Urban Worm Interview: Dan Lonowski of Michigan SoilWorks

by Steve | Jul 8, 2018 | Continuous Flow Systems, Expert Bucket, Interview Series, Teacher Bucket, Worm Bin

About a year ago, I watched a fascinating time lapse video of the assembly of one of the most attractive continuous flow vermicomposting systems I have ever seen. Some guy named Dan Lonowski of Michigan SoilWorks and Gavin Newton of Detroit-area worm castings producer...

Vermicomposting 101: Plant and Soil Benefits of Vermicompost

by Steve | Dec 20, 2017 | 101 Bucket, Expert Bucket, Teacher Bucket, Vermicompost, Vermicomposting 101 Series

Some of us start vermicomposting to divert our household or farm waste away from the waste stream, and that is a benefit by itself. But what about the end product? If you're reading this, you're probably already aware that vermicompost, which includes the worm...

Urban Worm Interview Series: Soil Biology 101, Part II

by Steve | Nov 15, 2017 | Expert Bucket, Interview Series, Teacher Bucket, Worm Castings

In Part I of this interview about soil biology with Heather Rinaldi and Nina Folch, we learned some pretty crucial stuff about what constitutes excellent soil, how to recognize when it's good, and what to do about it when it's not. But the one thing we didn't even...

Urban Worm Interview Series: Soil Biology 101, Part I

by Steve | Nov 1, 2017 | Expert Bucket, Interview Series, Soil Biology, Teacher Bucket

I kind of always thought of soil as just “dirt”, the stuff under the grass, the brown substance plants just magically grow out of. And it wasn’t until embarrassingly recently that I learned of the level of complexity that ecosystem that exists, or at least...

What Causes Protein Poisoning and What to Do About It

by Steve | May 31, 2017 | 101 Bucket, Expert Bucket, Teacher Bucket, Vermicompost

A particularly devastating problem in a worm bin is protein poisoning, also called “string of pearls” or sour crop, evidenced by a serious deformation of the earthworms as their intestines rupture, inevitably killing the worm itself. So let's check out...

Urban Worm Interview Series: Paul Piccirillo of Worm Farming Revealed

by Steve | Oct 10, 2016 | Expert Bucket, Interview Series

I'm thrilled to be interviewing Paul Piccirillo today.  If you've poked around the web for information on vermicomposting and vermiculture, you've no doubt run across his vast library of helpful content at Worm Farming Revealed. Pauly's an interesting character. He's...