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Worm Composting Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office ofUrban Agriculture Composting With Red Wiggler Worms  City of Vancouver - City Farmer Wormshop See these links first. City Farmer's Step-By-Step Photo Guide to WormComposting CityFarmer's Comix: How to Worm Compost See Metro Vancouver's Worm Composting brochure. Read Mary Applehof's short book, Worms Eat My Garbage, listedbelow, for a more complete understanding of worm composting. Mary passedaway a few years ago but her website is still active and lists all herbooks. See her website here. Basic Guide to Worm CompostingBy Gillian Elcock and Josie Martens(C) Copyright: City Farmer 1995 Why Compost?Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us toreturn badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, weparticipate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going intoburgeoning landfills. Why Compost With Worms? Worm composting is a method forrecycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner.The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoorsand outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also providesapartment dwellers with a means of composting. In a nutshell, wormcompost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding andredworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms andmicro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into richcompost. The following information is based on the experiences of a network ofworm composters linked to City Farmer, Vancouver, and the excellent andpractical book: Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof. To buy directly on-line follow thislink: Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set up & Maintaina Worm Composting System This brief introduction to worm composting is only a basic guide, andwhile we have tried to include all the necessary information to get youand your worms started, we recommend that you also read the book - it isfull of useful and fascinating details about this process. You can alsomake a visit to one of the Compost Demonstration Gardens in the GreaterVancouver to see worm compost bins actively working, and talk toexperienced staff. Call the Compost Hotline, (604) 736-2250. What Do I Need To Get Started?A. CONTAINERWe use wood and plastic containers. Either build or buy, or use yourimagination and recycle something like an old dresser drawer, trunk, ordiscarded barrel. We prefer wood because it is more absorbent and abetter insulator for the worms. We use plastic containers but find thatthe compost tends to get quite wet. Experiment and find out what worksfor you and your worms. Guide To Size Of ContainerIn Worms Eat My Garbage, Mary Appelhof suggests weighing yourhousehold food waste for one week (in pounds), and then provide onesquare foot of surface area per pound. The container depth should bebetween eight and twelve inches. Options to one large (and heavy) boxare a number of smaller containers for easier lifting and moving andmore choice of location. The book illustrates a variety of containers. Depending on the size of the container, drill 8 to 12 holes (1/4 -l/2 inches) in the bottom for aeration and drainage. A plastic bin mayneed more drainage - if contents get too wet, drill more holes. Raisethe bin on bricks or wooden blocks, and place a tray underneath tocapture excess liquid which can be used as liquid plant fertilizer. The bin needs a cover to conserve moisture and provide darkness for theworms. If the bin is indoors, a sheet of dark plastic or burlap sackingplaced loosely on top of the bedding is sufficient as a cover. Foroutdoor bins, a solid lid is preferable, to keep out unwanted scavengersand rain. Like us, worms need air to live, so be sure to have your binsufficiently ventilated. B. BEDDINGIt is necessary to provide a damp bedding for the worms to live in, andto bury food waste in. Suitable bedding materials are shredded newspaper and cardboard,shredded fall leaves, chopped up straw and other dead plants, seaweed,sawdust, compost and aged manure. Try to vary the bedding in the bin asmuch as possible, to provide more nutrients for the worms, and to createa richer compost. Add a couple of handfuls of sand or soil to providenecessary grit for the worm's digestion of food. It is very important to moisten the dry bedding materials before puttingthem in the bin, so that the overall moisture level is like a wrung-outsponge. The bin should be about three-quarters full of moistenedbedding. Lift the bedding gently to create air spaces which help tocontrol odours, and give freer movement to the worms. C. WORMSThe two types of earthworm best suited to worm composting are theredworms: Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler,brandling, or manure worm) and Lumbricus rubellus They are oftenfound in aged manure and compost heaps. Please do not use dew-worms(large size worms found in soil and compost) as they are not likely tosurvive. Where To Get Your Worms?If you feel adventurous, find a horse stable or farmer with a manurepile and collect a bagful of manure with worms. Check your own or afriend's compost bin for worms. You can also purchase worms. Call theCompost Hotline for more details on local (British Columbia) sources ofredworms. How Many Worms Do I Need?Mary Appelhof suggests that the correct ratio of worms to food wasteshould be: for one pound per day of food waste, use two pounds of worms(roughly 2000). If you are unable to get this many worms to start with,reduce the amount of food waste accordingly while the populationsteadily increases. What Do I Feed My Worms?You can compost