Hi all-

I thought I'd run a little project I have going in my yard by you to see what you think. I'm EXTREMELY new to gardening, and learn heaps every time I log on here.

I have a small urban backyard that is mostly paved (boo hiss) but has one little garden bed and is overhung by two enormous frangipani trees. When I moved in the frangipani trees were dropping their leaves so my yard was absolutely covered in dry leaves.

I found an old bin that wasn't being used, cut the bottom off it, dug into the dirt in one corner of the garden bed and stuck it in about 1/3 of the way. Then I filled it up with frangipani leaves, churned it a bit so the dirt from the bottom was mixed through, and left it alone for a few weeks.

When I went back the frangipani leaves had dropped down to take up only about 1/3 of the space, and when I poked my garden fork in there I found thousands and thousands of pretty happy-looking worms.

So I decided I had a semi-worm-farm. I've been stocking it with the last of the frangipani leaves plus some kitchen vegie scraps and churning it every now and then. The levels continue to drop pretty reliably. I assume that basically as the worms eat the organic matter their waste becomes part of the soil below & around the bin?

Anyway I don't know if this counts as worm-farming since I'm not harvesting worm poo, and I don't know if it counts as composting since I'm not doing anything to regulate the temperature or anything. Plus I don't have any great variety of materials to add to the bin, which seems to be essential for composting.

But would I be able to use what comes out the bottom of the bin as compost? Are my efforts going to improve the soil around the bin at all, or is it just an odd waste-disposal mechanism? I must admit I only started it as a way to get rid of leaves, but the worms seem so happy there, and I'd love it if I could use it to produce something good for the rest of my garden (which is mostly in containers).

Anyway, I'm curious to know what you all think! I definitely have the newbie-gardener's need for feedback and encouragement :)