Vermicomposting in Hawaii

One way to reduce your garbage is to compost kitchen scraps and green waste, thereby reducing our carbon footprint on earth and save yourself from beastly fruit flies! Believe me, I tried composting outside ... you know pile the kitchen scraps outside with the garden cuttings and hope for the best. Well, if you are like me or most of the other people 've talked to, you will undoubtedly develop problems with RATS! Bad news!

When I saw this video on YouTube, I knew I had to look into this further ...



What? I can compost INDOORS!?! I figured this was the answer to my prayers! So, I started my beginners vermicomposting bin at the beginning of December, just like the one on the video. It is my attempt to control my yucky garbage issue at home (I take mine to the dump and before I can get there, my garbage starts to stink to high heaven). Figured I'd be green too so, hey, I can kill two birds with one stone (that's a bad reference, isn't it?). It's a win-win situation, right? Believe me, finding worms that are legal is difficult in Hawaii (more about my worm fiasco later). We use Indian Blue Worms more commonly here (the video shows red wrigglers). I'll share my pics soon, if I can get those darn things to stay still and pose!

Remember: Shipping worms to Hawaii is illegal without proper procedures so please review Hawaii's Agricultural rules before you attempt to buy or ship any! It could cost you up to $25,000!

Here are some resources for composting with worms in Hawaii that I found useful:
1. Waikiki Worm Company: Mindy Jaffe, owner, is a great resource and understands the challenges and benefits of vermicomposting in Hawaii. She's committed to helping us beginners and was wonderful in responding to my emails quickly and connecting me to her supplier on the Big Island.
2. Hawaii Rainbow Worms: Piper Seldon, owner, sells larger vermicomposting units.
2. Small Scale Vermicomposting by the Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
3. Vermicomposting in Hawaii video, produced by CTHR, available here.
4. Check out YouTube vermicomposting videos. They're fascinating!