Vermicomposting

We discussed regular composting in a previous post, but what about those of us with small gardens? or a patio garden? Where we don’t have room for a full compost pile, how do those of us with a small garden reduce our waste? Or those of us with big gardens that just want to do more? Well how about trying vermicomposting? That’s worm composting! It’s really easy to start composting with worms and unless you plan on investing in a specific vermicomposting system it can in fact be done with items you probably already have in your home, it just takes a little time and some worms!

As we’re eco-friendly and looking at ways to REDUCE our consumerism tendencies and to reduce our waste, vermicomposting is a great way to do that. For a basic home system you’ll need the following items:

• plastic tote
• drill and 1/8-1/4″ drill bit
• newspaper shredded/torn into strips
• food scraps and/or leaves etc.
• worms
• spray bottle filled with water

All you have to do is drill holes around the tote, a couple in the bottom for drainage and a few in the lid for air. This is the most time consuming part by far. Once you have your aeration holes it’s time to start assembling the bin. In the bottom of the tote add a thick layer of shredded paper and dampen it down using water in a spray bottle. This step can be done by lightly soaking paper in a bowl of water but if you use a shredder like we do those paper bits get everywhere! Once the paper is dampened I personally like to add a little soil and some grit but this step is optional. Add the food scraps, worms and cover with another layer of dampened shredded paper. Place in a location where the bin will not be in direct sunlight to get too hot nor in a location where it will get too cold.

Shredding the paper or cardboard really helps with decomposition as does cutting the food scraps into smaller pieces. Generally we have a container under the sink to store food scraps then every 4-5 days we’ll add these to the worm bin, but you can add them as you go, we just choose not to.

By adding a vermicomposting to our eco-efforts our trash has reduced considerably. I’d approximate we produce 1/8 less trash now than previously just by adding a simple vermicomposting bin to our side yard. Not only that but it’s fun to see the activity of the worms at different times of day. Vermicomposting would be a great project for children and also for any gardeners!

dalgal | My Bio & Articles