What
is worm composting?
Worms eat food
scraps, which become compost as they pass through the worm's body.
Compost exits the worm through its' tail end. This compost can then
be used to grow plants. To understand why vermicompost is good for
plants, remember that the worms are eating nutrient-rich fruit and
vegetable scraps, and turning them into nutrient-rich compost.
Materials
to use in a worm bin
Though worms
can eat any organic material, certain foods are better for the worm
bin. You can compost food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels,
pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. It is advisable
not to compost meats, dairy products, oily foods, and grains because
of problems with smells, flies, and rodents. No glass. plastic or tin
foil, please.
To avoid fly
and smell problems, always bury the food waste by pulling aside some
of the bedding, dumping the waste, and then cover it up with the
bedding again. Bury successive loads in different locations in the
bin. Top
Of course you
can set up an industrial strength worm bin like this one used to
compost kitchen/cafeteria waste at a Hospital.
Bedding
Bedding
materials can include shredded newspaper or cardboard, dry leaves,
straw, peat moss and wood shavings. Mixing more than one type of
bedding helps to create spaces for air and easy movement by the
worms. Fill the bin three-quarters full with bedding that has been
moistened so it is as wet as a wrung out sponge. Add a handful of
dirt or rock dust to provide grit to aid the worms digestion.. After
the worms have eaten some of the bedding, add more to maintain the
bin at three-quarters full.
Setting up
a worm bin
Setting up a
worm bin is easy. All you need is a box, moist newspaper strips, and
worms. To figure out how to set up a worm bin, first consider what
worms need to live. If your bin provides what worms need, then it
will be successful. Worms need moisture, air, food, darkness, and
warm ( not hot) temperatures.
You should use
red worms or red wigglers in the worm bin. The scientific name for
the two commonly used red worms are Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus.
Containers
When choosing
a container in which to compost with worms, you should keep in mind
the amount of food scraps you wish to compost, and where the bin will
be located. A good size bin for the is a 5- to 10- gallon box or
approximately 24" X 18" X 8". The box should be
shallow rather than deep, as red wigglers are surface-dwellers and
prefer to live in the top 6" of the soil..
Whether you
choose a plastic, wooden or glass container to use as a worm bin is a
matter of personal preference based primarily on what is available.
Others may prefer to buy a commercially manufactured storage bin.
No matter what
material you choose, make sure to rinse out the container before
using. For wooden bins, line the bottom with plastic (e.g. from a
plastic bag or old shower curtain). Cover the bin with a loose
fitting lid. This lid should allow air into the bin.
You can, of
course buy a custom bin from Johnstown Recycling here...
Harvesting
After several
months, worms need to be separated from their castings which, at high
concentrations, create an unhealthy environment for them. To prepare
for harvesting, do not add new food to the bin for two weeks. Then
try one of two methods for harvesting:
Push all of
the worm bin contents to one half of the bin, removing any large
pieces of undecomposed food or newspaper. Put fresh bedding and food
scraps in empty side of bin. Continue burying food scraps only in
freshly bedded half.
Over the next
2-3 weeks, the worms will move over to the new side (where the food
is), conveniently leaving their compost behind in one section. When
this has happened, remove the compost and replace it with fresh
bedding. To facilitate worm migration, cover only the new side of the
bin, causing the old side to dry out and encouraging the worms to
leave the old side.
Hands-On Harvesting
Dump the
entire contents of the worm bin onto a sheet of plastic or paper.
Make several individual cone-shaped piles. Each pile will contain
worms, compost and undecomposed food and bedding. As the piles are
exposed to light; the worms will migrate towards the bottom of the
pile. Remove the top layer of compost from the pile, separating out
pieces of undecomposed food and newspaper. After removing the top
layer, let pile sit under light for 2-3 minutes as the worms migrate
down. Then remove the next layer of compost. Repeat this process
until all of the worms are left at the bottom of the pile. Collect
the worms and put them back in their bin with fresh bedding.
Regardless of
which method you choose, the compost you harvest will most likely
contain a worm or two, along with old food scraps and bedding. If you
are using the compost outdoors, there is no need to worry, the worms
will find a happy home and the food scraps and bedding will
eventually decompose. If you are using the compost indoors, you may
want to remove old bedding and food scraps for aesthetic purposes and
ensure that there are no worms in the compost. Though the worms will
not harm your plants, the worms may not like living in a small pot.
For both
methods, you may continue to compost your food scraps after
harvesting. Just add fresh bedding and food scraps. If, for some
reason, you do not want to continue composting, please offer the
setup to someone who will take the worm bin home. Anyone with a
garden will find the worm compost extremely valuable. As a last
resort, if you cannot find anyone who wants good worm compost, you
may add the worms to a garden bed.
Using worm compost
You can use
your compost immediately, or you can store it and use it during the
gardening season, or whenever. The compost can be directly mixed with
your potting soil or garden soil as a soil amendment, which helps
make nutrients available to plants. Or, the compost can be used as a
top dressing for your indoor or outdoor plants.
You can also
make "compost tea" with your compost. Simply add 1-2"
of compost to your water can or rain barrel. Allow compost and water
to "steep" for a day, mixing occasionally. Then water
plants as you normally would. The resulting "tea" helps
make nutrients already in the soil available to plants.
Hints for
happy worms
Light
Worms usually
live underground so they thrive in an environment that is cool, dark
and moist. To keep the worm farm dark put newspaper, hessian or
another bin on top of the 'food' bin, but always lift this cover
before adding more food or another bin.
Moisture
Worms like
moisture and should not be allowed to dry out. A light spray of fresh
water when the worm farm is first constructed will generally provide
sufficient moisture for the farm. Once the farm is settled in you
should not need to add extra water. If you add too much extra water
or allow rainwater to get into the bins, the worms may drown.
Food
Worms are
voracious eaters. Once the worms are settled in and growing, give
them a good supply of suitable food.
Worms like
most vegetable and fruit scraps (except onions and citrus), but as
worms do not have teeth, scraps should be cut into small pieces:
waste from a vegetable juicer is ideal.
Plants from
the onion family (including garlic and shallots) and citrus fruits
contain volatile oils. If any of these are included in the food
scraps the worms will climb out of their bin to get away from the smell.
If this
happens to your worm farm, place another bin with a fresh food supply
on top of the contaminated bin. Once the worms have climbed out of
the contaminated bin (about a week) remove it and use the castings
for normal compost - the uneaten onion and citrus won't hurt the garden.
Health Concerns
Health
concerns relating to compost are dependent on the individual and on
the material being composted. Dog and cat manures can contain harmful
pathogens and should be avoided. Few human pathogenic organisms are
found in vegetative wastes or farm animal manures. Normal sanitary
measures (i.e., washing hands before touching food, eyes, etc.) are
important.
