Worm composting systems are neat, easy and odorless. Busy redworms turn food scraps and plant trimmings into some of the best organic fertilizer on earth, called worm castings. Composting with worms, also called vermicomposting, is relatively effortless. Setting up the bin for the first time, and periodically harvesting the castings is all that is required. Plus it's a great family project, kids love to feed the worms, and it's fun too!
Redworms are surface feeders, so the worm bin can be relatively shallow, about 8-12 inches deep. The rule of thumb for bin size is two square feet of surface area per person using the bin. An average two person house would need a bin about 2'x2'=4 square feet.
Locate your bin where it will get good air circulation and will not freeze or overheat. The temperature redworms like best is between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit. You can place the bin in the kitchen, laundry room, garage, basement, patio, deck, or the garden. If your bin is outside make sure to place it in the shade.
The first step in setting up a worm bin is to prepare the worm's bedding. In nature redworms are found among masses of decaying vegetation such as fallen leaves, manure piles, or under rotten logs. To simulate this, the bedding in your bin should be moistened to the dampness of a well-wrung sponge. Shredded newspaper or a mixture of both works best. Fill the bin 3/4 full and fluff up the bedding. Sprinkle the bedding with a few handfuls of soil. Do not use glossy paper or magazines.
Compost worms are often called redworms or red wigglers. They are different from earthworms and native night crawlers that live underground. The only worms that can be used in a worm bin are the Redworm or their cousin the European Night Crawler Worms eat heir own weight in organic material every other day so you will need one to two pounds of worms for the average bin.
Start them off with about one quart of fruit and vegetable trimmings. Then leave them alone for about a week while they get used to their new home.
MAINTAINING
Add about a quart of food scraps per square foot of surface area in your bin per week. Worms eat fruit and vegetable scraps, pasta, bread, cooked beans and other kitchen leftovers. Worms love coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, paper towels and napkins. Eggshells provide calcium and the hard particles help them to digest their food. To avoid fruit flies and odors, always bury the food just below the surface of the bedding.
Hint for getting rid of fruit flies: Put a small jar with about an inch of vinegar in the corner of the bin, being careful not to spill it.
NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE WORM BIN, INCLUDING CHEESE, OIL, BONES AND MEAT.
As the worms break down the bedding and it becomes more compact it will reduce the volume of bedding in your bin. Add about 1/2 inch of fresh bedding to the surface of the bin weekly.
Keep the bedding in your bin as moist as a well-wrung sponge. In a plastic bin you may have to add dry bedding to absorb excess moisture. In a wooden bin you may have to add water.
HARVESTING AND USING VERMICOMPOST
Every 2-3 months move contents of the bin to one side, place fresh bedding and a handful of soil in the empty space and bury food there for a month or two. Harvest the other side after the worms have migrated to the new food and bedding.
Worm compost will help your plants thrive by adding nutrients and humus to the soil. Use as mulch around indoor or outdoor plants; blend about 30% castings into a potting soil mix.
Redworms won't be the only decomposing organism found in your worm bin. Tiny white worms called Echytraeids eat decomposing material, and are not a problem. Springtails in a bin will look like a sprinkling of hundreds of tiny white creatures. They eat molds and are producers of humus. Millipedes, sow bugs, slugs, snails, pill bugs, and beetles are other common beneficial decomposers found in worm boxes.
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BENEFITS OF VERMICOMPOST