I just learned from a CUNY Lecture Series podcast episode that “humus” (pronounced with a long ‘u’ sound) is what happens with organic matter decomposes naturally. Compost is what happens when humans manage the decomposition of organic matter.  It’s all good for plants!

Yea! My worm compost container has worms!! My mail carrier was grateful to find me home this afternoon when he arrived with one pound of “Live Worms”. It was an extremely hot day for October, even for Florida, and he didn’t want to leave them sitting out, but he didn’t really want to take them back on a Saturday and let them sit until Monday.  I know these 90+ degree days are not the best for Red Wigglers, but these worms were raised in Florida, so I’m hoping they are used to it.

I didn’t have my camera available to record any part of the process, but it was remarkably simple. I had followed the instructions included with my Worm Factory360 and had the worm container ready, with the damp coir mixed with the shredded newspaper and a couple of handfuls of food waste in one corner. I emptied the bag of worms and the “stuff” they were packed in (peat moss or dirt?) into the tray and used the Worm Factory rake to spread them out a bit. They seemed very active and burrowed right down. After watching for a bit, I covered them with dry shredded newspaper and then covered that with damp sheets of newspaper and then the lid. Now I am supposed to check back in three days. (Of course that didn’t stop me from showing the family when they arrived home.)

I did put a fan on the porch for a little while during the heat of the day and tonight I have left the porch light on so that they will be encouraged to bury themselves in the food I guess. I’ll try not to look at them for a few days, but it will be hard. I know the novelty will wear off before I know it, but so far this is sort of fun.

If you don’t want to spend much on composting, you can build your own worm compost bin using a couple of plastic storage boxes. Here is Washington State University’s instructions for a cheap and easy worm bin. I didn’t go this route for two reasons. The first is that my composter will be in plain sight on my small back porch and I think the Worm Factory 360 almost looks like a matching side table. The second, whether based in reality or not, is that I feel like having a commercially made product designed specifically for the purpose of composting worms, will increase my chances of success. photo credit: kafka4prez

The UPS driver delivered my Worm Factory 360 around 5:30 this afternoon!  I have a fairly large Tupperware container full of food scraps waiting patiently in my refrigerator, newspaper and cereal boxes tucked behind a table and a space cleared on my porch. Only thing missing are my Red Wigglers. Not to worry, the worms will be here in the next day or two. Tonight I’ll read the instructions and put the Worm Factory together so I will be ready when they arrive.

• Vail Seasonal: Composting completes the cycle of life – Vail Daily News

October 6, 2009
- Great article in the Vail Daily about Shawn Bruckman and how her enthusiasm for composting is contagious. She’s getting kids excited about composting with worms. Maybe that’s who I should be telling about my new habit!

Well, we’re just not sure. so we’ve decided not to purchase a kitchen composting container just yet.  I think we will find that we want something in the kitchen, but the vote here is to wait and see if it’s not just as easy to carry any food and paper waste straight out to the back porch and put it in the Worm Factory.  I’ll let you know when we change our minds!

Florida’s Online Composting Center is a terrific resource for  composting tips, tutorials and tools. There is a comprehensive list of items you can and cannot compost at http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/CanICompostIt.htm. Besides listing yes and no for each item, it explains how it will affect the compost. I also like the Virtual Composter interactive tool that lets you virtually add ingredients to a compost bin to see how it affects it and gives advice on what you can do to get the balance right.

How will a kitchen compost container look on my countertop?

I keep talking about this, but haven’t decided what to do about a kitchen compost container to throw food into before taking it out to the worms. Since the Worm Factory is arriving on Wednesday, I decided I maybe needed to start saving some food waste so that I would have something to feed the worms when they get here. Chances are I won’t need that much, but I was cutting up veggies for the crock pot and decided to put the scraps in a container and put it in the fridge for a few days. I know I won’t always have room in the refrigerator, so I still need to come up with a solution that will work for me and the rest of my household. That means it either needs to be hidden or it needs to be attractive. I guess I don’t really care which way we go, so I’ll sit down with the family tonight to discuss our options.

Buy Red Wigglers!

I had to take a deep breath once I realized that I had ordered my Worm Factory 360 and that meant that I would soon need to have worms available to make the thing work! According to the instructions that I read online, I’ll be buying Red Wigglers for the worm bins. They are available for ordering online, but I thought I might also check to see if I could find them locally. It took a little hunting, but I found someone on Craigslist who has them for $20/lb. I’ll plan to pick them up on Wednesday, which is the same day that my Worm Factory is scheduled to arrive. Hmmm…. Maybe I should wait until it arrives before I pick them up. Yep, that’s the plan!

Well, I’ve finally done it! After several months of thinking about it, today I ordered the Worm Factory 360. When I started this search for a composter that would be small enough, simple enough and odor-free enough for my small townhouse, I would never have guessed I would end up with worm bins. But after doing the research, it seems like it will be the best composter for me and I’ll definitely keep you updated on how it works out.