Worm poop a success -- CNN

[eppur_se_muova]

Worms + garbage = green success

(CNN) -- Add heaps of red worms to mountains of raw, rotting garbage. Then collect the worms' feces, brew it into a liquid, and squeeze it into a used soda bottle.

Sound like a twisted fourth-grade boy's concoction for messing with his sister? Not quite. Rather, it is TerraCycle's formula for success in the growing, if messy, organic fertilizer business.

Sales of organic products, especially food, have surged of late. But the National Gardening Association estimates just 5 percent of the $8.5 billion U.S. fertilizer and insecticide industry is all-natural, with uncertainty about what "organic" means muddying the picture, according to experts.

"Everybody and his cousin wants to go green these days, and in my view, it's about time," said gardening association research director Bruce Butterfield, citing a national survey conducted by Harris Interactive for his group. The study found surging interest in organic gardening out of sync with actual use of all-natural fertilizers. "If I had to grade homeowners on how environmentally responsible they are , they failed."

That may be changing, with market researchers Freedonia Group estimating 10 percent annual growth for the organic fertilizer market, twice the projected growth for all lawn and garden goods.
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/organic.fertilizer/index.html

[Richard D]

1. I've used this

Good product. Noticeable improvement in most plants in a month.

[Lost4words]

7. Is there a brand name, what do I look for?

we grow herbs, tomatoes, chilis & raspberries.

[Richard D]

12. The brand name

is Terracycle. It's pretty pricey, but you can also make your own.

[NNadir]

2. I've been doing some research on the amount of protein on earth from industrially fixed nitrogen.

I'm writing a series on another website about the matter.

It is not a pretty picture.

It is rather impossible to be "organic" these days. Without industrial nitrogen, a huge proportion of existant nitrogen would simply disappear.

Well, I don't know if "disappear" is the right word. Nitrous oxide has been accumulating in earth's atmosphere at a pretty astounding rate. It is now the third largest contributor to global climate change, just behind the dangerous fossil fuel waste carbon dioxide and the dangerous fossil/cow fart methane.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Please post the link when you're done.

I remember hearing more than 25 years ago that about 1/3 of all the nitrogen "fixed" annually was done industrially, and towards the end of the 90's industrial fixation became the principal process. Now people are sounding alarms that we've perturbed the nitrogen cycle too far -- something we've apparently accomplished even faster than tipping the balance of global warming.

[YankeyMCC]

15. Just F-ing great

is there any aspect of the life-cycle of this planet we haven't dangerously f'ed up since the industrial age started?

[AlecBGreen]

16. nitrogen

isnt happy being down here on earth. If it isnt taken up quickly into living tissure or adsorbed onto something in the soil, it quickly goes away by either leaching into groundwater or volatizing back into the air. The trick is to bind it up with compost, charcoal, or better yet, living tissues. Since it is often the limiting nutrient in natural systems, the more we have in the soil the better.

[OKIsItJustMe]

17. Lay off the "cow farts" already...

According to the EPA, the two leading sources of anthropogenic methane are:

1. Landfills
2. Natural Gas Systems

[AlecBGreen]

18. uh

anthropogenic means "man made"

cows aren't men

[OKIsItJustMe]

19. Cows are devo?

anthropogenic - of, relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature


Human beings raise cows. Depending on how they are raised, cows produce more or less methane in their guts. Contrary to popular misconception, most of this methane is exhaled.

http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html#anthropogenic

...

Human-related Sources

In the United States, the largest methane emissions come from the decomposition of wastes in landfills, ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock, natural gas and oil systems, and coal mining. ...

Livestock enteric fermentation. Among domesticated livestock, ruminant animals (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) produce significant amounts of methane as part of their normal digestive processes. In the rumen, or large fore-stomach, of these animals, microbial fermentation converts feed into products that can be digested and utilized by the animal. This microbial fermentation process, referred to as enteric fermentation, produces methane as a by-product, which can be exhaled by the animal. Methane is also produced in smaller quantities by the digestive processes of other animals, including humans, but emissions from these sources are insignificant. The U.S. inventory report provides a detailed description on methane emissions from livestock enteric fermentation and how they are estimated (see the Chapter entitled "Agriculture").

EPA has studied options for reducing methane emissions from enteric fermentation and has developed resources and tools to assist in estimating emissions and evaluating mitigation options. For more information, please visit the Ruminant Livestock site.

Livestock manure management. Methane is produced during the anaerobic (i.e., without oxygen) decomposition of organic material in livestock manure management systems. Liquid manure management systems, such as lagoons and holding tanks, can cause significant methane production and these systems are commonly used at larger swine and dairy operations. Manure deposited on fields and pastures, or otherwise handled in a dry form, produces insignificant amounts of methane. The U.S. inventory report provides a detailed description on methane emissions from livestock manure management and how they are estimated (see the Chapter entitled "Agriculture").

EPA has also established a voluntary program to reduce methane emissions in the livestock industry. This program, known as the AgSTAR Program, encourages adoption of anaerobic digestion technologies that recover and combust biogas (methane) for odor control or as an on-farm energy resource.

