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bags and coffee grounds. To avoid potential rodent problems do not compost meats, dairy pro- ducts, oily foods or grains. Bury the food waste by pulling aside some of the bedding, dump- _ ing the waste, and then covering it up with! the bedding again. Bury successive loads in different loca- tions in the bin.

Harvesting your compost

After 24% months have - passed there should be little or no origi- na! bedding visible in the bin and the contents will be brown and earthy-looking worm casings.

It is time to remove some of the finished compost. _

The quickest meihod is to sim- ply move the finished compost over to one side of the bin, place new bedding in the space created, and put food: waste in the new bedding. ‘

The worms will gradually move over and the finished compost can be skimmed off as needed.

If you want to use all of the compost at once, dump the eniire contents of the bin onto a large plastic sheet and separate the worms manually.

Most children love to help!

Watch out for the tiny, lemon- shaped worm cocoons which can contain up to 20 baby worms.

Mix..a little of the finished compost in with the new bedding of the next bin.

Use your finished compost as soil conditioner for houseplants, gardens or lawns.

Common problems ‘Unpleasant. odors may waft

from your ‘bin. when it is overloaded with food waste.

If this occurs, gently stir up the entire contents to allow more air in.

Stop adding food waste until the worms and micro-organisms have broken down what food is in the bin.

Check the drainage holes to make sure they are not blocked and drill more holes if needed.

If the moisture level seems tight, the bedding may be too acidic due to a lot of citrus peels and other acidic foods.

Adjust by adding a little lime and cutting down on acidic wastes.

Discourage fruit Mies by always burying the food wastes and not overloading the bin.

Keep a plastic sheet, piece of old carpet or sacking on the sur- face of the compost in the bin.

If flies persist, move the bin to a location where flies will not be bothersome.

A final word: taking worms out of their natural environment and placing them in containers creates a human responsibility.

They are living creatures with their own unique needs, so it is important to create and. maintain a healthy habitat for them to do their work.

If you supply the right ingre-

dients and care, your worms will thrive and make compost for you. +. To learn more: ; © read Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof, Flower Press: Kalamazoo, 1982 (provides in- structions for building a worm bin). @ visit a compost demonstration garden in Burnaby, North Van- couver, Surrey, Vancouver . or West Vancouver.

® call the Compost Hotline at 736-2250. :

— Courtesy of the Greater Van- couver Regional District.

Master Gardeners will give free gardening advice to the public and answer questions from gardening enthusiasts between 12:00 am-4:00 pm

on the following dates:

Saturday, June 26 Sunday, June 27 Saturday, July 10

Sunday, July 11

Saturday, July 24

Sunday, July 25

Saturday, Aug. 7 Sunday, Aug, 8 Saturday, Aug, 21 Sunday, Aug, 22 Saturday, Sept. 11 Sunday, Sept. 12

PARK & TILFORD GARDENS ARE SPONSORED BY THE MERCHANTS OF THE . PARK AND TILFORD SHOPPING CENTRE, FOR ALL TO ENJOY.

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For further information call

Park & Tilford Gardens Tel. 984-8200

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