What is Urban Vermicomposting?

It is just one type of cold composting, and is one of the most natural ways to compost indoors.  Vermicomposting is the process of colonizing decomposition microbes with worms which, in turn, transform your biological waste into a natural soil fertilizer called vermicast.  

What is Vermicast Used for?

Vermicast, or “black gold”, is a soil amendment used to reinvigorate and fertilize soil with living, natural microbes (nutrient transmitters) that allows plants to thrive without using chemical or synthetic fertilizers.

Why is it a Thing?

Vermicompost soils are not only more nutritious and a natural way to fertilize your plants, they remove the unnecessary methane1 released from organic matter decomposing in our garbage collections and landfills.  It also acts to sequester carbon2 in the air.  It makes your plants more pest-resilient too. 

How do I know if this is right for my home?

Whether you decide to vermicompost within your own home, or have your compostable trash picked up by a third party (getting popular across the USA - finally!), or bringing your compostable trash to a collection site, composting is a transformative positive environmental action you can take that is effective regardless of whether you do the actual composting yourself.

We will say that it is inviting nature's assistance into your home.  Most of us in the general population have grown accustomed to fighting nature in our living spaces, so the idea of bringing it into our homes can be daunting.  If that is the case, we suggest not trying it and encourage you to follow our journey.

If, however, you are intrigued, curious and likely a gardener too, this process may inspire you, and that is why we are sharing our experiences with you.  

1 Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas. CH4 is more potent than CO2 because the radiative forcing produced per molecule is greater. Methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.  Source:  epa.gov

2”There’s no question that carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to human-caused climate change, so that’s the big focus of mitigation efforts.” Source:  news.mit.edu