Bin There, Composted That - A Worm Bin for Beginners
Four months into our experiment with vermicomposting it looks like we are doing it! We are Worm Farmers! But maybe I’m using the word “we” a little too liberally. After all, after setting the bin up with its original bedding and fresh batch of worms, I probably haven’t fed the little critters since the second week of the experiment. However, since it was my idea to buy the bin and gift it to my dear spouse as a romantic gesture of my love, I continue to take credit for its success.
As a family of 3, we aren’t big food wasters so we were intially skeptical about our ability to keep so many worms fed - we bought a standard bucket-full from a local vendor. Turns out we could probably keep two bins worth of worms going. All those fruit/veggie peels, bread bits (stale pieces, tortillas, and DD doesn’t do edges), coffee grinds and old leftovers really add up!
We use a Wriggly Wranch worm bin. After doing a lot of research on the various choices - build, buy, convert - I chose it because its stacking layers and handy spigot seem to greatly cut back on the amount of direct worm handling required to harvest the worm tea and worm poo. Very important features, if you ask me.
While we love the fact that our old food is no longer wasting resources being driven to a landfill, or taking up space in that landfill, or adding methane to the atmosphere as it decomposes in that landfill, or wasting energy being ground up by the In-Sink-Erator, probably the most satisfying thing about our worm composting is being able to harvest the tea and poo for fertilizing our household and garden plants. Not only is our waste no longer doing harm, it is actually doing good now! What could be more satisfying?
P.S. - if calling the by-product “poo” makes you too uncomfortable, some vermicomposters use the term “castings” instead. Just a fancier way of saying poo, but it sure is easier to say you’re going to spread the castings around the garden than saying your spreading the poo.
Tags: compost, vermicompost, worm, worm bin, worm poo, Wriggly Wranch
October 26th, 2008 at 1:06 am
[...] plants, as well as to enrich the soil for re-potting 10 indoor plans I bought recently. (Click here to read more about our bin set-up.) To prep for this momentous occassion, we had added the second [...]