Douglas Rehfeldt

Ever wonder where you’re food comes from?

Ξ January 5th, 2010 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Social, Sustainable living |

Not after viewing the documentary film Food Inc.

Vermicomposting

Ξ March 31st, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Sustainable living |

Vermi what? Vermicomposting is composting with red worms. I decided to leverage the ability of the “wiggler” worm to help in my home composting. It’s incredibly easy to create and maintain a worm bin. There are five things that you need to create a worm bin: a container, bedding material, red worms, some table scraps, and a little time. All of the physical components of your worm bin should be free with a little searching so that you really shouldn’t have to spend any money on creating a worm bin.

• the container could be a simple plastic storage bin
• bedding material – I use shredded computer paper and cut up corrugated cardboard
• redworms, Eisenia foetida, get them from under leaves in the woods. Don’t use any other type of worm.
• food – there are good and bad foods for the redworm
  
  good foods include: fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds
  
  bad foods include: meats, dairy products, oily foods, or lots of citrus.
  
  Remember, it’s not a garbage bin!

This is a super project to do with your kids because is so simple and it teaches them about nature and sustainable living practices. The worms become pets for the kids and little compost makers for you.

I used a variety of resources, but started with the guide called Household Composting with Worms from the Purdue Extension office. This is a great way to recycle those table scraps, at least the ones that worms can eat, which provides some excellent compost material for your houseplants, landscaping and garden. I also recommend checking out the vermicomposting videos on YouTube if need a video howto on creating your worm bin.

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