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May 2010

Vol. 3, Issue 3

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New Product Announcement:

Looking for a way to compost without worms? How about a Rotating Composter. A great fit for backyard or balcony.

Made in Ontario, this Tumbling Composter is a premier unit with a smart design that makes it easy to turn and keep the compost aerated. Rotating on a stainless steel rod, the tumbling action of this composter creates an aerobic environment that makes composting quick and odourless.

For full details,
follow this link
to our website.

The Coffee Shed at Surrey Place launched a new environmental product. Compostable stir sticks. It is cheap, easy and edible for worms and people!

YES-IT IS FETTUCCINE.

We are excited to introduce another new worm and people friendly product at Surrey Place and it is creating a buzz. Exciting green times are a coming...

Green Connections
is going mobile.

Each meeting will now be hosted at a different location.
Visit our website, for information on upcoming Green Connections Exhibition, to be hosted by Earth Rangers.

Next meetings:

June 14, 2010
Town of Georgina

July 12, 2010
Vaughan

Guests are always welcome.

For full details visit:
green-connections.com

Random Pictures

Helping add worms to the new vermicomposter at Surrey Place.

Visit our Photo Gallery

Re: Tafelmusik - Forces of Nature: An Earth Day Celebration

Thank you for being so enthusiastic about helping us with our Earth Day event. People couldn't stop talking about the worms! Your contribution was wonderful and the audience was so engaged by you.

All the best to you and the worms!

Laura H

Tafelmusik

Featured Video
of the month:

Click here to see video

Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed. A message of hope and optimism for a not so Lost Generation.

Organizers of the 2010 Diagram Prize for the oddest book title have revealed the six finalists including "Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter" and "Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich."

Worms in your backyard composter?
What a great idea!

Worms in your backyard composter will not only consume all your organic matter (eg. food scraps, yard scraps), they also aerate the compost and provide nutrient-rich castings as a bonus.

To compost effectively, a traditional composter must be turned or aerated regularly. This encourages airflow and speeds up the composting process. With worms in your composter, there is no need to stir things up. The worms do it for you!

Guidelines to Prepare Backyard Composter:

1. Make sure you have a good Carbon: Nitrogen mix.
   Carbon comes from the brown materials such as dried leaves, old grass and shredded paper (yes, you can put paper in your composter). Nitrogen comes from the food scraps and organics that you add.
2. Add water as required.
   Make sure your composter is always moist. - If the contents dry out, all decomposition stops.
3. Stir the contents of your composter prior to adding the worms.
   One method is to use a pole and poke it into the composter contents and turn it like a caldron. Repeat several times to provide aeration.
4. Add worms on top.
5. Leave the lid off the composter for about ½ hour.
   This encourages the worms to make their way down into the composter. They really don't like the light.
6. Feed your composter as usual.
   When adding food scraps, be sure to cover with a thin layer of soil or carbon material (brown leaves, shredded paper, etc.). This will reduce fruit flies as they lay their eggs on exposed food matter. Stirring is not required once worms are added. They will do this function for you.
7. In the fall, you may wish to remove some of the worms to bring inside.
   Simply empty the composter as usual, collect the worms and place in a prepared bin. If left outside, the cocoons will last over-winter and hatch in the spring. Many adult worms will survive if the thaw is gradual enough.

If you encounter any problems or would like more information
please contact us. We want you to be successful!

Are the worms right for your cottage?

Do you have a cottage? Are you on the watershed? You may need worms. Did you know that adding worms to your outhouse or pit toilet can increase its efficiency.

Many cottagers are not happy campers. Why? Because they have had to close down their backyard composters for fear of attracting bears. We have a solution for you. Bring your composting indoors. Consider composting inside the cottage with worms! You can still compost and will not tempt the bears. A properly managed vermicomposter will not smell. These wonderful worms will even continue their job of turning your organic waste into castings while you wile away your time back in the city.

How about a Worm Chalet for the Chalet?

First prize includes: A Worm Chalet Vermicomposter
and a $500 gift certificate from Loblaws.

How can we cut down on the amount of garbage we produce?

Ontario elementary and secondary school students and classes, send in your ideas! Enter The Great Garbage Challenge, Trash Talk’s student contest.

Do you see a garbage or recycling problem at your school or at home or in your municipality?

Do you have an idea for an invention that will make recycling easier? Is there something that people throw away that you think should be reused? Can you think of a way to make people stop littering?

Send your ideas in writing and, if you wish, include photos or drawings, by email to trashtalk@thestar.ca or send your ideas by post to Trash Talk, New in Homes & Condos, 1 Yonge St., 5th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6.

Follow this link to our website for full details
and a full list of prizes.

Upcoming Events

For a full listing of all events please visit our website.

2010 Green Living Show

Thanks for taking the time to pose for a picture with our MEC girls. They loved the Green Living Show & it's great to see our local "green hero's" like you at this show.

Cheers,
Karen - Parent Volunteer
Mazo's Environment Club
Mazo de la Roche Public School

Thank you to everyone that stopped by at the Green Living Show last month. The Kid's Zone was the perfect place to learn all about the worms and what they can do.

We shared the Zone with some great neighbours including Earth Rangers, Wye Marsh and The Luna Project. Everyone had interesting stories and cool critters to show the kids.

In the News

Print

• Garbage issues are on their minds.
  Let’s face it. Our children will have to confront the mess left by our post-war consumer society. Fortunately, after visiting some Toronto schools and seeing what they’re doing in terms of the environment and waste management, I can say the younger generation already has much to teach us.
  Read more ...

• Earth Day Celebration with Worms
  Families celebrated Earth Day with a talk on vermiculture with Cathy's Crawly Composters at Nature's Emporium. Worms will play an ever-increasing role in waste management and soil production, and this event helped educate residents on their importance! This was a free event that showcased just how vital every creature on our earth is with a fun and interactive presentation.
  
  Go to Snap Newmarket for pictures and video from event.

For all the wormy news please visit our website.

Did you Know?

• About Worm Sex.
  Worms are Hermaphrodites. That means that each worm has both female and male sex organs. You may have noticed a swollen area about 1/3 the way down the length of some worms. This area is called the Clitellum. The presence of this section signifies that the worm is sexually mature. Worms will join together tightly to exchange sperm. Each worm will collect sperm from a partner and then store it for a few days. This time lag is to ensure that worm's own sperm dies off before fertilization takes place. Eventually, the sticky substance around the Clitellum will harden and form into a cocoon. The worm will back out, sliding the cocoon over its head. Eggs and sperm are deposited in the cocoon as it passes along the worm's body. The cocoons (or egg sacs) are deposited in the soil to incubate. Each cocoon can contain up to 20 fertilized eggs, the average is 2 - 6. After around 3 weeks the cocoon will hatch and the baby worms will emerge, hungry and ready to eat.

  
  Mating worms

• How to get rid of fruit flies.
  We talked about some of the best methods of for getting rid of fruit flies in a prior newsletter (November 2009), but we came across a great page and figured since summer is just around the corner it would be a good time for a little refresher and some new ideas. Please follow this link to the wikiHow page on How to get rid of fruit flies.

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Cathy's Crawly Composters

Bradford, Ontario
Local: (905) 775-9495
Toll Free: 1-888-775-9495
email us at: cathy@cathyscomposters.com

To find out more about Cathy's Crawly Composters visit our website: www.cathyscomposters.com

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