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This year I decided I would learn to compost indoors. I have so many vegetable and fruit scraps, it seems a shame to just throw them away and have them end up in a landfill. I also don’t have any outdoor space in which to compost, so my solution: a worm bin indoors, otherwise known as vermicomposting.

My CSA held a vermicomposting workshop this summer, which was taught by two master composters from the Queens Botanical Garden. They educated us about landfills first, and then about worms. Worm bins use red wiggler worms specifically. They eat a lot every day and are the most efficient composters. And they have 5 hearts! As a result of this workshop, I’ve begun to understand that landfills are not as friendly to the decomposition process as I originally thought, as everything in landfills is packed in layers between plastic sheeting. This does not encourage oxygen circulation, which is essential to the decomposition process. They illustrated this with a miniature landfill they constructed in a big plastic jar. Months had passed and there was very little change in the contents the jar.

They then taught us how to set up a worm bin. My bin is a big plastic tub with a lid; some are wooden, though. Holes are drilled in the sides of the bin, to help with oxygen circulation; I purchased my bin at the workshop, and it was already outfitted with holes, with the bonus of those holes having vents fitted inside them. Then plenty of strips of newspaper (as bedding) are placed in the bin, dampened with a little water. The worms are placed on top of the paper. My worms came all the way from Georgia in some dirt a paper bag in a cardboard box. After I placed the worms on top of the bedding, I left the lid off to let them burrow into the bedding. Worms hate the light so they headed for darker digs. I then placed the food/vegetable scraps on top of the bedding, then covered it with more strips of newspaper.

I feed my worms usually once a day, though sometimes I skip a day if I’ve given them too much the day before. I monitor the moisture level, as it can’t get too wet or too dry in there. Too much fruit can cause fruit fly infestations, something I’m not interested in, so it’s best not to overload the bin with fruit scraps. So far, the worms are doing their thing with the food I give them, and the other day when I was poking around in there, I discovered a pocket of compost already! Everything inside the bin smells dark, wet and earthy, with no off odors at all. It’s working out well so far and I’m looking forward to harvesting my compost in a few months. I’ll use the compost on my little basil plant, which will greatly improve the quality of the soil. I may even do some “guerilla composting”.