• slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide

From Kitchen Scraps to Garden Riches

Turn off your garbage disposer and put your kitchen scraps to work in your garden.

Inexpensive homemade worm bins or the more space efficient and attractive worm chalets work great outside in the garden or indoors in your basement for year round composting or composting during the cold winter months.

A kitchen scrap composter may be a better option if you are not quite ready to keep worms in your house. This small machine can produce big results.

Start the process with 2 cups of garden soil to provide needed microorganisms for decomposition. Cut food scraps into 4 inch or smaller pieces to speed up the process. Fill the mixing chamber about 2/3 full with these scraps. Add 2 handfuls of sawdust or wood shavings and about 2 tablespoons of baking soda to balance the chemistry.

Turn on and let the machine do the mixing and nature do the composting.

A bit more information: Turn some of your worm castings into compost tea. Place a scoopful (about 8 ounces) of worm castings into a sack of cheesecloth, burlap or other permeable material. The material should allow water in while holding the castings inside. Place the bagged worm compost in a five gallon bucket of warm water and let soak for at least an hour or all day long. Use this liquid fertilizer on container gardens, houseplants or any garden plants.

Upcoming Live Events
& Webinars


April 3, 2024
Garden Trends 

Franklin Public Library, Franklin, WI

April 10, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Container Gardening Throughout the Year
Register now

April 11, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

7 Steps to Managing Water Where it Falls in Your Yard
Register now

April 17, 2024
Landscaping for Birds: 
A Gardener’s Perspective

Glendale, WI 

April 18, 2024
Be a Waterwise Gardener
Golden Rondelle Theater, Racine, WI
Register now

April 20, 2024
Pruning Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs 
Pasquesi Home & Gardens, Lake Bluff, IL

April 27, 2024
Ridges & Rivers Book Festival
Viroqua, WI

April 28, 2024
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI

May 1, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Ornamental Fruits and Vegetables
Register now

May 9, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

How to Plant Your Rain Garden
Register now

WATCH ON-DEMAND WEBINARS

Learn More

Book an Appearance

Learn More

Enter to Win The Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide !

ENTER NOW