
It's not so bad to revisit old ideas is it? A year and a half ago we made a worm bin for Chez Sneak and I'm proud to say it's still in action. Yes, it went through long periods of neglect and I've learned that if it's in a visible place I take better care of it. I'm here to say: I have a worm farm in my kitchen and I'm OK with that.

The pictures above are from Green Wellies' newest foray into worm keeping, then, coincidentally last night in Master Composting class we did a vermiculture segment. This time the bin-making was with Brian Rosa the Organic Recycling specialist for the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. With a different teacher comes a different approach to building a bin, and if the first version wasn't easy enough, this one takes the cake.
The How-To: Take a big storage tote (snug fitting lid and all) and 1/4 inch drill holes in the side. We have 7 on each long side of our bin--some people prefer more. A few holes on the rounded bottom corners of the tote will allow good drainage if things get too wet. Fill up the tote with shredded newspapers, then give the paper a good shower of water. Add a pound of red wigglers. Leave the lid off the top overnight to get the worms to burrow down and get used to their new digs. It might take a few days for them to get established, but then they'll be ready for your veggie scraps and spent coffee grounds. Just don't give them onions, it'll burn their skin, which is no good.
{These worms are a special type of worm, Eisneia fetida, they're much smaller than the earth worms you see in your yard, and they like a much moister environment. They eat a lot more, too. Each worm can eat half its weight in food scraps a day. Even if you forget about them for a while they'll take to munching on the moist newspaper bedding you've provided for them.}
The Why: Why would you want worms over regular composting? This type of composting is great for the gardener that doesn't have the outdoor space for a compost bin. It's also great for someone that can't turn a big compost pile because the worms are essentially doing the turning for you. {Maybe your gardening grandma needs a pile of worms?}
Food waste is the third largest waste stream after
paper and yard waste, which means we pay for the food to go bad, then pay for it again to be taken to the landfill. . . then it pollutes the ever-livin' worm poop outta this here earth.
So you take this seemingly innocuous waste and turn it into black gold, spray it as a tea, or mix it with your soil and you gain nutrients, which makes for happy happy plants, a higher quality soil structure with all sorts of excited microbes, promotes cleaner air, and saves you money because you won't have to go out and buy soil additives. How can you resist??
Want more wormy goodness? Check out these plans for a super fancy, straight from the hardware store worm tower.
All the questions you could ever dream of are answered on this page.
Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish
thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu,
you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.