You've Got Worms!

by Andrea Millar — May 5, 2008

Chances are good you've had some experience with composting, whether it was of the stinky, slimy kind that smelled like orange-flavored vomit or the expertly aerated, nearly odorless stuff that surely buys you a ticket to a better afterlife. Composting is a pretty common concept these days. If you're fortunate to live in a house, you may even engage in creating that second variety. But if you live in an apartment--and kudos to you for narrowing your space requirements down on a planet that'll be up to 9 billion by 2050!--you may not be aware of the opportunity for small-scale composting that worms can afford you.

The perks of keeping these little buggers around are many. Besides having an audience of dozens or even hundreds to listen to your daily triumphs stored right under your kitchen sink, compost generated by worms is high-quality stuff. They can do much of that meticulous aeration required to gain those picturesque Ned Flanders-esque composts. With about the same TLC you would devote towards a fish tank, you can convert a sizeable portion of your kitchen waste (probably mostly nitrogen-rich "greens") and junkmail (more carbon-rich "browns") into the equivalent of four-star plant food. The coolest part is that you don't need much more than a Rubbermaid tub and, of course, the worms themselves.

Sometimes with this blog, I attempt to slide a classier, sleeker, cheekier version of the many cool resources available for perusal (which, I might add, means to read carefully, not browse! I would never just browse for you!) out there. But here my hat goes off to elite green Vloggers RyanIsHungry for their excellent video featuring Barb Finnin. It features all the worm composting tips you could need start to finish, whether you're a worm composting n00b or a seasoned vermicultural kitchen aesthete, in under 10 minutes.

Touch those worms! The worms featured in composting vermiculture, Red Wigglers, are available all over the place. Online supplier Uncle Jim's Worm Farm, based out of Pennsylvania, has a user-friendly design and is ready to meet all your vermicultural needs with advice, equipment, and a rather contagious enthusiasm.