The Worm Factory® 360 is a wonderfully simple, yet effective composter that continues to get great reviews.

Gwendolyn Bounds, of the Wall Street Journal, reviewed several composters, including the Worm Factory® 360, in her article, “Quick and Not So Dirty: No-Sweat Composters.”

In her article, Gwendolyn says that the Worm Factory® 360 “was far less creepy than I’d imagined and even mildly entertaining.”

She also says that other than preferring their food chopped in small pieces, the worms are relatively “low maintenance—they eat and work.”

The Worm Factory® 360 compost bin is a great way to turn kitchen scraps, paper waste and cardboard into nutrient-rich soil for your plants and garden. The makers of the Worm Factory® 360 have worked hard to help take the effort out of composting. With the improved design, air flow has been increased, and better air flow means faster composting.

As the wigglies work to recycle your food waste, two things are generated in the process: worm castings or worm compost and compost tea. Worm castings, which is simply worm poo, are the most nutrient-rich compost material available. Master Gardeners agree that worm castings are wonderful for your garden.

Compost tea is also a by-product of the composting process, and it is handily collected in the base of the compost bin. A spigot in the base makes collecting the compost tea a snap. The compost tea can then be diluted with water and used as a liquid fertilizer.

The Worm Factory® 360 can be used indoors or outdoors allowing year ’round production of worm compost. It is odorless making it great for apartments, kitchens, garages, porches and more.

The Worm Factory® 360 is also a great way to teach your children about the benefits of composting. What child doesn’t like a worm?

It is easy to get started composting with a Worm Factory® 360. Simply add a handful of worms and your organic waste to the bottom tray. The worms will start processing the food. Once the bottom tray is filled add another tray. The worms migrate upward to the newest food source leaving the bottom tray full of nutrient-rich compost.

Items Included with the Worm Factory® 360:

• 4 Stacking Trays
• Collection Base
• 16-Page Instruction Book
• Ventilation “Quick Tips” Lid
• Coir Brick
• Worm Bedding
• Spigot
• Accessory Kit

You may also want to read more about worm composting.

Purchase your very own Worm Factory® 360 from our Store.

http://www.goodcompost.com/worm-factory-360

All orders include FREE Delivery!

The original Wall Street Journal article can be found here: “Quick and Not So Dirty: No-Sweat Composters.”

More and more states are encouraging and even requiring citizens to start composting their organic waste in an effort to reduce the burden on landfills. The state of California seems to be the most progressive. In fact, San Francisco leads the country in recycling its waste. San Franciscans recycle approximately 72 of their waste, which is one of the highest in the country.

San Francisco issued a mandate in August that requires residents and businesses to separate their trash from potentially compostable materials as well as separating all recyclable materials. This new laws also carries fines for failure to comply. Citizens can be fined up to $100.00 per violation and businesses up to $500.00 per violation if they fail to properly separate recyclable and compostable material from their trash.

Citizens can also be fined if garbage collectors do not see them submitting at least a cubic yard of refuse for composting on a weekly basis.

This bold move by states such as California come at a time when our landfills are reaching capacity at an alarming rate. Over 2/3 of our garbage is compostable, which means it is time for us to do our part in learning to compost at home. We can easily compost our organic materials in our very own backyards.

There are many manufacturers that have started making very functional composters and compost bins that blend well with the landscape and help reduce odors and rodents as well as produce finished compost in as little as 3-4 weeks. These include compost bins, compost tumblers and worm composting bins. Prices range from approximatley $90.00 – $400.00 depending on the style of composter.

Isn’t it time we all did our part and started composting? Don’t throw it away, compost it! For more information on composting you may want to read “How to Compost.” Also, be sure and check out our Store for a great selection of composters, compost bins and compost tumblers.

Fall is coming and so are those wonderful leaves.  Yes, I said  wonderful leaves!  Did you know that those leaves falling outside  your window are a great source of organic material for making  compost?

It’s true–leaves are an excellent organic material for making compost for a couple of reasons:

1. Since trees usually have extensive root systems, leaves end up being the recipient of all those nutrients gathered from the soil.
2. Leaves are highly fibrous improving the aeration and composition of the soil.

Now, I can hear you saying, “I tried to compost my leaves, but it  didn’t work.”  Probably most people have had some negative experience trying to compost leaves.  Actually, leaves can take several years to break down if you fail to compost them properly.  Don’t worry, learning how to compost leaves is not nearly as difficult as you may think. We are going to show you the easy way to compost leaves.

The first question many people ask is “What kind of leaves work best for composting?”  Just about any typical leaf works great.   Here are some of the most common leaf types:

• White Ash
• American Beech
• Balsam Fir
• Eastern Hemlock
• Red Maple
• Sugar Maple
• White Oak

We should mention that if oak or beech leaves are used exclusively the resulting compost will be a bit more acidic making it quite suitable for plants such as rhododendrons and blueberries.  You  can tone down the acidity by adding some limestone to the leaves as you fill your compost bin or compost pile.

There are two important things that you must do when you compost leaves to ensure that your leaves will compost properly.  The first thing is to make sure your leaves are shredded when adding them to your composter, compost tumbler or compost pile.

Shredding your leaves is quite easy.  You can mow over them several times before you rake them up.  Also, there are a number of  manufacturers who make shredder / chippers that work great for  leaves.  I even had a gasoline powered blower that had a vacuum attachment for picking up leaves, which left the leaves in a nice shredded state.

The second important thing you must do when you compost leaves is to make sure that you add nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile.   Leaves contain very little nitrogen.  It is this lack of nitrogen that causes the leaves to decay slowly.  Adding nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile will help to speed up the decomposition process of the leaves.   Adding nitrogen can be as simple as adding grass clippings with the leaves as you fill your compost tumbler or compost bin.

Other sources of nitrogen include manure, dried blood, alfalfa  meal, and bone meal.  If you are using manure, use 1 part manure to five parts leaves.  If you are using a natural source of nitrogen such as dried blood, use two cups per wheelbarrow load of leaves.

Once you have shredded your leaves and found an additional nitrogen source, you simply add your leaves and nitrogen source to your compost tumbler, compost bin or compost pile and keep the leaves moist but not wet and allow nature to do its thing.  You will of course want to keep your leaves turned on a fairly regular basis if you are using a compost bin or compost pile.

If you want to make the composting process even quicker and easier, a compost  tumbler works the best.  With a compost tumbler you are able to easily turn your compost on a weekly basis keeping the organic material well-mixed thereby speeding up the decomposition process.  With a compost  tumbler you can have compost in as little as 3 or 4 weeks.

A great compost tumbler for composting leaves is the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler.

If you are looking for a very simplistic compost bin to use to compost your leaves, the Wishing Well Compost Bin fits the bill just fine.

Hopefully, at this point you will look on those falling leaves a little more favorably.  Taking some time to compost leaves in the fall will result in great compost to use in your garden in the spring.  So go outside, rake some leaves and make some compost!

Both of the composters mentioned above are available in our Store and they include FREE SHIPPING.

For additional information on composting you may want to read  “What Can You Compost?” You can also check out our website www.goodcompost.com for more information on composting and a great selection of composting products.  Happy raking and composting!

Fall is coming fast and it is going to be time to start raking leaves.  Why not turn those leaves into nutrient-rich compost for your spring flowers and garden?

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It’s about time-yes?!

The first commercial solar power tower in the United States was unveiled near Lancaster, Calif., on Aug. 5 by eSolar.  The Sierra SunTower solar power plant in Lancaster, Calif., can power more than 4,000 homes in California’s Antelope Valley.

Article Source:  http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/Solar-Power-Tower-United-States.aspx

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