deep down). The hexagonal bins in this photo are my favorite, being sectional and coming apart in 18 inch square panels. They can be assembled in varying shapes from 4 sides, to 5, 6, 7, or 8. The cylindrical bins are okay, and while not meant to be stackable, work just fine that way. Enjoy composting!

We will continue to highlight people in our community who are composting to inspire more to join.

08/06/2021

Enjoy some footage of a rotifer. It felt really marvelous to witness this.

This micro organism creates a vortex and sucks in water and bacteria, algae, yeast and other particles that fit in its mouth. It filters out it's food and ejects a stream like a microscopic vacuum cleaner.

If you want to learn more about rotifers be prepared to read a lot (of which I haven't enough). I am still at the point of understanding their general role in the

They are classified as an animal and their presence indicates certain soil conditions. Their presence would be expected in an intact .

04/06/2021

Food entrepreneur came by to pick up a double starter batch of worms, bringing our count up to 26.

She has been using a vintage concrete sink for her worms and it looks great. It's not one of those ugly ones you have in the basement. These would make a great addition to any fancy garden. Plus they have a built-in drain to collect compost extract.

24/05/2021

Aileen came by with her wonderful bag and a couple containers to get worms and vermicast.

We are inviting our neighbors to join us with organic trash recycling. Our goal for this year is to inspire 100 households in our community. Yesterday we reached 24 and tomorrow No. 25 is gonna stop by.

When I set the goal to get to 100 ,I thought it might be a little bit too ambitious for a 1HP (one human power) backyard worm farm. Now I am getting hopeful I can make it to 50 by mid summer.

Please join me and help spread the word about this mission. Reaching 100 households has the potential to diverting 100,000lbs of organic trash from the landfill annually.

Making all that compost will also lower the amount of chemical fertilizer that's needed in our neighborhood. It's time to make little steps towards healing our environment.

21/05/2021

Now with expanded service area across greater Cleveland!

Our service area grew! This has been months in the making and we are STOKED to be able to bring our home pick-up services to all of Cleveland!

Peep the link in our bio to find our home page and learn more about our pick-up services.

If you have questions, please send them to [email protected] and we will be sure to get back to you!

See you soon!

And remember, what’s compostable today, will be compostable in 100 years. True waste reduction with to your door service. 🎉

19/05/2021

We are up to 22/100 households supplied with worms by us this year. We will keep inspiring our neighbors, invite our community members, and empower them to start their own (wormy) compost.

I also connected with . I learned from our conversation that composting is also officially considered a form of recycling (duh, I knew that part) and cities actually get a credit from the county if more of their residents compost. They also sell compost equipment at a super low price. They currently offer two different backyard composters, a compost thermometer, and a very handy kitchen collection pail. You can find that on their website.

We continue our grassroots backyard farm powered initiative and will connect with more local organizations to increase the momentum.

We are very happy about all the support that we have received so far and want to give thanks to everyone.

If you know someone we should reach out to, to either host a vermicompost workshop, create synergy or something else, please tag them in the comments or send us a pm. shakerheights

18/05/2021

We've made it to 20/100. Those of you who have followed us for a while know that we are inviting 100 households to start a (wormy) compost collection process of their own.

Part of the success is due to the support of other important actors in the "cleveland composting scene." Thanks again to .soil for hosting the vermicomposting workshop last week.

I could feel how that gave our mission a boost and I want to keep that momentum going.

20/100 feels like an important milestone, but also shows how far out we still are. I talked to a lot of other neighbors over the weekend and we should reach 30 soon.

You can support our mission by spreading the word or join in and start your own compost. (And let us know so we can add you to the count 😊)

12/05/2021

19/100 - more neighbors are joining us and are starting to compost. You can still register for our wormy workshop, tomorrow at 7pm, hosted by .soil
Today we handed over a starter batch of worms, cocoons and microbes to another resident from that just recently got her

Here the full text for the review.

"I purchased couple pounds of worms in 2020 and they are still working on my food scraps under my kitchen table, (: and no it doesn't stink, worms take care of it:) No need for fancy worm bin setup either, I just added some cardboard and vegetable food scraps (NO meat) and made sure they have enough water (NON chlorinated rain water). As you can see that's a bunch of happy worms in there! Great quality red viggler worms at a great price! Oh, and I split them in two bins so now I have enough to put them in my raised beds garden (I use perforated pipes system) and feed them food scraps where they will turn it into worm castings. I bought some worm castings here as well to get my indoor seedlings a head start. Also wonderful quality at a great price. They make wormcasting tea as well . Thanks Tim!"

10/05/2021

Come join all the other neighbors that have already signed up for our workshop.
send us a message if you have questions.

Registration link in bio.)
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