Composting

While I was doing some research into the compostability of our packaging, current and future, I let it be known that I love using Nature’s Path cereal boxes in my worm bin to keep them happy in the dark. Jyoti, our Sustainability and Stewardship Manager, asked me to tell everyone more about my passion for composting through vermiculture, so here it is!

First, let me say that I started this bin when I lived in an apartment; the worms lived first outside my kitchen window in the shade of a bush, then in my kitchen once they got cold and I realized they weren’t buggy or smelly. Now that I live in a house, they live just outside the kitchen door on the deck (they like shade). The whole project cost me about $6, which was the cost of the starter family of red wrigglers–but if you know anyone with an active worm system, they’ll likely liberate some of theirs for you. I reused a plastic bin I had, but you could use a trash can, dresser drawer, or build a box from scrap wood. Simply drill holes in the bottom and side, fill with lots of moistened shredded newspaper (for bedding), add red wrigglers (nightcrawlers like to burrow too deep for this purpose) and a little dirt, then start feeding them your carrot tops and banana peels. You’ll need a tray underneath to catch any moisture—this “compost tea” is perfect for feeding to your houseplants!—and some Nature’s Path cereal boxes or paper grocery bags on top to keep them dark and snug, then finish with a lid on top.

Ideally, you would have a two-tiered box system or screen in the middle to help separate the usable compost from the worms-at-work, but I just feed one side of the bin at a time to encourage migration and then liberate the compost from the other side. It takes some time for the worms to get to work, so don’t add too many food scraps at first.
There are some great instructions on the whole process from the Cornell Waste Management Institute as well: http://compost.css.cornell.edu/worms/steps.html. Also, for those of you who are more scientifically minded, check out http://journeytoforever.org/compost_worm.html for the full scoop. You’ll end up with the best houseplant or kitchen garden food ever, and the perfect place to hide the evidence from all those Panda Puffs you ate.

Julian