The tenants in our apartment building started our first urban garden this April. One of the first decisions we made was that it would be an organic garden.

When I hear “organic garden” I think “compost.” When the maintenance crew hears “compost,” they think “rats.” Big hairy rats, that we already have a constant battle with around the garbage bins. And other tenants think “compost=rotting garbage=stink.” And I think, “Whole lot of work to keep a compost bin active and healthy and rat-free.”

Then I read that composting with worms yields a higher-quality fertilizer in shorter time and with less odor. I liked the idea of “worm wrangling,” and it didn’t take a lot of work to get the rest of the folks to let me try it. Continue reading →