Composting in the House

From Marlee:

Hello. I want to start my own compostat home with food
scraps, but I don’t have a back yard I can make a pile in. I was told
to by a big container with a air tight lid and start putting vegetable
scraps in it. I was wondering if the lid was a good idea, becaue I
looked up actual composting containers and they all have air
circulation. I wanted to keep a lid on it because it will have to be
in my house and I dont want to be able to smell it.
Also, I was wondering if I could dig up some earth worms and put them
in my container. Will they be able to live in it if the lid is air
tight?
Thank you so much for your time and answering my qustions.

Hi Marlee,
I’m glad you wrote in! I’m sure there are plenty of newcomers with similar questions on their mind.

You are absolutely right – air circulation is very important! I have started tiny worm bins in plastic tubs without any additional air holes added – but the small size of the system, along with the somewhat loose-fitting lid and small holes in the handles made it not so much of an issue. I should mention also that when I DID finally decide to start adding air holes to those small bins, the performance of the system (and overall health and welfare of the worms) definitely seemed to improve.

If you were to simply pile up food scraps in a tightly sealed container, you would end up with a monumentally nasty, smelly mess on your hands! Aside from the issue of air flow, there would also be the important ‘carbon-to-nitrogen ratio’, and moisture content of the bin to consider. Wet, n-rich wastes piled up without any absorbent, carbon-rich materials will definitely go anaerobic (thus creating an awful stench) and potentially produce ammonia gas (also a nasty smell – not to mention being toxic).

Interesting enough, if you provide lots of air circulation and mix your food materials with even more absorbent bedding materials (such as shredded cardboard/newsprint etc), there shouldn’t be any bad odors coming from your bin – even before the worms are added! Once you have composting worms (more on that topic in a minute) in the system, and your are able to provide them with their basic requirements, bad odors should be even less of a concern!

Ok – back to the worms. Unfortunately, you can’t just dig up some garden worms and put them in your bin (especially not the bin you’ve described). Worms suited for composting are specialized species that don’t really burrow in soil – they are adapted to live close to, or above the soil surface in rich, organic matter. This explains why they can sometimes be found naturally occurring in compost heaps and aged manure piles! The variety you are likely looking for is the Red Worm (Eisenia fetida) – this is the most common, and also the most versatile of the composting worms.

If you want to learn more about setting up and worm bin, I highly recommend that you check out my ‘Getting Started’ page. You should also check out my ‘Setting Up a Worm Bin’ videos found at the bottom of my ‘Worm Composting Videos’ page.

Hope this helps!

Written by Bentley on November 24th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Reader Questions.

Composting Dryer Lint – Update #1

Last week I wrote about adding a lint ball to one of my worm tubs. I just thought I would provide a quick update to let you know the decomposition process is coming along.

One thing is becoming abundantly clear – it is going to take a LONG time for this lint to fully decompose! Even though I soaked it in yummy ‘homemade manure‘, I was only able to find a few worms burrowing into it – unlike the situation I wrote about with the Natura Eco cloth some time ago.

The important thing to remember however, is that a week hasn’t even passed yet. I suspect that over time, more worms will move into the lint ball as it breaks down further.

There do seem to be a lot of springtails associated with the lint (they are the small white flecks in the photos above), but there are loads of them in my bins in general so it’s hard to say if they are particularly attracted to the material. Even if they are, it is almost certainly due to the coating up blended food waste!

Anyway, while I certainly won’t bother to provide updates very often (since they will getting really boring REALLY fast), I’ll definitely keep tabs on the lint ball and let you know how things are coming along from time to time!

Written by Bentley on November 24th, 2008 with 3 comments.
Read more articles on Home Vermicomposting.

Worms – The Gift That Keeps on Giving!

CHRISTMAS SHIPPING SALE!!

Recently, while transferring material from my outdoor worm bin to various indoor beds, I was astounded by the numbers of Red Worms I was finding. For some strange reason, the line “worms – the gift that keeps on giving” suddenly popped into my head.

Corny, I know – but it’s so true when you think about it! These little magical, waste eating machines never cease to amaze me. If you provide them with their basic needs, they will not only convert your wastes into the most amazing compost on earth, but they will also grow in number by leaps and bounds!

Anyway, with the Christmas season fast approaching, I thought it might be a good time to hold a small sale for those of you thinking about getting into vermicomposting (or adding to your existing stock), or perhaps looking for a very unique gift for someone else. If you order 1, 2, 3 or 5 lb of Red Worms between now and December 6th, you can take advantage of a reduction in shipping costs.

For 3 and 5 lb orders I will actually pay YOU for shipping!

Check it out >>HERE<<

**IMPORTANT UPDATE**
In order to receive worms in 2008, you will need to order by 3 pm EST on December 6th. There will be no shipments for the rest of December. Worms will start shipping again on January 4th, so you are welcome to place orders for that week any time before then.

Written by Bentley on November 24th, 2008 with 3 comments.
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