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Winter Composting, Hail the Worm!

Feb 222013
 

Once you have an active compost bin of good size, composting in the winter is easy — so long as you don’t mind hauling garbage around in freezing cold weather. On the “Pixxe Farm” there are two composting bins, each about 1500-2000 liters in capacity. One of the bins has been resting since late September, but the other has been taking about 100 liters of waste per week, thanks to a few dedicated Rakowiec residents who happen to eat a lot of whole foods.

Both bins are quite warm and full of worms about 12 cm ( 5 inches) below the surface layer of straw and leaves. They are busy eating, mating, and generally taking care of garbage-related business. Here is a pair of worms making new worms. Hurrah. These guys are not California Red Wigglers, which we have indoors. They are what I call “Polish composting worms” or “The Crawlers”. I didn’t put them in the bin. They found their way to it all by themselves. They spread the word underground… They are not earthworms but most likely Eisenia Hortensis, or European Nightcrawlers. (Wigglers are Eisenia Fetida.) The Crawlers are larger and can withstand lower temperatures than the Wigglers. What’s great about these guys is that they are free and native — one of our gardeners has been keeping some of these fellows inside since August, and they are doing very well! Hail the worm.

Worms making more worms

Worms making more worms

A Film called Jodie

Jan 072013
 

Jodie Baltazar

A filmmaker and photographer named Piotr Małecki has been making beautiful little photo-film essays about Warszawians, and he recently finished one about me. I find it (that is to say, myself) a bit melancholy: a tiny bit of hope amid mounds of difficulty and sorrow. Or is that simply melodrama? You decide.

Be sure to watch all of Piotr’s other movies (subtitled as necessary). They are gems.

Hand-Harvesting Worm Compost

Jan 062013
 

Today, three months since the worms went into their charming bucket home, I harvested the first batch of compost/humus/worm castings. How? I’ll tell you how. This is the hand-harvesting method. Check back in a few months and we’ll show you the migration-harvesting method.

Worm Box from Pallets

Worm Box from Pallets

First — Don’t feed the worms for a week or so. Give them a chance to eat all the food.

Second — Build a home. We partially built this box last October and here it is, finished a last. It is made from a pallet, 30 cm x 40 cm x 12 cm. From a a single Euro Pallet one could made 4 such boxes. On the bottom is a double wire mesh — one made of metal (for strength) and one plastic (to make the holes smaller). It was difficult to find the right size of mesh here. The design is simply this — all boxes are the same size with two boards on either of the 40 cm sides, which hang over a few centimeters. This overhanging board means the the boxes can stack on atop another, and serve as legs for the lowermost box. Perhaps not elegant, but simple it is. The next time I need to harvest the vermicompost, I will put another box (with a screen bottom) on top of this one.

Worm Bedding

Worm Bedding

Third –Fill the home. Here we have the usual stuff: newspaper, straw, cardboard (can you spot USPS package?), some eggshells, a handful of sand, brown paper, office paper, etc.

Fourth — Wet the home. Add water to the home until it is, as they say, like a wet sponge.

Fifth — Sift out the old worms from their old home. This will take some time. Dump the contents of the bucket out onto a big plastic sheet. Make a few piles and place a lamp over one of them. The worms will crawl to the bottom eventually. Pick out the not-yet-composted matter (straw, leaves, uneaten food) and place it in the new worm home. Now pick the compost off the top of the pile until only a little pile of compost and a bunch of worms remain. Move on to the next pile and continue until you have one little pile of compost full of worms. This part took a long time. A very long time.

Sixth — Put the worms and the little bit of compost into the new bin.

Seventh — Let your worms adjust to their new home for a week or so before feeding them.

The Vermicompost

The Vermicompost

HOME FOR A WORM

Oct 032012
 

We have more than 500 composting worms who need a home. This, in fact, is a very small amount of worms! Did you know that 1 kg of worms (that’s 1000!) can eat up to 0.5 kg a day in waste. That’s almost 4 kg per week. Come and and prototype worm bins with us on Saturday, October 6 from 13.00-17.00. We’ll be using wood pallets and plastic bins. If you can, bring a plastic bin at least 25 cm deep or a pallet!

Mamy ponad 500 dżdżownic kompostowych, które potrzebują domu. Przyjdź, zaprojektuj i zbuduj z nami protoyp pojemnika na dżdżownice z drewnianych palet i plastikowych pojemników.

HOME FOR A WORM

 

Soil Garden Project in Pictures

Aug 232012
 

2 Bikes. 2 Bike Carts. 5 Days. Nance Klehm, Jodie Baltazar and A BUNCH of other cool women, plus a few good men. 15,000 liters of waste. THIS was the SOIL GARDEN PROJECT! (And it’s not over! Every other Saturday we will continue…..) Photos by Nance Klehm, Jodie Baltazar, and Jen Knowlton.

