Do you know anything about worm bins?
Worm bins (or vermicomposters, as they are sometimes known) are an easy way for apartment dwellers to divert kitchen waste from the landfill by composting it indoors in sealed containers for use in pots, planters or window boxes.
All you need to get the ball rolling are red worms, bedding material and a box with a tight-fitting lid.
Plastic bins that fit neatly under the kitchen sink are available commercially or you can make your own out of plastic storage bins using directions that are easily found on the Internet.
Keep in mind that not all worms live happily in confined spaces, so forget about digging the worms out of a vacant field or the garden of a generous friend. Nightcrawlers and other tunneling earthworms won’t last long in a box under your sink. Red worms - most notably Lumbricus rubellus and Eisenia foetida - are far better choices for worm boxes. One pound (approximately 500 worms) can consume approximately half a pound of food scraps a day. For the average family, this is a good starting point. If you generate more food scraps than that, don’t worry. Worm populations tend to expand and contract depending on how much food is available.
Besides food, your worms require two things to thrive: bedding material and grit. For the bedding material, one inch strips of newspaper or cardboard soaked in water and rung out will do the trick. The grit that worms need for their digestive systems to work properly can be supplied by a dash of topsoil.
You can use your worm bins to recycle vegetable scraps, fruit peel, grains, pasta, breads, egg shells and tea bags as well as coffee filters and grounds. Meat, fish, dairy products and oily foods should be left for the garbage. Each day, bury the kitchen scraps at different locations in the bedding and the worms will find their way to it.
After several weeks, the bedding will disappear and will need to be changed. At that time, you can harvest the worm castings for use in your planters or give them to someone who knows the value of this nutrient-rich soil amendment.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
