Worm Composting

The Care And Feeding Of Worms.

What is the Right Worm? When entering into the world of vermiculture you need to pay particular attention to the type of worms you use. There are two types of earthworms that can be used with success. The first are the red wiggler composting worms (Eisenia foetida) and the brandling, or maure worm (Lumbricus rubellus). Other worms such as the dew worms or other common ground worm as they will probably not survive the process.

For the more daring person there is always the option of digging through a manure pile to retrieve starter worms. I would recommend the red wiggler composting worm as they are available commercially and getting them is a lot cleaner. How many worms are needed? Experts vary on the number of red wiggler composting worms needed to do an adequate job. Some say that you need up to one pound of worms per square foot of surface area. Others say that you should use two pounds of worms for each pound of food provided daily. If you are operating on a limited budget or have trouble finding enough worms do not worry about it. The red wiggler composting worm is a prolific little creature and in addition to being proficient in garbage disposal it is also proficient in producing more worms. The population will expand to meet the food supply provided.

What do I feed my worms? Your worm bin a a living breathing garbage disposal. Remember, one man's garbage is another worms feast. Food scraps such as fruit or vegetable peels, egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds will be rapidly consumed by your red wiggler composting worms. Meats, dairy products and oily foods are not recommended. When you feed them open the bedding a little and put your garbage in then recover it. This will control any odors that might be emitted from decaying food. Bedding is made from scraps of paper or cardboard that has been wetted down. Any office that employees a paper shredder is a good source for worm bedding.

Is there required maintenance? Red wiggler composting worms are surprisingly maintenance free. If you keep the worm to food ratio at the right level and bury the worm food you should not have any problems. Keep you bin temperature in the 40-80 degrees F level and the bedding fresh and wet. In two and a half to three months your compost should be ready to harvest. The easiest way to separate the worms from the bedding is to move the food source to the other side of the bin. The worms will crawl over in a week or so and you can remove the old bedding witch is now your compost.