EMPTY BINS AWAIT THE WASTE

EMPTY BINS AWAIT THE WASTE

BROWNS FOR COMPOSTING - STRAW, WOODCHIPS

BROWNS FOR COMPOSTING - STRAW, WOODCHIPS

FIRST WE TAKE THE BINS TO BANACHA MARKET

FIRST WE TAKE THE BINS TO BANACHA MARKET

IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE THE BINS ARE FULL

IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE THE BINS ARE FULL

WE LOAD UP THE CARTS WITH VEGETABLE SCRAPS AND CARDBOARD

WE LOAD UP THE CARTS WITH VEGETABLE SCRAPS AND CARDBOARD

WE RIDE TO THE GARDEN WITH THE PRECIOUS LOAD

WE RIDE TO THE GARDEN WITH THE PRECIOUS LOAD

WE CAN'T RESIST THE GARBAGE IN THE CARREFOUR BINS

WE CAN'T RESIST THE GARBAGE IN THE CARREFOUR BINS

THERE'S SO MUCH CABBAGE WE DECIDE TO CALL IT CABBAGE COMPOST

THERE'S SO MUCH CABBAGE WE DECIDE TO CALL IT CABBAGE COMPOST

WE TOP THE CABBAGE WITH STRAW, CARDBOARD, PAPER

WE TOP THE CABBAGE WITH STRAW, CARDBOARD, PAPER

IN THE AFTERNOONS NANCE LEADS WORKSHOPS ABOUT COMPOSTING

IN THE AFTERNOONS NANCE LEADS WORKSHOPS ABOUT COMPOSTING

THE FIRST THING IN THE NEW BIN: WOODCHIPS & CHUNKY YARD CLIPPINGS

THE FIRST THING IN THE NEW BIN: WOODCHIPS & CHUNKY YARD CLIPPINGS

HERE IS SOME WASTE FROM BANACHA THAT WILL GO IN THE BIN

HERE IS SOME WASTE FROM BANACHA THAT WILL GO IN THE BIN

BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO RIP THE WASTE

BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO RIP THE WASTE

AND WE HAVE TO CHOP THE WASTE

AND WE HAVE TO CHOP THE WASTE

SO MUCH TO CHOP. EVERYONE GETS A GO!

SO MUCH TO CHOP. EVERYONE GETS A GO!

SOME OF US PREPARE THE CARDBOARD

SOME OF US PREPARE THE CARDBOARD

THE TRANSLATOR DOES AN AWESOME JOB!! THANKS STAN!!

THE TRANSLATOR DOES AN AWESOME JOB!! THANKS STAN!!

NEXT WE ADD SOME HERBS LIKE VETCH....

NEXT WE ADD SOME HERBS LIKE VETCH....

...AND WHY NOT THROW IN SOME DANDELION???

...AND WHY NOT THROW IN SOME DANDELION???

NEXT WE MAKE SOME COMPOST TEA

NEXT WE MAKE SOME COMPOST TEA

ALL THAT WASTE AND THE BINS ARE STILL ONLY HALF FULL - WOW!

ALL THAT WASTE AND THE BINS ARE STILL ONLY HALF FULL - WOW!

Pozwolenie zgoda / Permission granted

Aug 142012
 
The garbage bins at Banacha

The garbage bins at Banacha

Yesterday, my wonderful friend Gaja and I went to the administration of Banacha. Some really nice people are in charge. I didn’t understand much, which made me sad, because the people were so interesting and funny and kind. What I did understand was that if I had a container with a lid, then I could take the waste. It seems we can take as much as we want, whenever we want, for as long as we want! The Pixxe Garden will be making a lot of humus this fall!

I also talked to really great person from Ulica Ekologiczna yesterday. And yesterday, the Gazeta Wyborcza published an article about Pixxe and my activities. It’s great to see such interest in the project. Hurrah.

Banacha: Test drive / Jazda próbna

Aug 112012
 
Banacha waste is pretty and good!

Banacha waste is pretty and good!

Today I did a test drive to see how it would work to take Banacha’s organic waste next week. At 7AM, I took a 120 liter (about 45 gallons) container to the amazing, beautiful woman who handles the garbage there. She told me she could fill it in an hour. She also told me that we could to the test today, but that the Security wants me to have permission from the market administration to continue next week. She gave me their number. I have to call on Monday. I’m scared. In my experience so far with Polish officials, “Permission” is another word for “No.” But she also said that they were nice people, so I can hope.

At 8AM, I returned and the container was full. We tried to put it in my bike cart. My bike fell over. Too heavy. So we put it into two huge garbage bags. That worked. The ride back was slow but smooth. The bearings in the wheels of the cart made a sound, however, that tells me they won’t be working long… I returned four times and collected about 800 liters or so.

