TC - Terracycle; WC - Worm Compost; C - Control (water only);
MG - Miracle-Gro
This update is beyond overdue! Unfortunately I’ve been completely sidelined, working on an important project for the last little while!
I actually ended the challenge back on August 12, which was day 31. I figured the one month mark was a good time to call it quits, especially considering some of the issues that were cropping up towards the end. As I learned, with increased size comes increased responsibility! haha!
Most of the sunflowers were geting pretty cramped in their pots and keeping the soil moist was becoming a bit of a chore. Some sort of pest (I suspect a squirrel) was also digging in some of the pots. (see picture to right)
All issues aside, there were some interesting and surprising results from the challenge by the end.
I hate to admit it, but I really wasn’t expecting all that much from the Terracycle-only treatment, especially given the relatively infrequent TC feedings (while the Miracle-Gro sticks released more nutrients with every single watering). Don’t get me wrong - I definitely have a lot of faith in worm compost & tea, but just expected the fertilizer sticks to provide the sunflowers with more of the nutrients needed for healthy growth.
In my ‘Day 20′ update (the last one) I reported that the TC-only plant was growing like crazy after a very slow start. That growth continued, and as you can see from the big picture above, TC-only outgrew MG-only. In fact, the TC-only plant ended up being the tallest of all of them (even though the TC/WC/MG plant was the clear winner as far as total biomass goes).
One thing I should mention re: the Terracycle used for the experiment. The bottle mentions an “added nitrogen boost”. I’m definitely curious to know precisely what this means. Have they added some inorganic fertilizer into the mix to help give it a little extra ‘zing’? Whatever the source of the added nitrogen, it likely explains the rapid upward growth of the TC-only plant.
Unlike the Terracycle-only plant, the vermicompost-only plant (WC) never seemed to recover from its sluggish start. It was clearly larger than the control by the end, but seemed to have been impeded by something. I have a sneaking suspicion the worm compost I used was not yet mature, but it’s hard to say for sure.
As far as the Terracycle Challenge “Jr” goes, it too ended up surprising me by the end. For whatever reason I had it in my mind that there were no obvious differences between the plants from the three treatments (TC, WC, MG). Unlike the sunflowers, all the bean plants in the Jr challenge were proportionally very similar. I think that because I was so zoned in on looking for size differences, I ended up missing some very obvious colour differences - until the end of the experiment that is.
It finally dawned on me that three of the nine plants appeared healthier (few signs of disease or pest attack, rich green colour). Once I grouped them together I realized they were all from the Terracycle treatment. Even the MG treatment looked pretty rough (a little better than the worm compost plants though).
What’s cool is that the results of the Jr Challenge are also more valuable from a scientific standpoint, since multiple reps were tested - and as you can see from the photo, the results were quite consistent.
All in all, both my TC Challenges turned out to be very interesting and a lot of fun! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to test out TC again before too long - next time I’ll try to make it more scientifically rigorous.
While I certainly won’t make any sweeping claims based on the results of this challenge, I think it is at least fairly evident that Terracycle worm tea can help boost plant growth and potentially even overall plant health. It isn’t the cheapest fertilizer out there, but as I discovered a little goes a long way!
Previous Challenge Posts
Terracycle Challenge - Day 20
Terracycle Challenge - Day 8 - Quick Update
Terracycle Challenge - Day 0
Terracycle Challenge - Off To The Races…Well, Almost!
Terracycle Challenge
Technorati Tags: worm bin, worm composting, composting, worm compost, worm castings, vermicomposting, red wigglers, red worms, terracycle, fertilizer, miracle-gro, miracle grow, plant growth
Written by Bentley on August 28th, 2007 with 4 comments.
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We recently received this msg in an email - sounded interesting so I thought I’d post it here (I added the image)
For the third year in a row, the Yves Rocher Foundation is launching its Women of the Earth contest. This contest offers three prizes for a total of 15 000$, to women who are making every effort to make this world a greener place with their exemplary project. The first place winner will receive $7,000, the second place $5,000 and the third place $3,000 for their respective projects.
Help us find women who are working to protect the environment so that we can recognize them and they can inspire others to do their part. Application forms can be downloaded at: http://pictures.yvesrocher.com/US/terre/index_en_ca.html
The deadline to return them is September 30, 2007.
The first place Canadian winner will also compete with winners from other participating countries around the world for the chance to win an additional 10,000 euros for her project during a special ceremony held on International Woman’s Day, in Paris, France.
