Worm Compost
If you are not inclined to use the heat method of composting, you can use the worm method.
That's right, worms. Compost worms have been bred for generations to like the warm environments in compost heaps.
They typically come in one of two varieties. Reds or Blue-Gray-Thins. These creatures are happiest in your compost heap when
you have a good portion of vegetable scraps mixed in. They rummage through your heap and leave worm casings behind to further
fertilize your compost. Their feeding on the organic matter in the heap will further accellerate the decomposition process. Since they
are bred to enjoy compost heaps, they will most likely double their numbers within a month. The worms can also be spread with the compost. They will help enrich the soil with their casing.
Some individuals like to utilize a worm box for kitchen scraps as well as their compost heaps. A wooden box with a layer of moldy leaves or manure as a bedding Chop up your vegetable scraps in a
blender and feed this to your box worms. A pound of worms can digest a half a pound of vegetable matter per day. A two panel box is handy so that you may bait the worms
from one side to the other with fresh scraps as you use the casing filled material they leave behind. Worm waste contains many
beneficial micro-organisms and is about 5 times as rich as fertile soil.
Some people actually have two compost heaps with a loose soil trench between them so the worms can move back and forth between your finished compost and a new freshly decomposing food source. However, you probably shouldn't use worms with the heat method if you are composting in a confined container. They worms would get cooked. You can start an open to the ground heat method compost heap with worms, but they will flee to the earth when it heats up. Hot compost heaps have been known to get up to 117 degrees(f)(65C). As long as they have an escape route when temperatures escalate, worms will enrich your compost greatly.