Vermiculture, Vermicomposting, Worm Composting

Worm composting is an increasingly popular way to compost. Also known as vermiculture or vermicomposting, worm composting gives you the nutrient rich compost that you desire with the help of red worms. The advantage is that it can be done almost anywhere and you do not need a large yard, or for that matter, any yard at all. Most people who do worm composting do it in their home. The only real requirement is that the worm bin be kept at a moderate temperature. If it gets below forty degrees or above eighty degrees, the compost will not be successful. The best temperature range is from about the mid-fifties to about seventy-five degrees.

Worm composting is done with red worms. Their scientific name is Eisenia foetida, but they can be referred to as manure worms or red wigglers. You should figure on using about one pound of worms for each one pound of garbage you are going to compost. Some people prefer to have two pounds of worms to every one pound of garbage. You can experiment to see what works best for you. One thing to keep in mind is that worms reproduce quickly. It is not uncommon for the number of worms in your compost to double every three months.

Worm compost bins can be built or purchased. If you buy one, it will need to be made specifically for worm composting because traditional compost bins will not work. Once the bin is purchased and an ideal location is found, bedding for the worms must be added. Worms like to live in a moist environment. The bedding in the bin needs to be about as wet as a wrung sponge. Shredded newspaper usually works well for worm bedding. The key is to soak the newspaper in water first until it becomes very soft. Wring it out and then fill your worm bin about two thirds of the way full with the bedding. Your worms also need a little bit of sand or soil with their bedding to help digest their food. You can also put in some small pieces of a paper towel roll or a few leaves.

Next, dig a little hole into your bedding, put the worms in, and then cover them back up. Cover your worm bin and give them some time to get used to it. Remember to keep the bin covered unless you are adding food or water. Worms like their living environment to be dark and moist. After a few days, your worms will be ready to start eating. They can eat coffee grounds and tea bags, and will also be happy with any fruits or veggies. This doesn't mean to drop a whole apple in your bin though. Your worms will be happy with scraps of fruit or the peel off a cucumber. You can also put in some stale bread or even a few eggshells. It is a good idea to make the scraps of food as small as possible. The smaller the pieces, the quicker the compost process will happen. When feeding your worms, you should bury the food in different parts of the bin. Do not overfeed in the beginning. You will get an idea of how quickly your worms eat after watching them for awhile. If you put too much food in the bin, the food can start to rot before the worms have a chance to eat it. This will cause your compost to smell and can attract bugs. Make sure that you do not feed the worms any dairy or meat products. If your worms are having a hard time keeping up with the amount of scraps you have, an easy solution is to add more worms to the bin.

After a couple of months, you will see that the bedding starts to disappear and in its place is a brown, dirt-like substance. This is called worm castings. It is actually the waste of the worm and what you want to add to your lawn or garden. Once this has happened, you will need to remove the compost material and start over again. Worms can't eat the castings and will need fresh bedding to survive. There are two main ways to remove the worm castings. First, you can take everything in the bin and push it over to one side. Then add new bedding and food to the other side of the bin, and cover it back up. Wait about two weeks. The worms will leave the compost and head over to the new bedding to get their food. You can then take out the worm castings and then add bedding to the other side of the bin. A quicker way is to lay out a plastic tarp outside. Dump everything in the bin onto the tarp. Set up the compost bin with new bedding. Search through the compost and pick out the worms and place them back into the bin. Once you have moved all the worms, you are left with your pile of compost. If you have children, this is a great time to involve them in the composting process.

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