Amanda Vincent, co-founder and director of Project Seahorse won the first Canadian prize last year. In close collaboration with local populations in Asia, Europe and America, Project Seahorse’s activities encompass conducting studies on seahorses, establishing protected marine areas, managing fisheries, supporting communities and changing trade practices. Through the organization’s actions, practical solutions that lead to sustainable management of the oceans are being discovered.
About Women of the Earth Contest
Today, the contest is held in 10 countries and the goal is to create a global competition that will recognize and celebrate the conservation efforts of women worldwide. Over the past five years, 95 women throughout the world have been honoured and have received bursaries from the Foundation.
www.yves-rocher-fondation.org
Written by Bentley on August 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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It’s been ages since I last heard anything from Patti Moreno (aka ‘Garden Girl‘), and to be totally honest I was really starting to think she’d decided not to continue with her ‘Urban Sustainable Living’ tv show idea.
Given the fact that Patti had made such a great impression on members of the green community (myself included) last winter, this would have been a real shame! I know I wasn’t the only person who has anxiously awaiting the release of new Garden Girl videos!
Well, as I learned in an email she sent out today, Garden Girl is back! She also has some great news - apparently she has finalized a contract with ‘Farmer’s Almanac‘ and will be creating some content for their site in the near future. Very exciting!
Patti also mentioned that her site is being revamped and relaunched shortly. That said, I must admit to being somewhat puzzled when I stopped by the site today and saw some pretty strange advertising (”Smarty Knickers”?, “Love in the Uk”?, “Test your bandwidth speed”?). She mentioned getting hooked up with a new design/marketing company, so perhaps they are testing out a variety of offers.
Anyway…definitely NOT trying to rain on Patti’s parade here. I’m a huge Garden Girl fan, and am very excited that she is back!
Hopefully I’ll be able to share some new Garden Girl videos here on the blog very soon (as they become available).
Technorati Tags: garden girl, patti moreno, gardening, sustainable living, organic gardening, raising rabbits, urban agriculture
Written by Bentley on August 17th, 2007 with no comments.
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Last week we received a friendly email from Tim, editor of ‘Commute By Bike‘ - a blog dedicated to the topic of…drumroll please…commuting by bike!
All joking aside, it is a great looking site that seems to be absolutely jam-packed full of useful and interesting bike-related information!
Anyone who is considering trading in their gas-guzzler for a two-wheeler should definitely pop by for a visit. I think you’ll be glad you did.
If you want to learn a little more about bike commuting I highly recommend you check out their series called “Commuting 101. You’ll find 20 articles on a wide range of topics, such as “Riding in the Rain”, “First Aid Kits”, and “Choosing a Bike”.
With a home office I don’t really have much opportunity to ride to work (my commute takes about 10 seconds on foot - when I don’t encounter feline road blocks, that is! lol), but biking in general is definitely a topic close to my heart. In my early twenties I rode my bike from Jasper Alberta to Vancouver BC (in a round about way), and it was a truly life-changing experience!
[Sigh…]
If nothing else, this post should serve as a reminder that I need to get out for some biking while the weather is still nice! We have a beautiful country ‘rail-trail’ about 15 minutes from where we live.
Anyway, before you run off for a spin on your set o’ wheels, be sure to check out Commute By Bike!
Technorati Tags: bikes, biking, cycling, bicycle, commuting, exercise, green living
Written by Bentley on August 17th, 2007 with no comments.
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As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, one of the great things about having a ‘green’ blog is that it provides me with the opportunity to connect with a lot of great people.
Especially heart-warming are the rare occasions when I receive an email like this:
Dear Bentley, just wanted to send a little note to let you know that I think your Red Worm Composting blog is just fantastic! I found it via an email that was sent after subscribing to the also fabulous EcoSherpa web site newsletter. Great content with lots of useful info. Passing links along to my friends and looking forward to reading your new posts.
Have a great day!
Cassie Young
“Fantastic” and “fabulous” AND “useful”? OH MY!
Needless to say, Cassie and I became fast friends after I received that little note, and I was very happy to learn that she had a ‘fabulous’ site herself:
Veggie Meal Plans
At the time, Cassie was in the middle of moving her site over to a new platform (it used to be a Blogger blog), so I told her to let me know when it was ready to go, so that I could provide her with a ’shout out’ here at EcoSherpa.
I’m happy to report that the move went smoothly and the new site is up and running without a hitch.
So what exactly is Veggie Meal Plans? Here is some info from the “About Us” page:
Veggie Meal Plans is a personal meal plan blog written, photographed and maintained by me, Cassie Young. My meal plans generally include five dinners along with a grocery list of all ingredients I plan to use for the week. Each meal is followed up with a blog post that includes images and recipes.
