(Re) Chic

Over the summer I was very excited about the vermicomposter I had made myself.   One of my primary fears was drowning my worms because I had heard stories of worms all over an office because they were escaping a vermicomposter in a desk that was too wet.   This doesn't look like a drowned worm.  That looks like a dried out worm.  *sigh* I dried them all out.  So much for my worm bin dreams.   Ah well, at least I won't have to figure out how to move them.  

Here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for: how to make a vermicomposter out of an old dresser drawer.  The dresser drawers I had painted the drawers because I had planned to plant in them.  But I realized that this would be the perfect for some worms: small (I have a low amount of waste), easy to drill holes in, easy to move/keep inside.   The drill was all I needed to get started.  Thanks Megan for sharing the cost of the drill! Above you can see the drawer side, I drilled quarter inch holes every few inches along the sides with even more on the bottom-about one every inch.   I popped the bottom out of one of the other drawers to use as a lid.  Originally I had bought hinges but it actually leaves a gap that is great for air flow so I think instead I'm going to find some sort of latch for the sides...just in case my kitty gets curious.   A few copies of the Wilmington News Journal soaked in water ma...

Vermicomposting is exactly what is sounds like: composting with vermis, which is the Latin for worms.   I first became acquainted with vermicomposting when I started at Grow Food, Grow Hope in November 2009.  One of my coworkers was attempting to vermicompost in a container he kept in his desk and usually the 1st thing he said to you after "hello" was "want to see my worms?"  However, the worms jumped ship, were all over the office, and then were banned permanently.   Since that day I had a small adventure into composting with worms.  In my ignorance in the nature of compost I assumed that worms were always necessary for compost and therefore dug up worms from the backyard to add to my porch compost bin (an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tub I drilled holes in and added my food scraps to).  These worms of course were never seen again as they were cooked in my compost bin.   And then the research began.    Now tha...