Indoor Worm Composting

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
December 8th, 2008
Filed in Compost
Tags: Compost, composting

Worms are great!  They are, hands down, the unsung heroes of the garden.  Worms are great for home gardeners, especially organic gardeners, who want to make crumbly, luscious compost for their vegetable beds.  Even though winter is upon us, we can still put worms to work to help us break down our vegetable scraps and any scrap leaves from houseplants and such.  Here’s how to build your own under-the-sink worm farm.

Build a Worm Farm

When the weather is chilly, you have to keep your worms inside.  Most worms that are sold for composting matters are not cold-hardy.  (Red wigglers are some of the most common vermicompost worms.)  The most convenient way to keep worms in the winter is to have a worm compost bin under your kitchen sink.  If you correctly build and operate your worm farm, you will not have problems with bad smells or bugs.  Just follow the steps below.

1. Get a small plastic trash can or tupperware container and poke holes in the top.  (Worms need air.)
2. Soak a mixture of grass clippings, newspaper, and shredded leaves, overnight.
3. Line the bottom of the container with two inches of pebbles.  Put water up to 1/2 inch below the top of the pebbles.
4. Add the “soaking” mixture, which is the “worm bedding,” to the top of the pebbles.
5. Shut the lid and let it sit for two days.  Then, take the temperature.  Once the temperature of the worm bedding is less than 100 degrees for 48 straight hours, you can add the worms.
6. When the temperature is right, part the worm bedding and add the worms.  Cover them up with the bedding.
7. Begin adding food, slowly.  One pound of worms can digest approximately one pound of clippings a day.  Do not overwhelm the worms with too much food, or they will not be able to eat it all.  (That is how your compost pile will begin to smell.)

You may add any vegetable matter to the compost.  You should not add animal products or fats and oils, as the worms will not eat them, and those items will make the compost smell bad.

After a couple of months, you will be able to turn the contents of the worm box and remove some of the compost.  Add about two inches of new “bedding,” which is the soaked clippings, and let the worms chill for a few days.  After a couple of days you can begin adding food again, and the cycle will continue.