They are getting a good start, at least.
Our neighbor runs a free composting service for the neighborhood. The Bucket Brigade, he calls it. We save our scraps from the kitchen (fruit and vegetable trimmings, egg shells, tea bags (!), coffee grounds and filters, the odd paper towel), take it all to the drop-off spot (next door), and thank the stars above that the neighbor does the dirty work of composting for us. Because of his effort, we know that some of our trash is not going to the landfill or to the lake via the garbage disposal AND we get to help ourselves periodically to "black gold," the incredibly rich compost produced from the scraps of the neighborhood.
I don't know about Mr. H., but the simple act of composting has made me much more conscious of the amount of trash we produce. We recycle, sure, but turning food waste into compost that you use to grow more food and nurture plants seems like one small thing we can do.
So, in an effort to do our part and to satisfy Mr. H's desire for a science experiment in the basement (along with my curiosity for what compost tea can do for my houseplants), we are allowing worms to eat our garbage and give us the gift of compost. Our neighbor, the Brigadier General of the Bucket Brigade, loaned us Worms Eat My Garbage, a book on vermicompost. He also loaned us a worm apartment building or worm tower (this Worm Factory product) because unlike the very dedicated author, we will not be constructing a coffee table that is also a composting bin. (I guess if one didn't have a basement, worm furniture in the living room would seem like a more reasonable option. But for us? Nope.)
For this enterprise, we shelled out exactly $25 plus tax, the cost of a bucket of red wigglers in compost from Growing Power. (For your information, that is the actual name of the worm. The red wiggler is the best worm for composting!)
To get started, we spread some of the compost in one tray of the worm tower.
We donned gloves and sifted worms from the bucket to relocate them to their new home/workplace.
This relocation took about an hour.
We added more compost on top of the worms and made a few pockets into which we nestled some delicious food scraps chopped into bits. Shredded paper was next. A spray bottle came in handy for dampening the mess.
On top, we placed a few layers of damp newspapers under the plastic lid to keep everything (and everyone!) inside and moist.
Our neighbor runs a free composting service for the neighborhood. The Bucket Brigade, he calls it. We save our scraps from the kitchen (fruit and vegetable trimmings, egg shells, tea bags (!), coffee grounds and filters, the odd paper towel), take it all to the drop-off spot (next door), and thank the stars above that the neighbor does the dirty work of composting for us. Because of his effort, we know that some of our trash is not going to the landfill or to the lake via the garbage disposal AND we get to help ourselves periodically to "black gold," the incredibly rich compost produced from the scraps of the neighborhood.
I don't know about Mr. H., but the simple act of composting has made me much more conscious of the amount of trash we produce. We recycle, sure, but turning food waste into compost that you use to grow more food and nurture plants seems like one small thing we can do.
So, in an effort to do our part and to satisfy Mr. H's desire for a science experiment in the basement (along with my curiosity for what compost tea can do for my houseplants), we are allowing worms to eat our garbage and give us the gift of compost. Our neighbor, the Brigadier General of the Bucket Brigade, loaned us Worms Eat My Garbage, a book on vermicompost. He also loaned us a worm apartment building or worm tower (this Worm Factory product) because unlike the very dedicated author, we will not be constructing a coffee table that is also a composting bin. (I guess if one didn't have a basement, worm furniture in the living room would seem like a more reasonable option. But for us? Nope.)
For this enterprise, we shelled out exactly $25 plus tax, the cost of a bucket of red wigglers in compost from Growing Power. (For your information, that is the actual name of the worm. The red wiggler is the best worm for composting!)
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| Like Home Depot says, "Let's do this!" |
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| We now have one dog and thousands of new worm pets. |
We donned gloves and sifted worms from the bucket to relocate them to their new home/workplace.
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| "I'm naming this one George." |
We added more compost on top of the worms and made a few pockets into which we nestled some delicious food scraps chopped into bits. Shredded paper was next. A spray bottle came in handy for dampening the mess.
On top, we placed a few layers of damp newspapers under the plastic lid to keep everything (and everyone!) inside and moist.
Eventually, the worms will be able to handle a half-pound of waste a day. Right now, we are feeding them a few times a week.
The operation has been underway in the basement since January 25. We added a second tray on February 7. So far, no worms have escaped, which is supposed to be a good sign that they're content enough to stay put. I have a vested interest in keeping them happy because the last thing I want to see in the basement is a mass exodus of red wigglers fleeing the worm tower!
P.S. To answer a question in advance, it does not smell.
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