Kitchen Gardening on Steroids

Holly White has a garden on her Detroit balcony that can provide 100's of pounds of fresh produce each year. How does she do it? Read this article in the Metro Times to find out.

Hint: She uses worm castings from 40 lbs of red wigglers to kick everything in gear.

She has a Can-O-Worms and a Worm WigWam worm bin. Read more on her blog - Homesteading in a Condo.

Composting Worms

Composting is going to play a big role in my gardening plan, but a traditional outdoor composting bin or bed is not a good option for my neighborhood. After researching various options for composters, I decided that a worm composting bin will fit our needs nicely.

I purchased a 5 tray Gusanito Wormswrangler vertical worm tower. The Can O Worms was another option I considered, but since we're just beginning to explore vermiculture the price of the vertical tower was little more appealing.

A thousand red worms (scientific name Eisenia Foetidas) weigh about 1 lb. and can compost up to 50 percent of their body weight each day. That equates to a little more than 3 lbs. per week. I'm not sure that Linda and I generate that much food waste each week, but the worm castings are very beneficial for gardening. Worm tea is also an excellent alternative to chemical fertilizers.

My pound of worms arrived today. Once they begin generating castings (compost) on a regular basis, I'll provide an update of my first venture into vermiculture.

Build your own continuous flow worm composting bin.