Vermicomposting: Meet My Worms

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have abhored throwing perfectly good vegetable scraps down the drain. So, when my parents came to visit, they fixed up some containers to build a worm farm, using the instructions found here. I asked my roommates for their permission to do this in the garage, and they are fine with it :) I brought the subject up subtly with one, and she seemed pretty leery, and seemed relieved that all I was doing with the worms was to create fertilizer/compost for plants. It turns out that she knew a woman who baked worms into her brownies!!! I'm not quite that extreme, thankfully!
So, here are the bins, with holes drilled in and a fancy spout installed in the bottom bin.


Then, I threw in some shredded newspaper to create some nice bedding for the worms.


And proceeded to place my worms in their brand new home. These worms were a gift from a professor at WVU- who shares my passion for food environments and economics and their impact on the way that people eat. She is going to be on my graduate committee as I hone in on my thesis (something in this area!) and complete my research. I might even get to take my worm composting system into the Introduction to Sustainability course that she teaches!


Funny thing is, I don't LIKE worms. It disgusts me to touch them, and even looking at this picture makes my stomach crawl!But, worms are powerful and productive little workers, and I hope to soon have a good pile of my own compost, so that I don't have to buy expensive potting soil. And, food scraps will no longer be going into the garbage disposal in my sink and into the sewage system.
I'll keep you posted on how this great experiment turns out. I'm fully prepared for some unexpected surprises and challenges.