Project Vermicompost – Month 2 Update

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My garbage-free project is well underway. I have just experienced my second month “garbage free” and it is now fully integrated into my daily routine and has become a way of living for me and the Greenwood family.

At month 2 into the project we have reached the maximum garbage that the worms can consume from the decomping garbage I actually have about 8 lbs of compost ready for my garden. For my gardening endeavor, I have chosen strawberries to grow with my nutrient-rich compost.

I toiled the soil and mixed it with a bin of raw compost and sand and I’m ready to plant sequoia strawberries that will sustain the family berry obsession for the summer. I have grown strawberries in the past, but without the right soil and too little sun hours in the day the berries can be weak, small and flavorless. With this first batch of “organic” strawberries I will feed weekly a treatment batch from the collection of worm tea (liquid form of worm castings) and the control group I will only feed with water. Worm tea is infinitely richer in nitrogen, phosphate, calcium, magnesium and potash then the upper 6 inches of top soil; not only is it a great organic plant food it is also a natural repellent for aphids, spider mites, scale and white flies. This type of organic plant food is said to increase plant appearance and up productivity by 4-10 times. I shall see with my fresh crop of strawberries! Plants are said to perk up, almost over-night, when fed worm tea.

Stay tuned to see how my sustainable strawberry garden is growing and what the outcome will be on the worm tea treated strawberries versus my control group, that are fed plain water.