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Biochar as compost deodorizer: vermicomposting experiment report

12/23/2017

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One of the issues that prevents people from composting (indoors and outdoors) is smelly compost in the collection container in the kitchen. I think this is more likely to be a problem for smaller families (we fill our container too fast for it to get very smelly before we have to empty it!) and probably more likely to be a warm season issue.

If you find this is an issue, I have a solution— biochar. At the Common Ground Fair this year, Todd from Char-Cola (www.char-cola.com) came to my booth to ask whether I had used biochar in my compost collection container. I told him that I had not, he offered me a 1 quart sample to try. I did some reading to ensure that using biochar in my worm bins would harm my worms. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t.

Time for a vermicomposting experiment! A few weeks after the fair, I tried about a quarter cup of biochar on top of our compost collection container and then let it sit covered in the basement to get ripe and simulate what some families might experience. I was surprised that it didn’t smell too bad (rotting potato peels and onion pieces can smell pretty bad). I added the food waste with the biochar to a corner of my bin and marked the corner. Whenever adding something new to your worm bin always add in the corners. Over the next month, I observed that bin as I added food waste to that bin with biochar. During a vermicomposting experiment, I monitor that bin and check the corners. If the worms don’t like what was added they will move away. Adding the biochar to the food didn’t cause the worms to move away and when I peeked in that corner the smell was not too bad. I then monitored that bin for 2 months and everything is fine. I have not tried biochar in my outdoor composting bin, but I cannot imagine that there would be any problems.

I would recommend biochar for those families who have concerns about keeping a compost collection container in their kitchen.

​Cheers!
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35th Anniversary Edition of Worms Eat My Garbage

12/16/2017

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The new 35th anniversary edition of Mary Appelhof’s book Worms Eat My Garbage is now available from Storey publishing.

The original version was an excellent resource, but it was difficult to find and some updates were needed.

I was delighted to be asked to serve as an invited reviewer. The new edition honors Mary’s objective of making vermicomposting easy and understandable for beginners.

You can buy a copy (just in time for Christmas!) here (
http://www.storey.com/books/worms-eat-garbage-35th-anniversary-edition/).
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    Mark Follansbee

    Vermicomposting and beyond! Check out what I've been up to on my blog.

    Please note that I'm migrating my blog from its original site. I'll be reposting previous entries until the move is complete. Click here to visit the full Blog Archive.


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