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Now, I appreciate this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a friend put me on to this idea and I felt it was too good to keep all to myself.
Remember a few issues ago, I raised the issue of composting? Well, here’s an even better way to reduce the volume of garden and kitchen leftovers that you throw away by 40 to 50% and make 45kg of top-quality organic compost per year, PLUS more than 70 litres of concentrated liquid feed into the bargain!
The method of achieving this is called “lombricompostage” and it is practically the same as conventional composting, with one essential difference - earthworms. Of course, most gardeners know that earthworms are good for the soil; they aerate it and the nutrient-rich waste they produce replenishes the soil, keeping it healthy and well-balanced.
Using earthworms within a composting unit is advantageous for several reasons: not only is the process of decomposition more efficient, with no need to mix or stir the contents (the worms do that all by themselves) but, thanks to enzymes in the worms’ intestinal tracts which neutralise odours, there is none of the unpleasant rotting smell normally associated with composters. In fact, the smell a worm-composter gives out is rather a pleasant one, reminiscent of moist humus on a forest floor, meaning one can keep the compost unit right next to the house or in a shed, garage, utility room or even on a balcony.
The units themselves are similar to a regular composter but they have specially-designed layers and a tap for draining off the liquid feed. It would be possible to make a serviceable worm composter but by far the easiest way to get your hands on one is to buy a ready-made kit.
These are available online from around 150 Euros, which includes delivery of sufficient quantities of 2 different species of worm. That’s more than you’d pay for a regular composting unit, but don’t forget how much money you’ll save on compost and plant food, not to mention the boost you’ll be giving to the environment by drastically reducing the amount of organic rubbish you throw away.
Find out more at www.verslaterre.fr
Article from The Var Reporter, issue March/April 2008.
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Outdoors and Nature 
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