What Is Vermicomposting? How Worms Turn Food Scraps into Compost
“Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than most persons would at first suppose.” — Charles Darwin The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms (1881) A banana peel, a handful of shredded paper, and a box full of worms may not look like the beginning of something useful. Inside a worm bin, however, they become part of a busy little recycling system. Vermicomposting is a way of using worms and other tiny organisms to break down food scraps and turn them into rich, dark compost. It requires very little space, can be done indoors, and gives some kitchen scraps somewhere useful to go instead of sending them straight to the garbage. What Is Vermicomposting? The word vermicomposting comes from vermis , the Latin word for worm. Unlike a traditional outdoor compost pile, a worm bin does not need to become hot to break down the pile. Instead, composting worms live among damp bedding and help process the organic material added to their home. The...