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| Cheap solution to garbage pollution... |
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I've always had a great appreciation for worms! When I was little... after a rain, I'd be in the street finding the largest worm I could and then rush into the house with it to show my mom "this HUGE worm!" only to be marched right back out the back door with my catch... it was the same story with snakes, turtles and lizards.
Anyway, today, I have a worm bin in my kitchen! Crazy eh? Not so says I... worms are silent recyclers and I'm definitely into recycling stuff.
A bin of worms can consume... the Sunday paper, cardboard, coffee grounds (with the paper filter), tea bags, banana peels, stale bread, veggie leaves, melon rinds, and any number of other products we normally just throw away.
What happens to that stuff? Well, it's converted into worm castings.
What can I do with worm castings? Well, for me, it's fertilizer for my amazing tea roses or house plants. No house plants? Then toss the castings in your garden or around your flowers.
I tell my friends that a worm can eat half it's body weight every day! They make a face... ya, how much does a worm weigh? Aha.. true, BUT, I have several pounds of worms (see how small they were thinking?) Worms do great things in larger numbers.
You can actually buy worm bins. I'm cheap, so I simply made my own as illustrated on this page. I use two plastic bins, so if the moisture level is too high, or water collects in the bottom of the main bin, it can drain out into the bottom bin which is filled with shredded paper. I remember years ago when my worms would sort of become trapped by heavy wet stuff in the bottom of the bin I had back then. This design eliminates that problem. I cut sections off of plastic plumbing pipe and use those sections to keep the two bins separated and assure an air space between them.
The bottom bin has no holes and its lid is underneath, resting on the floor. The upper/inside bin, has over 20 3/16" holes. There is a hole in every low corner of the inside bin also, this is for drainage. The rest of the holes are on the sides and in the lid of the upper bin. I almost never have to add water to up the humidity levels.
My wife Annette made the mistake of saying "you can have your worms in the kitchen, until they begin to stink, then they are OUT!".... soooo, well, they don't stink and if properly managed (which they are) they never will stink... there they sit, right in the corner of my kitchen! My Mother-in-law.. with her German accent....vwut? dose are d-vorms in dat bin?! She looked imploringly to Annette... he has vorms in d-kuchen?! I handed her a cappuccino, glowing with my sense of accomplishment as I went on to explain the benefits of having a worm bin. She always says she's going to knock my lights out? But I'm just too quick for her!
Look at your kitchen trash... how many of the things in it, could you be recycling with your own worm composter? For example, how much of your trash is paper? Oh and what about egg shells? Worms NEED egg shells to give them necessary grit to aid in their own digestive system... how about that?!
Anyway, soon I will post a video showing what the proper worms are for your bin and will also share what my bin looks like in service.
Thank you for reading this page... want to read more about worms? Get an amazing book titled The Earth Moved. You will open your eyes and mind to what's been under your feet all along.
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In the mood for a video on making your own worm bin?
Watch the video posted below, by Patti Moreno...
See how it's done and what you can gain from having your own vermiculture system.
Then stop in and visit Patti at www.GardenGirlTV.com
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