Grass clippings
Fruit &
vegetable scraps
Houseplants
Yard trimmings
Coffee grounds
Wood chips &
sawdust
Straw & hay
Branches & twigs
Dry leaves
Shredded
cardboard & paper
Many basic vermicomposters are
designed in a way that requires you to
manually sift the worms out of the castings. Other options are designed with little angled tunnels so the trays can be
cycled back and forth when they are full.
If you feed into one tray at a time, the
worms will migrate between the trays on
their own to follow the food so you can harvest the compost.
“It’s a perfect environment for them,”
Milley says. “Essentially, it’s nice and
warm. They don’t need to worry about any
cold in the wintertime and someone’s con-
stantly providing them food.”
Red wigglers generally do a good job
keeping their environment the way they
need it to be, with enough moisture to make
it comparable to a damp sponge, he says.
Worms, which can be purchased on the
internet (search “red wigglers”), should
be kept out of extreme temperatures. ( The
EPA recommends ;; F to ;; F.)
The worms should be fed small bits of
WHAT TO COMPOST?
A GOOD BALANCE OF NITROGEN-RICH
GREEN AND CARBON-RICH BROWN
ORGANIC MATTER.
ILLUS TRATIONS: STEVEN LAIT
plant scraps, which are easier for the
worms to break down. Refrain from feeding them anything salty, such as potato
chips, or acidic, such as citrus, or anything
that will start to smell when it decomposes, such as meats, fats or oils.
Milley points out that instead of sending food waste to the landfill, people can
easily compost in their own yards or homes
to help the planet and to fertilize their
houseplants, lawns and gardens. It’s a win-win situation for all of us. C
SOURCE: EPA