With two bikes we could easily collect twice that much.

What’s great about fresh vegetable waste is that it is so beautiful and smells good! However, I can’t process it until tomorrow, when it might not be so pretty. Thank goodness the weather is cool…..

Od odpady do źyzności: Rejestruj na warsztaty

Aug 082012
 

Nance KlehmCykl Warsztatów: OD ODPADY DO ŹYZNOŚCI
prowadzenie Nance Klehm

ENGLISH BELOW

UWAGA: Nastąpiła zmiana w planie warsztatów. Sobota będzie “Otwarte warsztat.” Warsztat w niedzielę (Dlaczego i jak budować toalety kompostujące w mieście)  również zawierać temat “ekstremalny kompost na ekstremalne czasy.”

Pozwól zgnić, czyli jak kompostować odpady organiczne
Piątek, 17 sierpnia, godz.: 15.00-17.00. Sugerowana dotacja: 30 PLN.
Liście, resztki jedzenia, papier, tektura, gałęzie, fusy, biodegradowalne przedmioty itp. Te rzeczy mogą zostać zamienione w ziemię, ale jak to zrobić? Na tym warsztacie będziecie mogli zadawać wszystkie pytania dotyczące “brudu” i sami też będziecie mogli się pobrudzić w trakcie budowy stosu organicznych odpadów. Zarejestruj się w tym warsztacie

Otwarte Warsztat
Sobota, 18 sierpnia , godz.15.00-17.00. Sugerowana dotacja: 30 PLN.
W tym warsztaty, zdedycujemy co zrobimy na miejscu. Możliwe tematów: vermicomposting, przemyślenia przestrzeń publiczną. Zarejestruj się w tym warsztacie

Dlaczego i jak budować toalety kompostujące w mieście
Niedziela, 19 sierpnia, godz.15.00-17.00. Sugerowana dotacja: 30 PLN.
Rozpoznaj w swoim ciele twórcę gleby. Dowiedz się, jak zbudować i prowadzić prostą suchą toaletę dostosowaną do gęstego, miejskiego otoczenia. Po dyskusji pokażemy, jak za pomocą termofilnego kompostowania przekształcić twoje odpady (i inne odpady zakazanego n.p. mięso, tłuszcz, i produktów mlecznych) w życiodajną glebę.. Zarejestruj się w tym warsztacie

Rozpoznaj rośliny w swoim mieście
Poniedziałek, 20 sierpnia, godz.15.00-17.00. Sugerowana dotacja: 30 PLN.
Spacer odkrywający roślinność Warszawy, podczas którego będziemy mogli nauczyć się rozpoznawać rośliny, poznać ich botaniczne pochodzenie, historie wykorzystania ich przez ludzi i zwierzęta, a także podzielimy się przepisami na antidotum z wykorzystaniem niektórych z nich. Zarejestruj się w tym warsztacie

PARTNERS:
Ulica ekologicznaSocial Ecologies


 

 

 

**************** IN ENGLISH *****************

NOTICE: There has been a change in the workshop schedule. Saturday there will be an Open Workshop. The composting toilet and extreme composting workshops will be combined and take place on Sunday.

Workshop Series: FROM WASTE TO FERTILITY
Conducted by Nance Klehm

Let it Rot 101: Composting organic waste
Friday August 17, 15.00-17.00. Suggested donation: 30 PLN.
Leaves, food waste, paper, cardboard, branches, coffee grounds, biodegradable utensils, etc. These are all things that we know can become soil but how to do it? This workshop is the place to get dirty and ask those dirty questions as we discuss and build a mesophilic compost pile out of organic wastes from Warsaw’s waste stream. Register for this workshop

Open Workshop
Saturday August 18, 15.00-17.00. Suggested donation: 30 PLN.
We will decide on the theme and activity on the spot, depending on who is there and what we want to do! Possible themes: vermicomposting, rethinking public space, or another foraging expedition. Register for this workshop

Dry toileting in an urban setting: the whys and hows
Sunday August 19, 15.00-17.00. Suggested donation: 30 PLN.
Reconnect with your body as a soilmaker! Find out how to build and operate a simple dry toilet appropriate to a dense urban setting. We will also discuss and demonstrate how to safely compost your waste, as well as other extreme waste such as meat, fat, and dairy products, through thermophilic composting into nutritious, life-supporting soil. Register for this workshop

Urbanforage
Monday August 20 15.00-17.00. Suggested donation: 30 PLN.
This is a guided walk through
 the spontaneous and cultivated vegetation of Warsaw’s urbanscape. Along the walk, we learn to identify plants, hear their botanical histories, stories of their use by animals and humans, and share antidotes of specific experiences with these plants. Register for this workshop

Szukamy Dawców Odpadów (Looking for Waste Donors)

Aug 052012
 

Szukamy dawców odpadów

This is one phrase that definitely sounds better in Polish and one that most of us non-natives can actually pronounce: Dawców Odpadów [DAHV-tsoo ohd-PAH-doov].

