July Compost Worm Extravaganza

The summer may be off to a wet start but the worms are loving the warm wet weather. And since the worms are so productive there will be worm sales every week in July. If you’ve been thinking about starting vermicomposting now’s the time! Contact Worm Girl to find out when and where the next sale is taking place.

Huge Post-Moving Day Worm Sale

Now that moving day is over Worm Girl Montreal is back up and running. And since I have less space at the new place I’m having a huge sale to empty out some of my worm bins. The sale will take place this Sunday July 5th between noon and 2 pm in the Villeray area (near metro Fabre). There will be 20 worm bins and several 1/2 lb packages of worms. To reserve a bin or package of worms and to get the address use the Contact Worm Girl button above.

Can the Montreal Gazette hurt my worms?

Most vermicomposting resources (Worm Girl included) recommend using shredded newspaper as worm bedding. It’s free, readily available, holds moisture and provides a carbon-rich food source for the worms. And it is generally thought to be non-toxic. At least a lot of websites and blogs say it is but I wanted to hear it from a reliable source. Or at least a source that refers to scientific data. I checked the Montreal Gazette website and I didn’t find any claims that their print version is non-toxic. Surely if that were so they would want the world to know it. Right? So I asked around. Given all the newspaper that goes into my bins, the compost I harvest probably contains a lot of ink so I wanted to know for sure.

All the Gazette would tell me is “Our ink is vegetable oil based, and contains no toxic properties” (so why don’t they say so on their website?!).

Jean Deneault at Transcontinental, the company that prints the Globe and Mail and La Presse, was a little more helpful:

“Our ink suppliers for newspaper printing and flyer printing have confirmed that they don’t use toxic products to manufacture their inks. For the cold-set printing, the inks are 40% soya base, while the heat-set printing inks are 8% soya base. We distribute flyers that are sometime not printed by our company and we cannot comment on the inks that these printers would use. Any printed products with a large amount of metallic ink coverage could have traces of copper or zinc. Black or other colored pigments should not affect the quality of the compost.”

I was satisfied that the newspapers I feed my worms are safe. It’s also good to know that flyers and advertising supplements are not so safe. I continued my reasearch just to learn more about vegetable oil-based inks. All inks are made by suspending pigments and small amounts of other additives in oil. Old school inks are petroleum-based. Vegetable oil-based inks are usually made with soybean oil.

The soy-based inks are less-toxic but not non-toxic. That’s because the soy-based inks contain the same pigments and other additives as the old inks. However, soy-based ink is brighter and spreads better so less is needed to print each paper. Therefore, there is less ink in newspapers printed with soy-based ink.

The pigment in black ink, which is the most abundant ink in newsprint, is Carbon Black – basically powdered elemental carbon. Although it can be an irritant to the lungs if inhaled the EPA has compiled sufficient evidence to convince me that it is not toxic to me or my worms.

There is less information out there on the toxicity of the pigments used in colored inks. However, according to the Ohio State University the pigments in ink are many of the same pigments used in tattoos and cosmetics:

Phthalocyanine blue CAS 147-14-8

Lithol Rubine magenta CAS 5281-04-9

Diarylide yellow (I couldn’t find any safety data on this one)

Worms in the news

It looks like Montrealers aren’t the only ones who are in to vermicomposting. It seems to be the preferred composting method of city folk:

New Yorkers Try Composting With Worms – NYTimes.com.

Extreme Composters Get Creative in NYC

Worms Eat My (San Diego) Reader

My wriggly roommates

Worm Girl Montreal wishes everyone all the best in 2009

Happy New Year!

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that this time of year is a letdown. After the whirlwind of shopping, feasting and getting together with family and friends of the holiday season, Jan. 1 typically has me feeling drained, bloated and lonely. This year is not so bad. I shopped a lot less this year because I made earth-friendly reusable table napkins for most of the people on my list.

And I tried to spread the holiday activities over the whole week so I could spend more quality time with all the people I hardly see all year because we’re all too busy with work and school.

