Portable Composting and Earthworms

By cwhitt
June 17, 2017

Living in a condo, I don't have a lot of space, so I sometimes need to get creative with my gardening. I can't imagine a garden without compost, but did not have a large permanent place for a compost pile, so I took a large black pot that had once held a tree and I started using it for composting. The idea worked very well -- with added benefits. I had placed the pot in my rose bed. Earthworms quickly found their way up into the pot from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. They delighted in the constant supply of fresh kitchen and yard waste that I kept putting into the pot, especially my coffee grounds, banana peels, and egg shells. Soon, I had an entire nursery of baby wrigglers, and my kitchen/yard waste was rapidly composted and became full of earthworm castings. Then, I had another idea: I had a rose bush that was not doing very well, so I moved my compost pot next to the rose bush during the rainy season. Nutrients must have drained out of the bottom of the pot, and baby earthworms made their way back out of the bucket and into my rose bed. Soon I noticed a great improvement in the rose bush, and a definite increase in the number of earthworms. It seems that this was a win-win situation: I was breeding earthworms, composting, and improving my soil -- all at the same time! This summer my composting pot is moving again. I have another bed that needs some soil improvement and is lacking in earthworms. What an easy way to improve my soil!

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Jun 16, 2017 7:19 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Carol H. Sandt
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (Zone 6b)
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Composting in a pot! What a creative idea with bountiful benefits! Thanks for sharing it, Christie.
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Jun 16, 2017 8:56 PM CST
Name: Connie
Willamette Valley OR (Zone 8a)
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This is a clever idea, especially moving the pot around!
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Jun 16, 2017 8:59 PM CST
Name: Liz Shaw
Gilbert, AZ (Sunset Zone 13) (Zone 9a)
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Very cool!
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -Anaïs Nin
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Jun 17, 2017 12:47 PM CST
Name: Kate Davis

Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Brilliant, economical and (for me) timely-- I was just scanning the Internet yest trying to find a reliable, easy, compact way to compost. Thanks for the idea!! I think you've just saved me $65.
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Jun 17, 2017 3:54 PM CST
Name: greene
Savannah, GA (Sunset 28) (Zone 8b)
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Portable composter/worm bin. Fantastic! Thanks for this excellent idea.
Sunset Zone 28, AHS Heat Zone 9, USDA zone 8b~"Leaf of Faith"
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Jun 17, 2017 5:08 PM CST
Name: Sue Seymour
Upper michigan (Zone 5a)
what a great idea! do you have a problem with critters trying to get in the pot?
Sue from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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Jun 18, 2017 11:44 AM CST
Name: Christie
Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a)
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No problems with critters. Although, I will say if I add something that I think the critters (or fungus gnats) might be interested in (like melon rinds), I scrape off just the top layer of compost and pile it on top of my new addition.
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Jun 18, 2017 12:15 PM CST
Name: Evelyn
Sierra foothills, Northern CA (Zone 8a)
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Christie ~ What a brilliant idea! Thank You! Thumbs up
"Luck favors the prepared mind." - Thomas Jefferson
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