In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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April 30, 2008

Worm composting update

My vermicomposting project is doing well. I’m using a worm bin called Can-O-Worms, which is a series of three trays that sit on top of a fourth tray. The top three trays are where the worms live and eat. The bottom one is designed to catch excess water so the worms don’t drown.

When tray 1, which is the lowest tray, gets filled up, you add tray two. As the worms finish with tray one they migrate to tray two, then eventually to tray three. At that point tray one will be full of compost and need to be emptied into the garden. It then becomes the top tray.

My worms are in tray two, and it’s about half full. I feed them decomposing kitchen scraps, wetted cardboard and paper, coffee grounds and tea bags. The instructions say you can even feed them the dust and lint from vacuum cleaner bags. I haven’t tried that.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it’s been. I check them every few days, make sure they get food once or twice a week, and that’s it.

I have to admit, though, the bin is still in the kitchen. It’s unobtrusive and there’s no odor. I put it in the garage for a while, but I find when it’s where I see it every day, I pay attention to it. Plus the temperature is milder in the house than outside. I worry about them getting too hot in the summer, even in the garage or in a protected spot outside. That's probably silly, but, oh well.

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