Worm Composting
Worms? Eeew! Why Worm Composting?
- Worms are the best way to compost vegetable scraps in winter.
- You have three great end products: Red Wiggler Worms (great for fishing or feeding to your pet Gecko!); Worm Castings … an incredible soil enhancer for your garden or indoor potted plants; and Worm Tea … don't let the name fool you, Worm Tea is not for drinking, it's a natural liquid fertilizer.
- Worm composting reduces solid waste in landfills.
- Worm composting reduces rotting odors in your garbage and decreases unwanted animals in your trash.
- It is good for your soul to get your hands dirty every once in a while
- It is fun for the kids! They can brag about their 10,000 pets in the basement!
Ready to Start Your Worm Composting System?
Before you begin, remember a worm composting system is not like a refrigerator that once you put it in place all you need to do is plug it in. A worm farm is pretty simple to build and maintain, but it is a live working ecosystem and does take some initial set up time, weekly feeding and monitoring and requires a yearly worm switch and soil sifting in order to harvest your castings (or "black gold" as we call it).
We have created a wonderful system for those who wish to start a worm farm - an easy to build and maintain worm farm for your home basement or garage for less than $25. If interested we recommend that you attend the next Wiggle While They Work: Home Worm Composting Workshop on Saturday, January 20th, from 2-4 p.m. at the Urban Ecology Center. For families with children 10 or older. $10 per person, accompanied children are free or $25 per household if you want to leave with a worm system). Registration required. Call 964-8505 for details.
If you are handy, you can create the composting worm farm on your own. We recommend that you visit the Center, which is open seven days a week to see a sample worm farm and pick up instructions.
If you are feeling bold, you can simply follow our instructions included here (do us a favor and let us know when you have a farm up and running!) Click here for directions on how to start your worm farm!
To get worms and to visit another great place to see worms in action, visit Growing Power,
one of our partner organizations.
