What Is Worm Composting & How Does A Worm Farm Work? What Can A Worm Farm Do For You? Is A Worm Bin Easy To Maintain?


by Joanane - Date: 2010-10-11 - Word Count: 783 Share This!

Worms are nature's absolute best recyclers. They have the astonishing ability to eat food scraps and create excellent natural compost. You should not use just any old worms in a worm farm. You need worms that are real food munchers. Red wigglers, which are sometimes just called red worms, are the most voracious eaters of the earthworm family. They regularly devour half their own weight in organic matter per day, leaving behind rich fertile compost. Pale red and tiny, the threadlike infant worms grow from 1/8 inch up to 4 inches long when mature.

Red wigglers are available to purchase from garden-supply catalogs, websites such as this one Worm Composters and through ads in gardening magazines. They are sold either by the amount of worms or by weight. Costs normally vary from around $20 to $40 per pound, which is normally about one thousand worms. We advise beginning with two pounds of worms for a 2 or 3 person home. Worms will multiply quickly once comfortable in a worm farm.

These red wigglers are happy so long as they have a dark cozy place with plenty of food, moisture, oxygen and a tolerable temperature. You do not need to worry about them escaping from their worm bin as long as you provide the best conditions for them to live happily.

Worm bins are commercially available, but are somestimes fairly expensive - from $50 to $100+, compared to DIY worm bins. We started out with a thirty gallon plastic comtainer with a tight top. However, I found that the container was way too high, with a lot of wasted space. The top ten were used by the worms only to lay their eggs. I have since tried many smaller containers and DIY wooden bins, but now use a Worm Factory(r) as it has so many advantages over DIY worm farms

Worms are photophobic - they hide from both sunshine and electric. Use a dark colored bin, or cover it with a dark covering. If you have your worm bin in the garden in hotter weather make sure it stays sheltered from direct sunlight. The worms will be happy when the temperature is between fifty & seventy degrees f.

A little moisture helps worms to wriggle. Add just enough water to a bedding mixture (such as {shredded newspaper|peat moss) to make it as wet enough to stay together when squeezed, but not to drip. A worm bin needs to have drainage holes on the bottom and air holes above the level of the bedding . To create the right environment for your worms line your wormbin with biodegradable bedding. You can use peat moss, sawdust, dried grass clippings, aged manure, shredded cardboard, newspaper, paper grocery bags and most types of shredded leaves. It's not a good idea to use heavily colored or glossy paper for bedding, since it may have inks or other substances that are toxic to worms in it.

Food scraps should be buried in the bedding to prevent any smell. When using paper items for bedding soak it in water and then shred it. Also, paper products in the bedding may soak up moisture, so look in the farm regularly. If the bedding becomes too dry spray or sprinkle with water to spread the moisture evenly.

Feed your worms a nutritious diet. While I attempted to maintain a regular feeding schedule, when I started worm composting, I have since discovered that red wiggler worms are very adaptable, and will eat whatever is available, whenever it is available. Try starting out with about a cup of food scraps every other day. Notice how quickly they eat it, and change their feeding routine accordingly.

Good food for red wigglers: fruits, vegetables, bread, grains, cereal, pasta, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, shredded leaves, peat moss, shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard, human & animal hair, dry grass clippings, wood shavings, sawdust.

Bad food for red wigglers: meat, animal bones, eggs, dairy products, peanut butter, oak leaves, glossy paper, pine needles, tree bark, fresh grass clippings.

Cutting up scraps quickens composting - worms will eat food scraps of any size, but chopping it up cuts down on digestion time.

Within about 60 days the contents of the worm farm will turn into nutrient rich earthy- smelling compost; finished compost has the color and consistency of crumbly chocolate cake. Containing nitrogen, phosphorus and many other nutrients and trace minerals, worm compost is a wonderful organic fertilizer. It can be used as a potting medium or top dressing for houseplants. Each time plants are watered, fresh plant food is delivered to the roots without any danger of overfertilizing or burning. In the garden use worm compost in planting holes and as a top dressing for flower beds. Diluted with water it also makes the best liquid fertilizer.

Related Tags: worm farm, red wigglers, worm bin, worm composting, worm factory

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