737: Steve Churchill on Worm Composting.
Simplifying vermicomposting and making it easy for anyone to start.
In This Podcast:
This is a replay of a really awesome interview with our friend Steve and since Greg is using one of these new worm composting systems, we wanted to bring this interview back up for a new listen.
A chance encounter at a farmers market led Greg to meet Steve Churchill, the creator of the worm bag he had recently bought. In this interview, Steve explains the reason he designed a new worm composting bag and explains many of the ins and outs of vermicomposting.
Our Guest:
Steve Churchill is the owner of the Urban Worm Company, a vermicomposting-related blog, online store, and manufacturer of the Urban Worm Bag. Through the Urban Worm blog, social media, and e-mail interactions with his readers, Steve is a joyful promoter of vermicomposting as a means to turn household and commercial waste into a highly valuable soil amendment. Steve is also a retired military veteran and a pilot for Southwest Airlines.
Listen in and learn about:
- How a gardening project needing compost and coffee grounds intrigued him enough to start studying worm castings.
- How he was not finding what he needed on the internet
- Deciding to start a blog to help others like him learn about vermicomposting
- Developing a relationship with his readers
- Comparing various styles of vermicomposting and continuous flow vermicomposting
- Describing his worm bag
- What the dripping “worm tea” is and why this is not desirable
- How cardboard is great for worms and what to watch for
- Setting up the worm bag for ideal composting
- Don’t rush it, how to take it step by step
- How to recognizes the signs for what is happening in the worm bag
- What worms eat, ratios and knowing when to feed
- Why worm compost is so good for your garden soil
- How bees love plants fed with worm compost better
- Getting science-y on the different kinds of worms
- Why a lack of worms means your soil is missing something
- The Urban Worm Bag and The Urban Worm Bag Eco
Go to www.urbanwormcompany.com/urbanfarm
As well as:
- His failure – The first version of his worm bag, and he learned the value of the right material for the job
- His success – Staying a small company and being accessible to his customers
- His drive – A constant fear of a deathbed wish that things were different
- His advice – Keep doing things you are slightly uncomfortable with, never get comfortable
Steve’s Book recommendations:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
How to reach Steve:
Website: UrbanWormCompany.com/UrbanFarm
YouTube: Urban Worm Company
Instagram: @UrbanWormCo
Email: Steve@UrbanWormCompany.com
UrbanFarm.org/urbanwormcompany
Check out the Worm Composting System Farmer Greg uses and loves!
Urban Worm Company has an easy-to-use composting system that can be set up in minutes and recycles your food scraps into gardener’s gold with the simplest harvesting process we’ve ever found.
They have a special discount for Urban Farm Podcast listeners!
Turn Food Waste Into Food for the Soil!
*Disclosure:
Some of the links in our podcast show notes and blog posts are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, we will earn a nominal commission at no cost to you. We offer links to items recommended by our podcast guests and guest writers as a service to our audience and these items are not selected because of the commission we receive from your purchases. We know the decision is yours, and whether you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
