About this item
For more than three decades, this best-selling guide to the practice of vermicomposting has taught people how to use worms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for houseplants or gardens. Small-scale, self-contained worm bins can be kept indoors, in a basement, or even under the kitchen sink in an apartment - making vermicomposting a great option for city dwellers and anyone who doesn't want or can't have an outdoor compost pile. The fully revised 35th anniversary edition features the original's same friendly tone, with up-to-date information on the entire process, from building or purchasing a bin (readily available at garden supply stores) to maintaining the worms and harvesting the finished compost.
About the Author
Mary Appelhof was a pioneer in the world of vermicomposting. Responsible for many initiatives in the development of vermiculture she was recognized by Clive Edwards in the preface of "Vermiculture Technology" where he dedicated the book to her.In 1979 she organized a workshop to address the breakdown of organic wastes by earthworms. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) the conference was attended by over 40 participants. The result of this conference was the publication "Workshop on the Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization of Organic Residues, Volume 1 PROCEEDINGS".Setting up her own publishing company Mary wrote the first edition of "Worms Eat My Garbage " in 1982. The book was so successful that she expanded it in 1997 with its second edition. Prepared by a master's degrees in biology and education she spent 25 years working with earthworms to develop systems for using redworms (Eisenis fetida) to process organic waste. Her focus was on education to promote small domestic vermicomposting systems for use in homes and schools. During this time she received a NSF grant to video the hatching of an earthworm from its cocoon. The result was a video and later a DVD of "Wormania".In 2000, she was one of the organizers of an International Symposium and Training Workshop in Kalamazoo Michigan called the Vermillenium. The proceedings from this symposium were published after her death in 2005.Her good friend Joanne Olszewski continues Mary's work today. In 2017 she updated her landmark book for a "35th Anniversary Edition of Worms Eat My Garbage". Joanne continues to take vermicomposting into homes and schools as a way to reduce food waste and produce a healthy soil amendment.