And, of course, the fun’s not really over because there’s another event coming up in February that has me excited and busy. That event is Seedy Sunday/Fetes des Semences and in Montreal it falls on February 8^th in 2009. Last year was my first time at Seedy Sunday and I have been looking forward to the next one ever since. Last year the reception hall of the Botanical gardens was crammed full with seed vendor kiosks selling all kinds of unusual and heirloom seeds, as well as gardening products and books. And in a well hidden room at the back I found heaven – the seed exchange where I picked up some neat treasures including Black Italian Tomatoes, Chocolate Peppers, Swiss Chard, Scarlet Runner Beans, Coriander, Basil and more. So now that the holiday season is over I’m busy sorting and packaging the seeds I collected this fall. I have Green Zebra, Debarao and Black Italian tomato, dill, and probably others. Here are the simple seed packs I made last year:

Last chance to buy compost worms before Christmas

This Monday December 22nd will be the last worm and vermicompost bin sale before Christmas. The sale will take place between 7 and 9 pm in Cote-des-Neiges.  Contact the Worm Girl or visit the Worm Store to place an order and get the address.

If you are looking for a cool gift for an eco-conscious friend or planning to make reducing your household’s impact on the enviroment your new year’s resolution then the worm sale is the place to be.

Worm Store Montreal is Finally Here!

Worm Store Montreal is an online store that sells compost worms and vermicomposters in the Greater Montreal Area

People who are interested in starting a worm compost bin, or vermicomposter, now have a new resource. The Worm Store Montreal (http://wormgirlmontreal.wordpress.com/worm-store-montreal/) is an online store where people in the greater Montreal area can purchase compost worms (also known as red wigglers or manure worms) and ready-to-use vermicompost bins.

The store sells red wigglers for 10$ per half pound (the amount needed to start a new vermicompost bin) and vermicompost bins for 25$, worms included. Red Wiggler worms are awesome eating machines that can consume almost half their body weight in food scraps per day. They  produce a fertile and nutrient rich compost soil that plants just love!

Vermicomposting is an easy and odourless method of recycling kitchen and garden waste into fertile soil using special compost worms. Since vermicomposting requires little space it can be done indoors and it is gaining in popularity in Montreal, especially among apartment- and condo-dwellers.

To learn more about vermicomposting use the Vermicomposting 101 link above.

To see the original press release use the following links:

HTML Version
http://www.prlog.org/10151243-worm-store-montreal-now-open.html

PDF Version
http://www.prlog.org/10151243-worm-store-montreal-now-open.pdf

Worm Girl is 2 years old!

My worm distribution project had another birthday in October. When I first brought my wiggly little friends home I didn’t know anyone else who vermicomposted. Since I started distributing worms in October 2006 I have met over 150 people in the Greater Montreal Area who have started vermicomposting. And I have been contacted by plenty more avid vermicomposters across Canada and the US who, like me, just like to talk about their worms. Happy worming!

Back to School Vermicomposting/Bike Sale in Villeray August 30th

Since the last worm and bike sale was so successful we’re having another one! Just in time for the back to school season. The sale takes place on August 30th at 8258 Casgrain (near metros Jarry and Castelnau, see here for a map) from 12 noon to 1pm.

Worm Girl will have ready-to-use vermicompost bins as well as 1/2 pound packages of worms available. So whether you’re ready to start vermicomposting or just want to see what it’s all about, come by and meet the worms, pick up some vermicomposting supplies, ask questions or just to chat about composting. Oh, and take one of the bikes for a test ride if you like. The Bike Guy will have over 20 bikes to choose from, priced between 60 and 80$ (see the bike site for more details).

Compost worms (aka Red Wigglers) 10$

Ready-to-use vermicomposter (worms included) 25$

Worm Girl Montreal will be at the Huge Bike Sale August 2nd

On Saturday August 2, 2008 ecological transportation and sustainable living are joining forces. I will have a kiosk at the Huge Montreal Bike Sale taking place at 8258 Casgrain from 11am to 1pm. I will have one of my personal worm bins on display as well compost worms and worm bins for sale. So whether you’re ready to start vermicomposting or just want to see what it’s all about, come by and meet the worms, pick up some vermicomposting supplies, ask questions or just to chat about composting.