Worm Bucket

I read on the internet about how 5-10% of our household waste is kitchen waste that could be composted. I found some really great internet articles about composting, and my mom sent me some information about how she composts but I have two problems: 1) We have a really small backyard, and this could lead to some potential irritation with the neighbors as composts have a distinct (I don’t personally find it horrible) smell and 2) we could buy an actual composter, but that would go against rule #1.

So, here’s my solution. I found a few articles about vermicomposting. This means you basically put a bucket of worms under your sink and throw in anything organic (even paper!) and they’ll eat it right up. Very cool, totally cheap and it doesn’t smell at all. So, I made 2 worm buckets out of a couple of buckets I had leftover from buying kitty litter (more on kitty litter later) and bought some “red wrigglers” over the internet.

Here’s the “how-to” as well as some pics. Also, here's a link where there's some sweet info, www.wormwoman.com, although I found my worms for super cheap on eBay (Search for "bait") but it's a really good starting site. The lady wrote a book called Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up & Maintain a Worm Composting System, so awesome. Enjoy!

1) I started by drilling holes all around the bucket (the
worms need lots of air!) I drilled a drain hole and lots
of holes in the tops.

2) Then I took a bunch of shredded paper home from my office. I soaked it in some water and squeezed it out. This is the worms bedding.

3) Then I dropped the worms in there. They don't like the light, so I put them under the sink with a tray underneath the bucket to catch any drips from the drainage hole in the bottom. They eat pretty much anything organic. I just make sure to add another layer of paper after adding the food, or else it starts to stink. After a few months, I should be able to harvest some juicy looking soil! (I'll post these pictures when I get them!)