Worms Eat My Garbage

For more than three decades, this best-selling guide to the practice of vermicomposting has taught people how to use worms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for houseplants or gardens. Small-scale, self-contained worm bins can be kept indoors, in a basement, or even under the kitchen sink in an apartment - making vermicomposting a great option for city dwellers and anyone who doesn't want or can't have an outdoor compost pile. The fully revised 35th anniversary edition features the original's same friendly tone, with up-to-date information on the entire process, from building or purchasing a bin (readily available at garden supply stores) to maintaining the worms and harvesting the finished compost. The classic guide to vermicomposting - using worms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for plants - is now revised and updated for today's eco-conscious recyclers and gardeners. Worms Eat My Garbage was originally written by Mary Appelhof (1936–2005), an international authority and lecturer on small-scale vermicomposting whose honors included a National Science Foundation grant and the National Recycling Coalition's Recycler of the Year. Joanne Olszewski, a close friend of Appelhof's, has updated the book for the 35th Anniversary Edition. Olszewski is a fellow vermi-enthusiast and the owner of Wormwoman Inc., which manufactures and sells the Worm-A-Way worm bin. She lives in Arkansas.

 

  Let Worms Do the Work



Don't let your food waste go to waste! With a little help from a family of worms, you can turn all your kitchen scraps and leftovers into rich, valuable vermicompost for your garden and houseplants.



Keeping a self-contained worm bin and harvesting the compost your worms produce is clean, easy, and productive with this classic guide, fully updated. Foreword by Amy Stewart

Preface

The Worm Composter Checklist

1  It Starts with a Worm

2  Getting Started

3  Choosing the Right Worm Bin

4  Choosing the Right Bedding Material

5  Using the Right Kind of Worms

6  Acquiring Your Worms

7  Setting Up Your Worm Bin

8  What Can Your Worms Eat?

9  Taking Care of Your Worms

10  Frequently Asked Questions

11  Other Critters and Pests

12  How to Use Your Vermicompost

13  Treating Waste as a Resource

Appendix A: Record Sheet

Appendix B: Annotated References

Metric Conversions

Appendix C: How Many Worms in an Acre or a Hectare?

Glossary

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Resources

Index