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Worm
Composting
Feel guilty every time
your child drops an apple core into the trash? If you've got a roof
over your head, you've got room to wiggle into composting. Worms
are the answer. Kids generally can't resist worms. But not just
any worms. For indoor worm composting, you want red worms.
Worms need a place to
call home - a plastic storage bin makes a nice wormy condo. Poke
some air holes all over, and don't forget a top. The wiggly folk
can, and do, escape. (Please
also see our garden earthworm kit).
Kids can tear newspaper
into strips and soak them in water for moist bedding. Then add a
handful of sandy dirt and the worms. When it's all ready, you can
add fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, even
paper. But meat is a no-no.
The box needs to stay
moist, but you also don't want to drown your legless friends. Unless
you live in the desert, the food scraps themselves will probably
add enough liquid. Peek when you feed. More torn newspaper can soak
up any swamp, or add a little water if the newspaper dries out.
Within a month, your
discarded scraps will be rich, black worm castings (aka. "vermicompost").
You can use everything, worms and all, in containers for growing
plants. If you want to keep using `em as a garbage disposal, recruit
some kids who love touching worms. Put the crawlies in one pile,
vermicompost in another, and start all over.
Worms on the Web:
http://access.hky.com/~wormwrld/
Worm World sells worms and equipment
http://www.vermico.com
Vermico Worm supply
http://www.soundresource.com/wormfarm/Worms.html
Yelm Worm Farm "By the pound or ton"
Other Resources: Worms
Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof
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