Why worms

I’m a list person, so when considering just about anything I usually have some sort of pro/con list, either on paper or in my head, about it. Here’s my list about why I have a worm bin:

Pros

  • They eat basically all your food scraps and turn them back into dirt. The world needs more dirt, so that’s pretty cool.

  • They also will eat your shredded paper and cardboard. YES, shredded Amazon boxes!

  • They don’t smell.

  • You can leave them for weeks while you go on vacation (honestly, I neglected one for almost a year and it’s still doing OK).

  • Needs less space and than a full compost bin/pile

Cons

  • If you don’t manage your bin well, you may end up with some flies. Think fruit-flies. I inhaled one once and that was disgusting. Good news: I upped my use of bedding and have been fly-free for years!

  • They’re not a great solution for processing your leftover protein and starches. Some is fine, but not a lot.

  • Can’t process all of your leaves/grass clippings on their own. So you still need to do something with them (yard waste, compost.. just don’t bag when you mow, etc).