Vermicomposting - On The Balcony

Thursday, December 03, 2009

My balcony faces south-west.

I moved here eleven months ago, bringing with me some of the vermicompost, semi-complete, from the old apartment.

By the time I had unpacked, my plastic bags of vermicompost appeared to have dried out, but I moistened them and let them set for five weeks or so, and discovered a small colony of worms.

I built an external vermicomposter by screwing together four book shelves and laid the square on a sheet of masonite – backing from the same old bookcase.

The four sides measure by 30 inches by 30 inches; they are 15 inches high.

The base measures by 48 inches by 30 inches.

So far there has been no leakage of moisture.

The worms have not completed digestion, and each week I empty a tub of kitchen scraps – about two litres, into a hole scraped in a corner of the bin, and cover the hole with shredded paper.

Here is view with the lid removed.

And here is a view of my healthy pregnancy worms, wriggling out of sight!

If you look closely you’ll see that most of the worms have a swelling midway along their bodies. That is the egg-ring or saddle holding the eggs.

The saddle will be slipped off the worm body at the rear end, and self-seal to end up looking like a lemon, but about the size of a grape pip.

Search