***This is another article that was previously posted at a different site, written by me***
Seriously, I have worms. Loads of them. In fact, my entire family has them.
No, this isn’t a PSA about personal hygiene or a warning about some strange new trendy diet. I wanted to share with you my new composting adventure: vermicomposting, aka worm composting.
My regular compost bin wasn’t doing so well. Turns out we have too many veggie and fruit peels, coffee grounds , etc and not enough yard material like leaves. Its design makes it hard for dogs to gain access but also made it hard for us to turn what was inside. It became anaerobic and stopped working. Oops. I did not want to throw our kitchen waste into a plastic trash bag to sit in the landfill while we worked to correct this problem. My answer – WORMS!
We first bought them a little house.
Then we gave them some furnishings.
Next we invited some worm friends over to stay.
We fed them well.
They did their business.
Soon we’ll have great rich compost to put in the garden and flowerbeds!
I bought a fancy bin made just for the worms with multiple trays, a roof and even a valve at the bottom for “worm tea,” but there’s no need to get fancy if you don’t want to. In fact, you can DIY or even buy a simple and inexpensive bin with all that you need from a local expert, Tracy Myhalyk of RoomToSqworm.com.
Our particular worm house was easy to assemble. Because I have a curious toddler, I then searched for the perfect shaded spot outside. You can keep them totally self-contained and stink-free inside but I was NOT interested in having our new friends wiggling all over the kitchen floor every day!
To furnish their home I added some bedding. Dirt, dried leaves and all that would make them super comfortable would hopefully also make them ready to dig in and pig out.
Apparently it’s not a good idea to use regular earthworms, so I invested in 1 pound of red wigglers from a local source. It was an exciting day when we put them in their new home! Would they stay? Would they eat our eggshells and banana peels and give us rich compost in return? Only time will tell.
They’ve been eating and re-eating our kitchen scraps at approximately a pound a week for almost a month now. We even have worm eggs! We must be doing something right!
I’m still checking to make sure the scraps I feed them are ok – no citrus, limited coffee grounds, and try to chop up the peels to make them quicker to eat through. I keep my scraps in a large yogurt container in the kitchen until they are ready for a fresh meal. I’m still working out the kinks in the process but all in all it’s easy!
Worm composting can be faster, more exciting and take up less space than a regular compost bin. Apartment dwellers/patio gardeners can take part in this one too. I have a friend who has worms at her office! Are you wondering why you’d want worm-made compost?
This is from the RoomToSqworm.com website:
"Vermicompost benefits soil by
* improving its physical structure;
* enriching soil in micro-organisms, adding plant hormones such as auxins and gibberellic
acid, and adding enzymes such as phosphatase and cellulase;
* attracting deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil;
* improving water holding capacity;
* enhancing germination, plant growth, and crop yield; and
improving root growth and structure."
And it just might make your kids (or the neighbor's kids) think you’re cool.
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Update...8 months later our worms are going strong! We moved them to the garage for the cold winter but they are still eating, eating, eating! I am so excited to work their "stuff" into our garden areas this Spring.
Also, a new fabric for my UPCYCLED line of COTTON sandwich baggies! It's oh-so pretty and soft! Cotton works great for the snack or lunch item that just needs a simple container, for a quick snack on the go, and to keep your healthy eating under control by making your own 100 calorie snack baggies.
