Worm Wranglers Wanted

George, our mailman came to my door the other day, all smiles, and said “I’ve got worms!”, to which I replied that there were several good doctors that could help him. “No, no,” he said. “I’ve got a worm composter!”

I had been showing off the garden and my compost piles to George a few weeks ago, and he excited with the idea of recycling his kitchen waste but lives in an apartment. Worm composters are the perfect solution.

Taking up little space, simple to start and maintain, a worm composter provides a happy place for your worms, who in turn will process 5 to 10 pounds of fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds every week, leaving behind worm casings, compost “tea”, and no odor.

Getting started is easy. There are several worm composting kits available that come with everything you need to create a worm ranch. A model called the Cascade Worm Factory comes complete with the bins, a manual and 10,000 worms. For the more adventurous, there is Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof, an excellent guide available in your library that will take you through constructing a worm composter out of wood, and scavenging through horse dung piles for your own red wigglers, and setting up the correct environment. Most municipal recycling programs also offer courses and resources in worm composting. Check yours today, and happy ranching!