Talking Dirt with Brenda Lotito

Worms!  I used to have a phobia of them and then I grew used to them. Tonight I gained a whole new appreciation for the little squigglers as I learned that one pound of worms can chow down a half pound of food a day. And their compost (waste, effluent... they're all euphemisms for worm poop) is some of the richest known compost to the natural world.  Brenda Lotito has turned worm business into well, an actual business.  Her book, The Dirt on Worm Farming, spills the details on how to compost in your own house with a worm box.  Thanks to NYPIRG: Marissa, I, and a room of people were able to learn what makes and breaks this worm composting unit. Basically, a wooden box of newspaper (carbon), red worms, compostable material (nitrogen), and attention to (many) details will render you heaps of compost for your garden.   (Visit upstatewormfarms.com to learn more about composting, and feel free to contact us for information or for tips.) 

I knew that microbes, worms, nematodes, and all the little critters of life completed the food cycle, but who knew that people could facilitate this process even further?  Of course we can compost, but now we can breed worms and turn our food scraps into mulch.

I know what I will be doing this summer. First, I will be sure to avoid having food scraps. (Already started this and so should you! Did you know that the average person creates 4.6 lbs of food waste a day?!  Do as I learned from the Italians and take less, eat it all, and be content with an empty plate.)

But food scraps are inevitable (carrot peels, anyone?). So instead of dumping the scraps off to the landfill, I will convince my fisherman father that he should put those worms to work!  Feed 'em, Breed 'em, and maybe put a few on the kiddie poles for some bluegills.  

With your daily scoop of dirt,

-Elysa