Worms eat my garbage
Filed under: Dharma
Today, the first time harvest of my worm box provided an unexpectedly sublime moment. After just four months, the kitchen scraps of my small vegetarian household had been turned into fluffy deep dark matter, damp and fragrant like a forest floor. It is one thing to read about composting but to run the precious handfuls through your fingers, to put it around the peas and lettuces, to see them feast and grow! This moment challenged the whole concept of “trash”, the terrible guilt of being a wasteful consumer (I still am of course) suddenly there was the tangible possibility of being part of the cycle of life. In essence it was a step “a leap rather” from the moral concepts of giving and taking to the concept of transformation.
*** Vermicomposting is a very easy, and effective way of composting kitchen waste. It can be done on a balcony in the city using a standard plastic bin and recyclables like newspapers and cardboard. The resulting compost is first class fertilizer for house plants, flower patches or vegetable gardens. Many community recycling programs offer workshops to make your own worm box.
2 Comments
KarmaDude
Feb 5, 2006 | 3:07 am
In this age of instant everything, I wonder if more people will be patient enough to give this a try. But for those who have had an awakening, and wish to give back, this notion of recycling the natural way is a fabulous idea.
I must admit, I have been ignorant, and have never heard of this before, thank you ij for your insight into this, and spreading the awareness.
Here is another resource on vermi composting, which I came across.
ij
Feb 5, 2006 | 10:02 am
The four months are the initial start-up time needed. Once the worms are up to speed, you can reach into your worm box any time to extract some of that precious compost!