Worland Community Garden sees healthier fertilizer alternative

WORLAND – Saturday morning, the Washakie County Extension office held a worm composting workshop at the community garden in Worland.

The workshop was led by Erika Rogers, a Wyoming Worm Wrangler and featured information on how to use garbage, food scraps and worms to make gardens healthier and more flourished.

Extension Educator Caitlin Youngquist decided to hold this workshop to do a demonstration and provide an example for those interested within the community. The workshop started out in the Worland Community Center in one of their classrooms with a presentation and then quickly moved to the community garden at Newell Sargent Park.

According to manager of the Worland community garden, Kelley Ferguson, people who are raising gardens with vegetables and flowers can find a cheap, healthier and more nutritious alternative to chemically induced fertilizer with something people deal with every day – trash and food scraps.

Depending on the set up, Ferguson recommends to stay away from citrus, meat, things high in fat and certain baked goods when choosing what type of scraps to put in your garden. According to Ferguson, the best choices may be grass clippings, newspaper, coffee – and coffee filters and egg cartons. Some other options would include egg shells, corn husks and even hummus.

Ferguson explains that gardeners should choose compost that the worms will easily break down, and things that won't begin to stink up the garden or your home.

Benefits of choosing composting over store bought fertilizer include the fact that it was more nutritious, natural and it keeps the soil healthy. "You're basically throwing money away if you buy the chemical fertilizer," Ferguson said. "Especially when composting is just as easy as using your food scraps." If done properly, worm composting shouldn't smell.

For those who didn't make it to the workshop Saturday morning, but are still interested in finding out more information about composting and ways to make their gardens healthier, they can call the Extension office at (307) 347-3431, or visit the garden on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Another way to get in contact with someone who can help with this information would be messaging the Worland Community Garden through its Facebook page.

Ferguson encourages those who are interested in helping out with the garden or in the community to visit the garden to volunteer from 8-10 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The garden hosts family-friendly programs every Thursday, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

The next upcoming event with the Extension Office is a five-week program called "Real Foods."

The program will teach people how to reduce the use of packaged and processed foods and sugar, and will help plan meals, shop, and cook using whole and natural ingredients. The cost for the program is $15, and is every Monday from 5:30-7 p.m. starting July 30, until Aug. 27. The program will be held at the Washakie County Extension Office.