oh let me guess your in an HOA

Certainly you can bury the scraps in the garden even w/o coffee cans. Or you can freeze the scraps for later use.

IF you choose to bury the scraps it can lead to rodents digging up the scraps.

Yeah. My HOA is particularly obnoxious. Fortunately, I own property in the country where I do most of my gardening.

I was going to say you can freeze the scraps for feeding at a later time but someone beat me to it.

I am trying this idea, too. Just got my first 'worm cafe' put together and in place in my very cold garden but really looking forward to warmer temps to see how it will work. I plan to use several of these in different sections of my beds.

It looks quite natural sitting in my garden and very easy to put together.

Here is where I came upon the idea: Worm Cafe

Mary

I also use the SFG method and built two compost piles right in two my 4x4 beds. The bottom of one of the piles is where I found my red wigglers (Eisenia foetida) to start my worm bin.

The idea was so I could continue to compost thru the winter months.

If we agree that worm composting is good no matter how you do it, it is probably advisable to use all methods. 1) Worm factory - Cultivate at least one worm factory and harvest the castings every 3-4 months. Store them properly for later use in container gardens, potted plants or in the hole for transplanted vegetables. 2) Compost pile or bin - If you are in an urban area that frowns on compost piles, as I am, Get 3 black 32 gallon plastic barrels with lids and drill 1/4 inch holes in them to allow good ventilation follow good composting procedures and when one is full start filling the second. Every 2-4 days mix the compost and make sure it is slightly moist. After a good rain pick up the red worms on your drive and put them into your compost barrels. Hopefully by the time the 3rd barrel is full, the first one will be ready to use. 3) Worm stations - Set up a worm station for every 100 square feet of garden space. Feed the station the same way you do your barrels. After the station is full and the compost appears completely consumed, harvest the vermi-compost and use it around your plants.

Charlie do you have some tips on storing finished castings until you're ready to use them? Thank you!

I placed mine in an uncovered bucket and placed a top loosely over it. In order to keep the good bacteria etc. alive I keep it mildly damp (i.e. not dried). I have not used it yet so I am not sure how effective this is.

silly question - opaque or transparent bucket? (Does it matter?)

I would suggest something that would keep the interior dark is what you would want. I've read the types of Worms we're discussing don't care for light.

Sorry I meant to store the finished castings until you use them :)

oops! :-)

Some worm ideas for a garden: If your garden drains well and is not too wet--dig a shallow trench and put some newspaper, leaves, or corrugated cardboard in the bottom and add some vegetable scraps and more bedding on top. Let it percolate for a couple of weeks and add some redworms. Cover with mulch and keep it moist. Plant on both sides of the trench and you will have a fantastic garden. Just pull the mulch back to add more scraps and cover again with mulch. The worms will find the food. To store castings: any breathable bag, a plastic bucket with air holes drilled on the top/sides. Keep moist. You can also store in a tote with wet burlap/carpet on top with no lid. We want to keep all those good bacteria and fungi alive. Good luck. Opaque like a worm bin is best...probably be hatching some worms from cocoons. They will do splendidly.

T Richards - Suggest an opaque bucket.

Iowa - I am trying your trench method in my normal garden. Hopefully will start working in the Spring. Now it is too cold. I have my 25 X 10 garden divided into 5 feet X 10 feet blocks and am digging the trench down the middle of each block.

That is great. Just remember that you will have to feed your worms through the season with scraps or lots of organic material.

rayzone7,

"So, I was sneaky and made bottomless planters 24 inches tall. I would make alternate layers of kitchen scraps and soil to hide my composting the entire depth of the planter, with 4 or so inches on soil on top. Then, I would plant whatever I wanted to grow."

When you say that you plant whatever you want to go do you mean you plant it on top of the bottomless planter or just around?

How deeply dug into your soil was your bottomless planter? Was it just sitting on top like you would briefly place a potted plan on the surface of the soil?

Thank you!

I planted on top of/into the planter, notaround it. They would just sit on top of existing soil. Sorry for brevity, I am being paged to another room, but wanted to reply now lest I forget....

Iowa - I used your trench method in three 5X10 sections of my garden during the 2016 growing season and the fall and winter. I grew a green in one section referred to as dandelion greens and it produced more than we could eat and grew faster than we expected. We harvested those greens until I tilled them up on March 31. During the winter I placed a trench in the areas where my summer been and Swiss chard crops were grown. In one bed I planted my garlic in the fall and the garlic looks fantastic! It is about 2 feet high. I just tilled the soil in the other sections to get them ready for spring planting and the soil is very beautiful, dark red and rich. I can't wait to see how my plants grow this year.

Rayzone7 - I like the bottomless planter idea. What kind of planter do you use? Made of wood or PVC pipe, or another type? I assume you fill the planter with your composting material and let it work a few days to kind of settle then add more composting material and the last few inches of soil and plant on top. Sound about right?