The Wormery

I've told you how this apartment/urban farming thing is becoming a passion...bordering on obsession. Nothing probably demonstrates that more than my wormery. It's been up and running for about a month now and I honestly can say it is the wisest gardening decision I've ever made.

The bins were empties I had from purging to live more simply and I found a great place to get worms shipped year round and guaranteed live. 

I also found a great how-to video on YouTube, which I can't locate now, but there are several available. I'm not providing complete instructions here because I have had to play with it and modify my model based on my situation. Plans abound online though and it's a very easy process.

Next, your family has to know what to save, so I found this great idea on Pinterest and used a cereal container that was just taking up space in my cabinet. Now it sits on my kitchen counter and collects items until I feed the worms. I tailored it to our family, but here are the items I listed:

• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags
• Peels
• Egg shells
• Cores
• Leaves, dry
• Rotten fruit/veggies
• Juice pulp
• Paper towel and tubes
• Cardboard
• School papers
• Hair
• Dryer lint (if mostly natural fibers)
• Dust bunnies
• Tortilla chips
• Pencil shavings
• Kleenex (used is okay)
• Paper plates (w/o grease)
• Nut shells (except walnuts)
• Vacuum contents (remove solid items first, I.e. Legos)
• Hamster bedding
• Cricket carcasses and poo (we have a bearded dragon that eats crickets)
• Toilet paper tubes
• Crackers
• Cereal
• Unpopped popcorn
• Pretzels & chips
• Oatmeal
• Seeds
• Muffin cups
• Cotton balls
• NO: meat, dairy, oils, peanut butter, dishwater

And on the top, I wrote, "Don't know? Ask!"

As you can see from the list, having a wormery is a great way to recycle too. There are dozens of other items you can add, I simply ran out of space on the tub. Lists also abound on the internet.

Place the worms in the bin, give them a little soil to start, tuck some food near the bottom and cover the worms with cardboard, then place your lid on top. Some common problems are fruit flies, mold, odor and "wandering" worms. All of these are indications of an unhealthy wormery. Again, much wiser and more experienced voices can be found to address issues and feedings online. I have had to find the right balance for my situation.

All of this sounds much more complicated than it really is and with very little effort, I should have great soil for next Spring's patio garden. I spent $30 (including shipping) on one pound of worms that will eat half their weight daily and double in number every 60 days as long as I give them the space. At that rate, I hope to sell worms and eventually recoup my money. I can tell that they are already multiplying.

Regardless of whether I ever sell any or not, next Spring when I start my container gardening, I will save a lot of money on potting soil and fertilizer.

Update 1/18/14: I am now able to mix small amounts of beautiful soil in my new plantings and when combing through the soil today was thrilled to discover dozens and dozens of baby red wigglers!