All of the food I prepare and post to this site are our actual everyday meals. When I plan our weekly meals and grocery lists for the week, I have a good idea of what ingredients I want to use each night. I don’t, however, always know exactly how each meal is going to come together in terms of quantities or methods used until I’ve actually completed it. This is the reason why recipes are posted after I prepare each meal rather than with the meal plan itself. Sometimes I do have a bit of a map to follow if I’m working from an already existing recipe or have experimented with something similar in the past. Even then, I am often switching things around to suit our personal tastes or scaling things back to simplify the process. When we do sit down to eat, we talk, laugh and enjoy our food and time spent together. To me, that’s what these meals are all about. If you try any of these recipes, I encourage you to also cook to your personal taste preferences, feel free to change the method around and simply enjoy the process and your results!
I love the fact that Cassie provides so much more than just another recipe site (but trust me, it IS worth a visit just for the recipes & pictures alone!!). Far more useful than meal ideas is an actual ‘meal plan’ for a full work week - with all the groceries needed. I also love that the recipes are for the actual meals Cassie is preparing herself each week!
I’m in charge of planning/preparing the meals in our household, and one of the most challenging parts is actually planning a full week (almost never happens) - I definitely need all the help I can get in that department.
We are not vegetarians by any means, but believe me when I say that Cassie’s website is so tantalizing that I’m thinking pretty seriously about adding a LOT more vegetarian meals into our regular rotation!
I noticed one of the recent comments on the site suggested that Cassie should create her own cook book. I couldn’t agree more!
If you happen to be a foodie like me or are just looking for a great vegetarian cooking site, I highly recommend you check out Veggie Meal Plans! I know I’ll be spending a lot more time there myself!
Technorati Tags: vegetarian, recipes, meal plans, vegetarian food, veggie meal plans, vegan
Written by Bentley on August 13th, 2007 with 3 comments.
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We are certainly overdue for a TCC update. I want to make sure people don’t assume I’ve thrown in the towel!
The picture above provides a pretty good overview of the results so far. Here again are the label codes just in case you need a refresher or are just joining us:
TC - Terracycle
WC - Worm Compost
C - Control (water only)
MG - Miracle-Gro
Definitely some interesting observations thus far! Initially it was looking as though the TC-only plant was going to grow about as well as the control, but it has gone gangbusters recently and is starting to gain on some of the multi-treatments. Worm compost (WC) on the other hand has not proven itself at all - at least not when used alone. The WC plant has made only slightly more progress than the control thus far - unless we see a sudden surge of growth in the home stretch, it will definitely come in dead last as far as treatments go.
The WC/MG plant was the largest and healthiest looking of the bunch, but very recently the all-inclusive (WC/TC/MG) plant has experienced a serious growth spurt and is looking like it might put all the others to shame.
Another interesting note about plants grown with worm compost (including those in the “Jr” challenge) - most of them are a much lighter green colour than the rest of the plants. I’m not sure what to make of that.
Speaking of the TCC Jr challenge - nothing overly exciting to report there. Most of the plants are quite similar in appearance (aside from the light green colour of the WC plants).
Some other important things to mention. I’ve decided to take an even more laid back approach to my already laid back methodology. Now that the plants are getting much larger and we are encountering another serious hot-dry spell, I’m finding that they are needing a lot more water. As such, I’ve decided to opt for a thorough soaking approach vs an exact amount of water (it would take WAY too long if I had to measure out exact amounts of water every single day). I figure as long as I make sure they all have as much water as they need it shouldn’t be an issue.
When you think about it, exactly measured quantities make no sense at this stage anyway, since some plants are going to require a lot more water than others (because they are much larger and growing more quickly).
The only concern this raises is the potential for washing out the Terracycle doses. When it comes down it, I’m really not going to be able to compare the results of MG vs WC vs TC anyway, since a stick of MG will undoubtedly offer FAR more nutrients than periodic waterings with TC or a small quantity of WC. If I was using ONLY Terracycle (ie no water) for the TC treatments it might be a bit more of a realistic comparison, but unfortunately that would cost me a small fortune! (haha)
What I’m really interested to see is how the different combos compare to one another and to the control. So far it has certainly been fun to watch how each of the plants has grown!
Anyway, thats all for now! Stay tuned for more updates!
Technorati Tags: terracycle, worm poop, fertilizer, worm team, compost tea, worm compost, vermicompost, worm castings
Written by Bentley on August 1st, 2007 with 6 comments.
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