SOIL GARDEN PROJECT to cultivate soil from waste

We want your (organic) waste

What is it:
Using bikes we will collect organic waste from residents, business, organiczations, and public institutions in Rakowiec and Szczęśliwice and turn it into soil. Currently we are looking for Waste Donors.

How it works:
First we determine what kind and how much waste you generate. We agree on how often, where, and when we can collect your waste. Next we provide you a container and start. If you live in the pick-up zone and produce 20 liters of waste per week, then you’re the right person. Don’t have enough waste? Combine yours with a neighbor!

When it will happen:
We can start with some pickups now, but the big effort will be from Friday August 17 to Tuesday August 22. We plan to continue the project  so if you are interested in participating, please let us know.

Soil Garden Project – Call for Participation

Jul 262012
 

DOWNLOAD THIS CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

SOIL GARDEN - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

From August 17-22,  NANCE KLEHM, an ecological systems designer, will be in Warsaw to help conduct Pixxe’s SOIL GARDEN PROJECT! Right now we are looking for volunteers.

The Soil Garden Project will cultivate soil from waste. Using bicycles we will collect and compost organic waste such as food scraps, coffee grounds, cardboard, yard trimmings, and so on from residents, businesses, organizations, and public institutions in the Warsaw neighborhood of Ochota (Rakowiec/Szczęśliwice). We aim to process 8-10,000 liters of waste during the project and turn it into humus for the 2013 growing season. Ongoing, we hope to process up to 1,000 liters per week.

During the project three WORKSHOPS will be lead by Nance: a Soil/compost workshop, a Composting toilet workshop, and an Urban Forage event. An Urban Feast will close the project.

Currently we are LOOKING FOR PARTICIPANTS: Planners, Waste Donors, Waste Collectors, Waste Processors, Workshop Participants, and Filmmakers.

Please contact Pixxe at pixxe.org@gmail.com or call Jodie at 48 796 532 208.

Share this call! DOWNLOAD THIS CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Compost House

Jul 142012
 
Yard clippings, yarrow, clover

Yard clippings, yarrow, clover

This morning I woke up early to go and collect the grass clippings from the housing complex near my allotment garden, which was mowed in its entirety yesterday. I just dug in and started to load the clippings into my wheelbarrow. The pile was so hot it was smoking; it steamed up me glasses! Isn’t it beautiful how life has, in itself, a perfect design to take care of itself, to give itself usefully back to the great pool of matter?

This stuff had a lot of plantain, clover, and  yarrow, a great compost accelerator I read somewhere. It also had a lot of dried grass and old leaves. Perfect.

I built two piles, adding straw here and there. They look like little straw houses for little hobbits. Or maybe more like my friend Zeek Sheck‘s beepers….

Compost House

Compost House

Composting with anarchists

May 172012
 
Composting with anarchists (and dogs)

Composting with anarchists (and dogs)

Yesterday I went down to SYRENA, Warsaw’s friendly local squat, to help build a compost bin. There are 14 or more vegetarians who live and/or eat there. A lot of their food is dumpster-dived, although nowadays the term has been upgraded to freegan charmingly rendered in Polish as freeganski. So they have a lot of waste. But like good anarchists, they have difficulty organizing themselves to do anything about it. So huge piles of rotten food may be found lying about…

I arranged a few months ago to take their waste. They were going to deliver it to me at the Railroad Garden once a week. The first three or four weeks after we made the arrangement, they didn’t call, respond to my emails, or show up. That’s partly because they were supporting a raid on another friendly, local squat and partly because they couldn’t organize themselves to do anything about it. Eventually I got a call to meet them at a certain time. That time came and went. Well, let’s say that eventually we met up, but it was getting dark. They had an enormous amount of waste. Maybe 200 liters, I’d say. We buried it like a stolen treasure as night fell, fell, fell.

Well, they decided to deal with their own waste and build a compost bin. Great! When I arrived, one tired woman was disassembling a pallet. Eventually others were russelled up. Some people set to work to build the bin; others helped to rip up paper; a few more started to sort through the various garbage piles, separating compost from organic waste from garbage. But after a couple of hours almost everyone seemed to have magically disappeared, except me and a very resourceful, energetic guy named Gibbon. There were another couple of guys, but this is what would happen: I’d put a shovel in one of the guy’s hand, and he’d shovel a couple of things. Then he’d get a phone call. Then he’d lean on his shovel for a while. Then he’d sort of wander off as he chatted on the phone, leaving the shovel behind. It was very funny.

Fortunately, Gibbon and I finished the thing. Then we went inside where I was served the most delicious homemade lightly salted (małosolne) pickles I’d every eaten in my life!!!!

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