Worms!

Our friend Jennifer Willis writes about quick and easy worm composting in the Portland Tribue's SustainableLife [!] section. Here's her how-to guide:

Get two plastic storage bins (with lids), about 8-10 gallons each.

Drill 10 1/16” holes along each side of the bins, near the upper rim, for ventilation (and to prevent fruit flies).

Drill 20 1/4” holes in the bottom of each bin for drainage.

Fill one bin with 3 to 4 inches of damp strips of newspaper. (Moisten by soaking in water and then squeezing out the excess.) Set the other bin aside.

Add 1/2 to 1 pound of red wigglers to the bedding. (There are approximately 500 worms per pound.)

Add a handful of soil or ground eggshells – this “grit” helps the worms digest food.

Bury food scraps (excluding meat) in the bedding, in small amounts at first. As the worm population increases, feed them more frequently.

Keep your worm bin in a well-ventilated area and out of direct sunlight. Laundry rooms and garages make great locations. Stack it on bricks or blocks to allow for drainage – you can also use the lid of the unused bin. If the bin is outside, keep an eye on moisture levels during the summer; in winter, move the bin inside or place it in a sheltered location to protect the worms from getting too cold.

When it’s time to harvest your compost – in two to three months – fill the second bin with bedding and kitchen scraps, and place it inside the first bin. Attracted by the food, the worms will crawl up into the second bin through the holes in the bottom. The second box becomes the active bin, while the first is full of rich, ready-to-use compost.

Read the entire article here.