Composting with Kids

One of the kids gardening classes I teach is worm composting. This can be a tricky concept to teach to kids, but they sure do have fun building their worm bed and then adding in the worms. If interested in composting, you have one of two ways to go. You can try using a regular compost bin, available online or at home improvement stores. Or you can try vermicomposting (which is just a fancy way of saying composting with worms). Well, you really have a third way to go, too. I call it the “grandma way.” My grandma used to keep a compost bucket of veggie scraps, egg shells, etc. and then she would just bury it in sections of her large veggie garden. It worked just fine, too, though I realize many people can’t just dig up random areas of their backyard.

So when I’m teaching composting in general, there are a few key concepts I try to get kids to understand. So without further adieu, here are my lessons in composting.

• Know what kind of worm to get. While the picture here shows a typical earthworm (great for fishing), you need red wigglers for composting. These are much smaller. I sometimes get mine locally. Uncle Jim’s is a good source as well, and you can order them through Amazon this way.
• Make sure you know what’s okay to put in a compost bin. Coffee grounds, egg shells, paper, leaves and veggies scraps=good. Meat products, animal poop, plastic and dairy=bad. If you want a hilarious, effective picture book that explains compost in a nutshell, you must buy Compost Stew.
• Know the right ratio. Make sure you don’t overload your compost pile with things like veggies, egg shells, etc. (otherwise known as “green material”). You want the majority of your pile to be “brown” material like paper, leaves, etc. In fact, you want twice as much brown material as green to have a good mix.
• Recycle, recycle, recycle. I like to think of composting as an extension of recycling. Give yourself a test by going through your garbage sometime. Chances are, there are little snippets of cardboard, veggie scraps, etc. that could be recycled into other areas. If you can get into the habit of wasting less and recycling more, then you’re creating great, lifelong habits.

So those are my main tips. I’ll have a DIY compost project in my book PROJECT GARDEN (January 2012), so stay tuned. And in the meantime, happy composting!