...

[AlecBGreen]

23. potato pohtahto

:P

[NNadir]

20. Cow farts in your link are designated "Enteric fermentation" aka "cow farts."

I love the euphemism.

They are the third largest source of methane after the two things you listed, and quite nearly as large.

[OKIsItJustMe]

21. It's not a euphemism, it's accurate

Methane produced in the guts of ruminants (like cows) is generally exhaled. So, while calling them "farts" may make better sophomoric humor, it's not accurate.

More methane is produced in US landfills than in the guts of US cows. That methane can be collected and burned, converting it to CO₂ and generating power to boot; but (as we know) you're against that.

Collecting the methane produced by a herd of cattle is a good deal more problematic.

[NNadir]

22. Well, given the difference between farts and burbs, let's talk about the difference between

garbage and landfill gas.

Often I have doubted the ability of my critics to either read or understand what I say, and maybe I'll evoke the same trend here.

Landfill gas is a minor form of energy that is represented by people who can't count very well as a major energy strategy, which it isn't.

Garbage burning is dubious from a health perspective, but burning methane is not quite so bad, especially methane that would be released any way. Maybe they like trash burning in your back yard, but they didn't like it in my back yard when I was growing up on Long Island.

Cows, are, as anyone with an ounce of environmental sense knows, a big, big, big environmental problem, even though there are lots and lots of people who wish to represent that cow shit is a big offering in energy. I don't buy it. I think it's cow shit.

[kestrel91316]

27. Collecting methane that cows BELCH out is not feasible. But collecting

the methane from those nasty lagoons of cow waste and using it to generate electricity is being done successfully. The end product is nice, safe, esthetically acceptable fertilizer.

[Clanfear]

24. Interesting,

I do trust the U.N. a bit more, but I don't doubt the EPA findings. Nevertheless, landfills aren't going anywhere. And how does that relate to transport, i.e. cars in effect?

[jpak]

25. Research?? Charlatan nonsense

"Without industrial nitrogen, a huge proportion of existant (sic) nitrogen would simply disappear."

"It is rather impossible to be "organic" these days."

Absolutely the most ignorant and insane biogeochemical statements of the year.

[kestrel91316]

28. All I can say is: CONSIDER THE SOURCE.

Our friend is hysterically opposed to any and all forms of energy production except nuclear.

It's sad. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

[kestrel91316]

26. Uh, you forgot to insult the environmentalists for wanting to

make a difference by calling us illiterate.

Guess you're off your game today. Though I must compliment you on a post that, for once, is not a shrieking, foaming at the mouth screed.

[ToeBot]

3. Slurm?

[tridim]

5. Hehe. Exactly! Worm castings are amazing.

Most of my house plants are organically grown and maintained these days.

[robinlynne]

6. My parents have a vegetable garden using worm poo and the veggies are huge!

[Lost4words]

8. Do I just go to a garden center and ask for worm poo? nm

[murielm99]

9. No.

Go to a store where they sell bait and ask for red worms. Get a bin. Poke some air holes in it. Tear up some newspaper into strips. (Don't use the stuff with colored pictures, because the dye may harm the worms).

Add the worms and a little soil. Moisten it a little. Put the cover on the bin tightly, or the worms may escape. Keep the bin in a dark, warm place.

Feed the worms your potato peels, apple cores, lettuce pieces and other organic garbage. My worms do not like onions, bread, or orange peels. Some worm bins do not like broccoli or other strong veggies.

After a few months, you will have a good mix of very moist soil and worms.

Separate the worms from the soil. Use the soil in your house plants, flower beds and garden. Start over will a little soil and torn newspaper strips.

You will be amazed at how huge things grow. My house plants are humongous.

And all this started from a science project at school.

[Lost4words]

10. Thats great, I'll try it! Thanks for the info.

[Sal Minella]

11. And when you take the lid off the bin, there's this smell of fresh earth, and your potato peels and

applecores have been turned into black dirt. They like the same ambient temp we like -- I keep my worm bin in the kitchen over the winter and put in carrot tops, celery ends, "bad spots" out of anything when making soup. They don't do dairy or meat, but love melon rinds, collapsing grapes, sweet stuff.

Put in a slab of melon rind (outer-side-up) and within a couple days the worms will be massed underneath. They apparently exude something that keeps the bin from smelling bad.

In the spring I take the bin outside and scoop out treats for my favorite plants.

Caution: do not do this if you can't tolerate seven-foot delphiniums.

[tridim]

14. Ask for worm castings if you dont want to make your own

There are stores that cater to evil cannabis gardeners that sell all the organic stuff you'll ever need. Just pay with cash and you'll be fine.

[kestrel91316]

13. Well, duh. CNN actually thinks this is NEWS?

Next thing you know, they'll be getting all excited about putting these things called "seeds" into the ground, and this green stuff comes up, and then these hard round green things develop, and then they TURN INTO TOMATOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!