Portable Composting and Earthworms

By cwhitt
June 17, 2017

Living in a condo, I don't have a lot of space, so I sometimes need to get creative with my gardening. I can't imagine a garden without compost, but did not have a large permanent place for a compost pile, so I took a large black pot that had once held a tree and I started using it for composting. The idea worked very well -- with added benefits. I had placed the pot in my rose bed. Earthworms quickly found their way up into the pot from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. They delighted in the constant supply of fresh kitchen and yard waste that I kept putting into the pot, especially my coffee grounds, banana peels, and egg shells. Soon, I had an entire nursery of baby wrigglers, and my kitchen/yard waste was rapidly composted and became full of earthworm castings. Then, I had another idea: I had a rose bush that was not doing very well, so I moved my compost pot next to the rose bush during the rainy season. Nutrients must have drained out of the bottom of the pot, and baby earthworms made their way back out of the bucket and into my rose bed. Soon I noticed a great improvement in the rose bush, and a definite increase in the number of earthworms. It seems that this was a win-win situation: I was breeding earthworms, composting, and improving my soil -- all at the same time! This summer my composting pot is moving again. I have another bed that needs some soil improvement and is lacking in earthworms. What an easy way to improve my soil!

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Jun 17, 2017 12:51 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Toni Melvin
Sherwood Oregon (Zone 8a)
Beekeeper Region: Pacific Northwest Permaculture Organic Gardener Region: Oregon Native Plants and Wildflowers
Canning and food preservation Herbs Composter Bee Lover Vermiculture Garden Ideas: Level 1
I LOVE this idea! I have been digging a hole all around my yard burying kitchen waste. That is sometimes not especially convenient especially when it is pouring rain out. So I really love your idea.
Do you put screen over the pot? I think I would have critters of all sorts into it if I don't put something over the top. I am definitely going to try this method Hurray!
Toni
I aspire to be the person my dog thinks I am
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Jun 19, 2017 12:52 PM CST
Name: Christie
Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a)
Plays on the water.
Amaryllis Permaculture Sempervivums Roses Bookworm Annuals
Composter Hybridizer Cat Lover Garden Ideas: Master Level
No screen or lid. If I put something in it that I think the critters or fungus gnats might like, I just scrape a little of the compost off the top to cover my new addition. Never have had a problem.
Plant Dreams. Pull Weeds. Grow A Happy Life.
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