Gardening Questions: I'm New at This, Please Weigh In!

1.  Please share your vermiculture experience.  I'm thinking of getting this.  Thoughts?  Advice?  Just to cut do-it-yourself advice off at the pass, I'm not going to do it myself.  Really.  I'm just not.  I have to keep this in the kitchen 6 months of the year, and I am willing to pay for a system that just works right without too much tweaking.

2.  Rain barrels: Can you use them when there are no downspouts at your disposal?  Would a barrel like this catch enough water just from the rain itself to make it worth it?  Because we don't have any downspout access on the balconies where I will be gardening.

I am doing a container garden with veggies on two balconies starting this spring.  I am really excited about it, but looking for ways to make it as efficient as possible, even if there's a little upfront investment.  But I don't want to go wrong with that investment.  Please share your experience!

Comments

[redzils]

My dad has used that kit for years and years. He has a worm empire going at the moment, with multiple sites, but that is his steady wintertime in Alaska bin, and it has worked great for him.

The only caveat is that you will want to put it on something that can take the occasional ooky liquid spill, since occasionally his leaks.

Good luck!

[Lindsay]

I have no experience with either, but have some thoughts about the latter. I doubt it would be worthwhile.

I base this from my experiences with rain gauges. Often when it rains you only get a mm or three, if you're really lucky a cm or two. My grandfather obsessively checks his rain gauge and calls to tell how much rain we got after a storm. Despite his enthusiasm I'm often disappointed and though we got more than we actually did.

The whole point with a rain barrel is to collect rain from a larger source (roof) to make it worthwhile. Also, every rain barrel I've ever drunk from (after boiling) has always had a cover on it to keep things from drowning in it. I realize that you're planning on using it for watering, but the water could still become stagnant and smelly. I say this despite being skeptical that you'd actually get enough rain between waterings to make it worthwhile. I stand to be proven wrong though if someone actually has experience with the things.

Happy gardening! I've been reading Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable Mineral" all week and it's giving me a craving for spring and gardens.

:)

[stephanie]

Hi Shannon -- it's me in Champaign! The worm thing will definitely work (that's a good one, too), but Lindsay is right that the rain collector isn't worth the effort if you can't collect rooftop runoff. It's very hard to keep those things functional even when you live in the country, but it may be worth the effort to save your graywater if you are still doing any dishes by hand and using a dishtub. Luckily, Chicago is a fantastic green roof city, so in terms of big-picture environmental water issues, you're already living in a place that is making a serious effort to reduce storm water runoff and reduce the urban heat island effect. You can keep the worms outside on the balcony for much of the year and bring them in during the cold weather. The worms like everything to be chopped up very fine, and the normal composting/decay process works more efficiently on its own like that anyway. You might consider looking into a really cool looking procedure for growing tomatoes in a confined space -- you grow them in a container but you hand them and they grow upside down, giving you more tomatos and more space to grow other veggies and herbs. take care and happy bday to Nat.

[stephanie]

Check out the upside down tomatoes:

http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm

You can buy things to do this, or just use buckets like the guy on this site.

[Diatryma]

I have a worm bin, but mine is simpler-- rather, I am cheap and do not have space for that kind of bin, so I bought a 24x18x8 under-bed storage bin, drilled a bunch of holes in it, and stuck it under the sink. I like it a lot. I'm not getting a lot of compost, but then, I don't eat a lot of vegetables (side effect: "I haven't given the worms anything. I'll get some broccoli so they can have the leftover stalk.").

I agree on rain barrels; if you want to catch some of the water, set a bucket or a few bowls outside and give the water to the plants then. Annual precipitation in the Midwest just doesn't support a rain barrel without a roof to drain.

[Elizabeth]

I agree with everyone who has said the rain barrel isn't worth it without the downspout.

For the compost, if you seriously are going to have it in your kitchen much of the year, I'd go with the NatureMill instead:

http://www.naturemill.com/classic.html

Unless the point is for Nat and Selina to ooh and ah over the worms, rather than to have compost.

I say this as a person who killed off all her worms (too wet, I think).

[Alisha]

Skip the rainbarrel, and just bring a bucket into the shower to catch the clean warm-up water, then use that to water your veg. Even if you use biodegradable/garden safe shampoo and soap, that greywater shouldn't be directly applied to veg, just ornamentals.

For the worms, I did the DIY method of a Rubbermaid with a few holes around the top, then fine screen over the holes to keep bugs out. It fits in a cabinet so I don't have to look at it/trip over it.

[Kate]

No advice on the worm bin, but as for the veggies and rain barrel, have you checked on weight limits for your balcony? For veggies, self-watering containers are a great time and water saver, but again with the weight...water is heavy.

[Beate]

I did the low-tech version of the worm bin (plastic bin with holes drilled in), but the worms had a tendency to escape. It didn't work as a science experiment for Nora, who turned out to be just as squeamish as I. Furthermore, the worms seemed overwhelmed by the quantity of organic matter that we dumped on them. So, I set them loose in the enclosed compost pile in the backyard, where I hope they survived the winter. If I were do pursue urban gardening, I'd definitely go with the more high-tech version you're thinking of.