Crystal Stevens and her husband, Eric, have been managing La Vista CSA Farm for the past 6 years. As they operate on a shoestring budget, this forces them to find creative, cost-effective methods to improve soil fertility and plant health in order to boost crop yields. Upon their arrival at La Vista, they built vermicompost bins and added a mail-order bag of 250 worms which have multiplied by the hundreds of thousands since then. They have been teaching Vermiculture 101 workshops for several years, and have both completed the Missouri Master Naturalist and Missouri Master Gardener programs. Crystal is a blogger for Mother Earth News and contributes regularly to The Healthy Planet , Grit Magazine and Permaculture Magazine . She also hosts dozen of workshops on resilient living and teaches a summer gardening camp for kids.

• Introduction 1: A Good Garden Begins with Healthy Soil Compost: A Gardener's Most Valuable Resource Nitrogen Fixation and Carbon Sequestering Composting is an Example of Biomimicry A Good Garden Begins with Healthy Soil Soil Quality Nature Is a Good Model to Follow 2: The Essentiality of Worms Some Worms Pose a Threat 3: All About Worms The Anatomy of a Worm What Worms Eat Worm Reproduction Types of Worms 4 Vermicomposting Basics Benefits of Backyard Vermiculture Purchasing Worms Home Composting The Do's & Don'ts of Compost and Vermicompost Pile Division Resources No- to Low-budget Gardening Gardening Tips: Water Conservation Standard Worm Bin 5 Compost and Vermicompost Designs for Your Backyard Simple Compost Boxes Permaculture Worm Bin Design Larger Vermicompost Operations Windrows Stock Tanks 6 Caring for Your Vermicompost Bin Feeding Your Worms Vermicompost Bin Conditions 7 Harvesting Worm Castings, Making Worm Tea, and Garden Applications Simple Methods for Harvesting Worm Castings Worm Tea Garden Applications 8 Sharing the Love in the Community and the Classroom Sharing Your Worms Worm Health Sharing the Knowledge in the Community and the Classroom Integrating Vermiculture into Science Curriculum, Grade 2 to Grade 8 Garden Field Days Other Curriculum Applications Conclusion About the Author A Note About the Publisher