Have some worms over for dinner...

Have you ever thought about how many pounds of food scraps go into your garbage can every week? I never had until we had kids. We were throwing out half eaten sandwiches, half-chewed broccoli, and banana peels like they were going out of style. My wife was watching the Discovery Channel's Planet Green (great channel) and discovered (no pun intended) the power of worms.

Red worms have the power to turn your every day non-protien food scraps into highly enriched compost. According to Washington State University, "worms eat fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea leaves (filter and bags go in, too), grains, pasta, and breads that aren't "polluted." Worm bin pollutants include oils and animal products: meat, fish, butter, cheese, and sauces. "

The best type of worm condo is an enclosed worm box. This contraption was quite new to me a few weeks ago, but basically it is a box, with some organic brown matter (soil, grass clippings, etc.), red worms, and your daily food scraps. It is important to note that a tightly fitting lid is necessary to keep rodents & bugs at bay.

Usually wooden boxes made of plywood are used. If you are using a plastic bin, be sure to add both drainage and aeration holes. Never use a container which has been used for storing toxic chemicals. Start by putting bedding in the worm box. Corrugated cardboard, news-print and newspapers shredded in strips four inches long by 1 inch wide make excellent bedding. The worms need some grit for breaking down their food. Add a little topsoil for this purpose. Put the worms on top of the bedding.

In you'll be on vacation, just feed the worms a bit extra and leave them undisturbed until you return. Obviously there can be a population control issue with multiplying organisms eating all your food scraps. Red worms double in population approximately every three months. At that time, you can sell your worms to another earth-minded individual, or go fishing! Trout love red worms!!!