Thursday, May 25, 2006

They're Alive!

Since Mary asked about my worms, I thought I would give everyone an update on my vermicomposting efforts. Having left them alone for almost two weeks, I ventured down into the basement a few days ago with a small bucket of kitchen scraps (mostly banana peels and coffee grounds, but also asparagus, potato skins, and a few other tasty things) and a feeling of trepidation. Had I managed to kill my worms through neglect, as I am wont to do with the occasional houseplant?

But no! Not only were my worms wiggling away, but the food at the bottom of the bin was black and looked like it was slowly being eaten away. A quick check earlier today, and there's still no noticable smell coming from the bin. However, I did see worm mites at the top of the bin, which means the worms aren't eating quite fast enough (I think). I'm going to try cutting back on how much food I'm adding, and turning what I do put in the bin into compost soup beforehand (this can be accomplished by giving it a quick whirl in the blender).

Bonus: I don't think we've had to put our garbage out for three weeks!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

3 weeks! wow, i'm impressed

Anonymous said...

Seriously, I can't even handle that picture right now.

Anonymous said...

They look so wriggly! I'm glad to hear they're doing well!

Rachel said...

In the interest of disclosure, those aren't actually my worms. I should take a picture of mine, though. I've got another bucket of food to take down there.