Worms eat our food scraps

We're so lucky in Seattle that nearly everything is either recyclable or compostable. All of our food scraps can go into our yard waste bin -- and it costs us nothing to have it carted away to the Cedar Grove composting facility.

The trouble is, we're gardeners. So inevitably we end up buying our own food waste back from Cedar Grove. I've noticed that, as the city composting program has flourished, the quality of compost from Cedar Grove has declined -- or at least, it seems drier and woodier than before. I hypothesize that the composting facility is getting a higher ratio of yard waste.

Meanwhile, our garden isn't half as productive as Shelly and John's. They separate yard waste from food scraps, maintain an above-ground bin for yard waste, and feed their food scraps to worms, using the worm castings to nourish their veggies. I decided to try their worm-bin technique to see if I can get the same results.

The kids and I took the wagon to Ace, purchased two 20-gallon bins, moved some plants, and dug two 20-gallon holes right outside our back door. Then Chris drilled holes in both the bins to let soil critters find our compost, sunk them into our holes (burying the bins makes them rat-proof), and mulched around them. We shredded newspaper for worm bedding and purchased our first batch of worms from neighbor Xander, whose family has been worm composting for years. We're now layering food scraps and shredded newspapers. When one bin is full, we'll start in on the next -- and let you know how it works!