Garbage is gourmet feast for worms

I did it! – Even if you don't have grounds to fertilize, a worm bin can be a tiny trash compactor

By Jennifer Willis

LocalNewsDaily.com, Aug 8, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

New vermicomposter Jennifer Willis shows off her handiwork: a home for her trash-eating worms.

Jim Clark / The Portland Tribune

I have a box of worms in my courtyard.

I live in a condo. I’m wary of the garbage disposal, not certain that the sewer system can really handle that kind of garbage. There’s no backyard for a big compost bin, which can get pretty stinky – I don’t want to make enemies of my neighbors. I also don’t want to keep throwing food scraps in the trash.

A friend recommended worms. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t.

Worm composting – also called vermicomposting – is great for smaller living spaces, like condos and apartments, and eliminates the foul odors associated with other kinds of composting. With the right moisture and ventilation, the worms quickly break down kitchen and paper scraps.

Commercially made worm bins are available from about $30 and up – some small enough to store under the kitchen sink or on the counter. There are even worm bins that double as furniture, like a composting patio bench or a custom-made vermicomposting coffee table.

A die-hard do-it-yourselfer, I found simple instructions online for constructing my own system. I bought a couple of plastic storage bins at Fred Meyer and drilled holes for ventilation and drainage. With plenty of shredded newspaper for worm bedding, and lots of kitchen scraps, I was ready for worms.

For composting, all worms are not created equal, and the garden-variety earthworm won’t get the job done. I needed what are commonly known as “red wigglers” or red worms. Available at bait shops, they can be found less expensively through garden stores, mail-order suppliers or on eBay. Even Craigslist has composting worms posted.

A local Freecycler, Felicia Kilger, was willing to share some of her red wigglers with me. Free worms! Kilger started worm composting two years ago, after getting impatient with her slow-processing traditional compost bin. She added some worms.

“The worms eat more quickly than I expected,” she says. They also multiply rapidly, so she has plenty to share.

“I feel better about having less waste,” Kilger says. “I guess that’s the Oregonian in me.”

Kilger keeps her bin out of sight at the side of her house. She was surprised that worm composting requires very little maintenance. “Just throw them in your bin, and they’ll do the rest.”

Beth Meredith and Eric Storm keep their Worm Factory system (about $85) on the porch of their Northwest Portland condo.

“We’re very much urban worm composters,” Storm says. They’ve been vermicomposting for nearly 10 years and have helped friends set up their own systems.

Storm’s advice is simple: “Do it.”

They suggest using old bank statements and credit card offers as worm bedding, to dispose of sensitive information securely and conscientiously. “It’s our paper shredder,” Meredith says.

Worms prefer a vegetarian diet – my worms love watermelon rinds, fresh onion and coffee grounds. Keeping the bin free of meat and dairy products keeps foul odors from developing, and won’t attract scavenging animals.

The resulting compost is rich in nutrients and can be used to create healthier plants – in the garden and in pots. “Worm tea” – the liquid runoff that drains out of the bin – is great for houseplants.

My neighbors made faces and joked about not wanting to find any escapees on their porches when I told them about my composting project. Now, friends donate their kitchen scraps to feed my worms. In a couple of months, I’ll have plenty of compost to share.

My one regret? I wish I’d started with bigger bins.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit