Vermicomposting

Here in Southern California, if you have a yard with a sunny spot you can pretty much compost outside year-round. Composting is a great way to help the environment since after recycling, your trash will most likely be taken up by food waste, if you eat or cook in your home. When that waste goes to the landfill it degrades anaerobically which releases methane gas, which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 20 times more harmful to the environment than Carbon Dioxide. By volume, food waste is the #1 contributor to methane gas production. Additionally, disposing of food waste costs the U.S. around $1 billion a year.

So what can you do if you live in an apartment or you just don't have room for a compost heap in your yard? Well, you can always turn to Vermicomposting!

Vermicomposting uses worms (usually Red Wrigglers) to break down your food scraps into beautiful rich earth, which you then can can use as potting soil for your indoor plants or sprinkle on your garden. I recently invested in a worm house, and I've been saving my kitchen scraps waiting on my worms to begin vermicomposting in my own home. Check back here for periodic updates on the worm bin, maybe even with pictures!

In the mean time check out this recent New York Times article on vermicomposting! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/garden/19worms.html