I began my foray into vermicomposting last weekend. Thanks to our dear friend Phyllis, an avid vermicomposter, I got a starter set of worms. Given the size of the box and the amount of kitchen and lawn wastes we produce, I need to go to a bait and tackle store and grab some more red wigglers.
So after a how-to lesson from Phyllis...

I started my worm box by shredding our white, non-glossy junk mail (after taking out the plastic envelope windows) and some Creative Loafings. I soaked the shredded paper, wrung it out and put it down on top of a black landscaping cloth.

Then I put down the red wigglers that Phyllis so generously gave us. Then I put our week's worth of kitchen scraps into a blender, and poured the smelly mixture on top of the worms.

Then I topped with a heaping layer of wet shredded paper and newsprint.

I topped with the black landscaping cloth, to help keep out the insects (though that's a losing cause since I'm creating an entire eco-system).


Sure, flies galore abounded in the first few days. However it didn't smell one bit. I did freak out when I saw how many fruit flies there were, so I took our mosquito mist spray, lifted the lid and did a quick spray in the mostly empty box, then sprayed all outside. It seemed to help, but in retrospect I realized it was a boneheaded move. Luckily, a few days later I checked the worms, and they were doing fine thanks to the coverings on top and had made a good amount of casings already. The shredded paper on top was still moist. A white furry "thing" had begun to grow on top of the black landscaping cloth and the top layer. There also were maggots growing in the food mix. Phyllis tells me that flies are no worry (but grub worms are another matter). I'll heed her advice and not do any more lethal spraying, just let it be.

Now the carport has a faint smell of earth, no kidding. Nice dirt smell, and it's faint. The worms are working their magic. I'll give them another weekly feeding of blended kitchen scraps and a new topping of paper. I'll put this on top of what's already there, since they'll surf the line I've started and go to the top where the new food is.

It's pretty amazing to watch nature at work. I also am very glad that I put a ton of ventilation holes in the bottom and all sides, that my worm box is so large that I can compost in lines across the box, that it's on casters which raises it above grub-worm and invading ant level on the carport, and that it has a handy-dandy lid on hinges with a handle. I think I did pretty well starting out. Go, worms!

~T