Do you live in an apartment, condo, duplex or small home? If so, you might want to consider “wriggling” into composting through worm composting (vermicomposting). If inviting worms into your home seems like a squirmy proposition…read on. It’s easy, helpful to the environment and creates great, non-toxic plant food. But we know you’ll have questions, so ask away!

I’ve seen those compost bins and they look huge. I don’t think I have room for one. Compost bins come in many different shapes and sizes. The popular vermi-composter is available in a mini size that’s a compact 12” x 15” x 12”. It will fit under most kitchen counters or on a small patio.

I don’t have grass clippings or leaves from my yard. Does composting really make sense for me? Yes, even those scraps from your kitchen - old bread, and fruit and vegetable peelings – are being sent to the landfill when they could create for you a rich, all-natural plant fertilizer.

Can’t I just send them down my garbage disposal and not to the landfill? Then you’re using water, electricity – and your own money – all valuable resources – to get rid of stuff that can be re-used to create fertilizer for free.

What would I do with fertilizer when I don’t have much of a yard? Sprinkle compost on your potted plants (indoors or out) or in your flowerbeds. You’ll never have to buy plant food again.

Worms, really? Yuck! If you have flashbacks to hooking worms for fish bait, don’t worry. You don’t even have to touch these little worms. They are happy as can be eating your leftovers and creating rich, all natural compost.

Are there other benefits? You may notice your mood improves as you feel good inside knowing that you’re doing your part to reduce the 30% of waste caused by kitchen and yard waste. And that’s not all. If you have kids, they’ll have a built-in science fair project, and maybe they’ll even stop bugging you about getting a pet!

Okay, maybe I won’t wriggle out of this one. I like the idea of helping the environment and never having to buy plant food again. How do I get started? You can order a free booklet “Home Composting Made Easy” by emailing info@ycsw.org or calling 503.434.7445. Although it covers all home composting, there is a section on worm composting.

Also, there are many helpful websites that both provide information and sell ready–made bins, worms and all the supplies you’ll need.

www.cityfarmer.org - A great Canadian site with special pages complete with photos for urban farmers and apartment dwellers.

www.composters.com - Several small, ready made worm bins available for purchase.

www.wormwoman.com - A very helpful site with great links from the guru of vermicomposting.

www.wormdigest.org - A quarterly newsletter that covers everything about worms.

www.howtocompost.org - A general site with a special section on vermicompsting.

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