Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Vermiculture

Vermiculture: that's just a fancy way to say composting using worms.  Since we're city-dwellers without a yard, it's perfect for us.  My sister is going to think I've really flipped my lid.

A friend (Dacia) of a friend (Jen) took a class and got all excited about it.  Dacia wanted to order some worms but knew her price drastically drop if she conned recruited friends to join her in this endeavor.  She even agreed to make the worm boxes if we came to her house!

Dacia recycled wooden wine boxes from Costco.  She drilled holes for ventilation in the sides of the box before we arrived.  Once there, she gave us screens to cover the holes and trusty duct tape to adhere the screen to the box.  On the side she added cute yellow handles.

This is what Mr. Intensity did while I fought with used the duct tape.  He played ball with the big boys. 

Then he helped with the initial one inch of dirt and a few handfuls of shredded paper.
Here's Dacia transferring the worms into our box.
Dacia was a lovely host, sent us home with a lid for the box, and gave us lots of tips for keeping our worms happy.  I won't bore you with the details.  If you're interested in learning more, go here.  I'm looking forward to putting my fruit/veggie scraps to good use.  

When my friend, Jen, got home the glued seam in her wooden box busted from the moisture.  Being the industrious woman she is, she bought a 10 gallon Rubbermaid box and put it on bricks on top of a cookie sheet (because she also drilled holes in the bottom).

To see other organic gardening tips, visit the Keeper of the Home.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

fun. I loved worms as a kid. Don't want to touch them so much anymore, but I remember be totally intrigued by them.

Anonymous said...

I'm totally interested in this. How do I build my own worm box from a rubbermaid container and THEN what do I do? Can I have a step by step please :D

Julie said...

BossSanders: As for making a worm box, there are lots of examples/instructions on the web - just google vermiculture or worm farm - or click on some of the links in my post. My friend, Jen, drilled holes in her box, then used duct tape to adhere the screens. The screens help ventilation (to reduce mold) as well as help to keep the worms inside. :) If you want to order worms, Uncle Jim's worm farm seems to be a reputable dealer.

Anonymous said...

Its great that you are finding out about the joys of vermiculture.
I wish you every success and look forward to seeing how you get on.

Unknown said...

Since you are a city dweller, you should try something like the Red Worm Condo. It's cool, because you can keep it indoors or outdoors and it keeps the odors and mess to a minimum.

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