Two Placer County workshops focus on vermicomposting
This might look like a failed chocolate cake, but it's rich compost harvested from red wigglers. Kathy Morrison
I'm here today to ask you to invite some worms to Thanksgiving dinner.
Don't know any worms? OK, the timing's a little tight, but here's a tip: This weekend the Placer County master gardeners are going to have two sessions of worm meet-and-greet, as it were: Workshops in Roseville and Lincoln.
The Roseville one, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Roseville Utility Exploration Center, costs $20 for Roseville residents and $22 for non-Roseville residents. Seating is limited, but when I looked this afternoon, there were still two spots available. Attendees get a starter family of red wiggler worms and a bin for them to live in. Check the city of Roseville's registration site here.
The afternoon workshop, at the Lincoln Library, 485 Twelve Bridges in Lincoln, is also Saturday, from 2 to 3 p.m. There is no fee and no registration required, but no wigglers or other materials will be provided. Attendees must acquire a brood of worms and a bin on their own. The workshop listing is here.
A worm home is not a complicated set-up: My bin is nothing more than a heavy-duty Husky bin, with holes drilled in the sides and the bottom. It sits on top of some bricks so any moisture can drip out. For bedding I use Eco Flake Animal Bedding -- shavings that are sold in bales for about $10 each at feed and some hardware stores. Leaves or shredded newspaper can be used as bedding as well. My previous bale lasted three years, so it's a worthwhile purchase.
The master gardeners will have plenty of advice on what and when to feed the worms, but I will add one tip: No cranberries.
My worms are going to be dining this Thanksgiving on apple cores, carrot trimmings, potato peelings and coffee grounds. (No meat, grease or citrus.) For dessert, they're going to get a pumpkin -- a whole one, left over from Halloween. That will last them until Christmas.
These little wigglers pay me back regularly with the richest compost you can imagine. I don't have a big space to harvest the entire bin, so I do micro-harvesting when I feed them. The plate in the photo above shows my typical haul, which gets spread on top of some soil in the garden, usually at a spot I think needs a boost, or in one of my potted plants.
If you can't attend either of the Placer workshops, you can still make friends with some worms in time for New Year's Eve, and certainly by Valentine's Day. The Sacramento County master gardeners' worm composting tips can be found on this page (roll down).
You and your plants will be glad you invited worms to dinner.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Flowers in My Back Yard Series
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden checklist for week of May 24
Take advantage of this “normal” week and get stuff done. Your garden needs you.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Support with trellises, cages or stakes rapidly growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or other tall crops that may get knocked around in those gusty winds.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
Powered by California Local
