We’ve talked about one way to get started composting.
But there’s another method to create compost for your garden that can work well if you don’t have a lot of space — or if you don’t feel like managing an outdoor pile when it’s cold out.
Worm composting — or vermicomposting — is where earthworms eat and digest organic matter, like food scraps, and turn them into usable compost.
To get started, all you need are a few items you can pick up from a hardware store — and some worms.
“Worms can process about half their weight in food per day,” says Marjorie Peronto, of the Cooperative Extension.
So that means you need twice the weight in worms as what you produce in food waste a day.
The worms you want are called red wiggler worms. Normal earthworms won’t do well in captivity.
Once you’re all set up, there’s not much maintenance, except for feeding, removing the compost, and the occasional cleaning.
If you just want a kit, here’s a Maine-made solution that even includes one to two pounds of worms.