Worm Composting
The neighborhood started charging more tax for garbage (yay!)
and the compost small plastic bins in the summer would sit for too long and generate tons of flies and other creatures...and smelled very bad (boo!).
This was great motivation to try some worm composting.
Contents
Concept
Worm composting can be done indoors in small apartments, as well as outdoors.
Some basics:
- Compost vegetable matter, even coffee rinds! - except egg shells - BUT no meat, no starch in your compost
- Good moisture
- Not in direct sunlight
- Good air circulation (turn it over)
- Balance the worm diet and balance YOUR diet! (too much citrus, coffee rinds will acidify, etc.)
There is a lot online on how to start one (links below) - this one aimed for these features:
- One person
- Balcony location
- No need to touch the worms
The design here assumes that the worms are smart enough to want to look for food, which comes from above.
Prototype
Materials and Tools
- Plastic garbage bin
- Plastic receptacle
- Plastic receiving tray
- Metal chickenwire / mesh
- Metal support rods
- Cutter for plastic
- Cutter for Wires
- Drill (to make airholes)
- A ziptie for a handle
- Salad turners for "tossing the compost" for aeration
Worms
Can you dig up worms yourself in the garden and do this? Probably yes.
Otherwise, look for suppliers in the neighborhood.
- Local farmer
- Online stores (see links below)
Build it
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Observations and Improvements
Surprisingly, and luckily, hardly any worms try to escape from the bottom! There was never a need to "separate" the worms from the compost, which most articles suggested to do. But here are some things to do differently than this version.
- Need a bigger bin!
- Make the "bottom window" to take out the compost a bit higher off the ground, to catch the brown water
Links
Other articles
Worm Sources
- vers la terre (FR)
