The garden that feeds itself
Hacienda Zuleta grows seventeen vegetables at three thousand metres and fertilises them with its own worms. That loop works at the size of a balcony.
Hacienda Zuleta is a farm in the northern Andes, about two hours from Quito. The house was built in 1691 and the Plaza family has owned it since 1898. Galo Plaza Lasso, president of Ecuador from 1948 to 1952, ran the farm himself until he died in 1987. His family runs it today, and guests stay in the house.
By the estate's own account, the garden covers three hectares and grows seventeen kinds of vegetables, five fruits, and the herbs, spices and medicinal plants the kitchen uses. It is fertilised with compost from the farm's earthworm beds.
That last line is the one to take home.
The loop
Kitchen scraps feed the worms. The worms make the soil. The soil grows the next meal. Nothing is bought in and nothing leaves.
Two things come out of it. The soil is alive, so the food grown in it tastes of something. And the food has an address, which is the only label that has never lied to me. More on that in the Food area, and the products I use in the Food directory.
The food has an address, which is the only label that has never lied to me.
Running it at home
This one is for a house with a bit of outside. A garden, a yard, a balcony you are not precious about. A worm bin lives outdoors in the shade, or in a garage or utility room, and it wants a corner nobody minds.
It is a plastic box with a lid and some air holes. Feed it vegetable peel, fruit, coffee grounds, tea leaves and torn cardboard. Leave out meat, dairy and oil. In a few months the worms give you dark castings, and you spread those on your beds or your pots.
In a small city flat it is a stretch, and I would not pretend otherwise. It can be done, under the sink, in a box the size of a crate, and people do it happily. But it asks for a real relationship with your soil rather than a passing interest, so choose it with your eyes open.
Then grow what you actually reach for. Mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme. Herbs are the cheapest thing in a garden and the most expensive thing in a shop, and Zuleta grows its medicinal plants in the same beds as its dinner, which is the older arrangement. What I look for when a plant ends up in a bottle instead is in The Spelled Hand.
Start with one box and one pot of mint. That is a working version of the same idea, and it costs about the price of a jar of it.
If you would rather begin with the room than the kitchen, start here.
| Where it lives | Outdoors in the shade, a garage, a utility room, or under a sink. Out of frost and out of direct summer sun. |
|---|---|
| The box | A plastic crate with a lid and small air holes. Household size is about the size of a crate. |
| The worms | Composting worms, the tiger or brandling worm (Eisenia fetida), sold as red wigglers. Not garden earthworms. |
| Feed it | Vegetable peel, fruit, salad leaves, coffee grounds, tea leaves, crushed eggshell, torn cardboard and plain paper. |
| Keep out | Meat, fish and bones, dairy, oil and anything cooked in it. Citrus and onion sparingly. |
| Best temperature | Roughly 15 to 25°C. It slows right down in a cold winter. |
| First harvest | Usually three to six months for a new bin, quicker once it is established. |
| How it should smell | Of earth. A sour smell means too much food, or too wet. |
The short answers
The same thing again, in the order people ask it.
What is worm composting?
Letting composting worms eat kitchen scraps and turn them into castings, a dark crumbly compost you spread on beds or pots. It runs cold rather than hot, so there is no turning and no large heap, and a household bin is about the size of a crate.
What can you feed a worm bin?
Vegetable peel, fruit, salad leaves, coffee grounds, tea leaves, crushed eggshell, and torn cardboard or plain paper. The card matters as much as the food, because it keeps the bin airy. Tear or chop what you put in and it is eaten faster.
What should you keep out of a worm bin?
Meat, fish and bones, dairy, and oil or anything cooked in it. Citrus and onion in small amounts only. Everything on that list either goes rancid or sends the worms to the far corner of the box.
Which worms do you need?
Composting worms, usually the tiger or brandling worm, Eisenia fetida, sold as red wigglers. They live in rotting material near the surface. Garden earthworms burrow deep into soil instead and will not settle in a bin.
Can you keep a worm bin in a flat?
Yes, in a box the size of a crate under the sink or in a utility cupboard, and people do it happily. It suits someone who will look at it once a week. With a garden, a yard or a balcony it simply lives outside in the shade, which is easier.
How long does worm compost take?
Usually three to six months for a new bin to give its first castings, and faster once it is established and warm. Composting worms are happiest at roughly 15 to 25 degrees, so the bin slows in a cold winter and wants shade in summer.
Does a worm bin smell?
A healthy one smells of earth and nothing else. A sour smell means more food went in than the worms can eat, or the bin has gone too wet. Feed it less for a week, mix in torn cardboard, and it settles.
What do you do with the castings?
Spread them on beds or dig them into pots, a couple of centimetres at a time. They improve the soil rather than feed the plant directly, so there is nothing to measure and nothing to burn. The liquid that drains out can be watered on, diluted heavily.
Why does compost change how food tastes?
Compost feeds the life in the soil, and a plant growing in living soil takes up a wider range of minerals. Food grown that way tastes of something rather than of water. It is the first thing most people notice when they eat out of their own beds. Soil also improves when nothing is added to it at all, which is what happened to the hills in the hotel that runs on rain.
Which herbs are worth growing at home?
The ones you already reach for: mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme. They grow in a pot on a windowsill, and Zuleta keeps its medicinal plants in the same beds as its dinner, which is the older arrangement. What each one wants on a sill is set out in the garden that came before the guest rooms.
The property. Hacienda Zuleta, Imbabura, Ecuador. The garden of three hectares, seventeen vegetables, five fruits, and herbs, spices and medicinal plants, fertilised with compost from the farm's earthworm beds, are described on zuleta.com/around-the-house. The house of 1691 and the family's ownership since 1898 are on zuleta.com. Galo Plaza Lasso was president of Ecuador from 1948 to 1952 and ran the farm until his death in 1987.
The photographs. The courtyard: amalavida.tv, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized, and the cropped version is offered under the same licence. The fields: Gail Fisher, CC BY 2.0, resized.
Reuse. Quote any part of this page with a link back to it. Educational purposes only, and not a substitute for medical advice.