food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels,pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. It is advisable notto compost meats, dairy products, oily foods, and grains because ofproblems with smells, flies, and rodents. No glass. plastic or tin foil,please. To avoid fly and smell problems, always bury the food waste bypulling aside some of the bedding, dumping the waste, and then cover itup with the bedding again. Bury successive loads in different locationsin the bin. Where Should I Locate My Worm Bin?Worm bins can be used indoors all year round, and outdoors during themilder months. The advantage of mobile bins is that they can be movedwhen weather conditions change. Indoors, basements are excellentlocations (warm, dark and dry), but any spare space can be utilized, solong as temperatures are between 40-80 degrees F. We know dedicated wormcomposters who have convenient kitchen counter worm bins. Outdoors, binscan be kept in sheds and garages, on patios and balconies, or in theyard. They should be kept out of hot sun and heavy rain. If temperaturesdrop below 40 degrees F., bins should either be moved indoors, or wellinsulated outdoors. How Do I Maintain My Bin?If you have the correct ratio of surface area to worms to food scraps,there is little to do, other than adding food, until about two and ahalf months have passed. By then, there should be little or no originalbedding visible in the bin, and the contents will be brown and earthylooking worm castings. The contents will have substantially decreased inbulk too. It is important to separate the worms from the finished compost,otherwise the worms will begin to die. There are several ways to dothis. and you can discover which is best for you. The quickest is tosimply move the finished compost over to one side of the bin, place newbedding in the space created, and put food waste in the new bedding. Theworms will gradually move over and the finished compost can be skimmedoff as needed. If you have the time or want to use all the compost, you can dumpthe entire contents of the bin onto a large plastic sheet and separatethe worms manually. Most children love to help with this process and youcan turn it into a fun lesson about worms for them. Watch out for thetiny. lemon-shaped worm cocoons which contain between two and twentybaby worms! By separating the worms from the compost, you save moreworms for your next bin. Mix a little of the finished compost in withthe new bedding of the next bin, and store the rest in plastic bags foruse as required. Where Do I Use My Compost? The compost can be mixed with potting soil and used for houseplants andpatio containers. It is an excellent mulch (spread in a layer on top ofthe soil) for potted plants. If it is screened, it can be added forpotting mixes for seedlings, and finely sprinkled on a lawn as aconditioner. lt can be used directly in the garden, either dug into thesoil or used as a mulch. Common Problems And SolutionsThe most common problem is unpleasant, strong odours which are caused bylack of oxygen in the compost due to overloading with food waste so thatthe food sits around too long, and the bin contents become too wet. Thesolution is to stop adding food waste until the worms andmicro-organisms have broken down what food is in there, and to gentlystir up the entire contents to allow more air in. Check the drainageholes to make sure they are not blocked. Drill more holes if necessary.Worms will drown if their surroundings become too wet. Worms have been known to crawl out of the bedding and onto the sidesand lid if conditions are wrong for them. If the moisture level seemsalright, the bedding may be too acidic. This can happen if you add a lotof citrus peels and other acidic foods. Adjust by adding a little gardenlime and cutting down on acidic wastes. Fruit flies can be an occasional nuisance. Discourage them by alwaysburying the food waste and not overloading. Keep a plastic sheet orpiece of old carpet or sacking on the surface of the compost in the bin.If flies are still persistent, move the bin to a location where flieswill not be bothersome. A few friendly spiders nearby will help controlfly problems! The Final WordTaking worms out of their natural environment and placing them incontainers creates a human responsibility. They are living creatureswith their own unique needs, so it is important to create and maintain ahealthy habitat for them to do their work. If you supply the rightingredients and care, your worms will thrive and make compost for you.Happy and successful composting! Worm Book - The CompleteGuide to Gardening and Composting with Worms"Worms are the latest (as well as, of course, perhaps the oldest!) trendin earth-friendly gardening, and in this handy guide, the authors ofDEAD SNAILS LEAVE NO TRAILS demystify the world of worm wrangling, witheverything you need to know to build your own worm bin, make your gardenworm-friendly, pamper your soil, and much much more." http://www.vermicoast.com/ "Shelley Grossman and Toby Weitzel, Master Composters inCarlsbad, California, have produced a book and video, linkingvermicomposting with an emphasis upon recycling. The book, RecycleWith Earthworms: the Red Wiggler Connection, discusses earthwormbiology as well as construction and maintenance of worm bins. And frombeginning to end the concern for waste reduction is evident." The Earth Moved: On theRemarkable Achievements of Earthworms "In thetradition of the bestselling The Botany of Desire comes thisfascinating exploration of the underground world and one of its mostamazing denizens. The earthworm may be small, spineless, and blind, butits role in the ecosystem is profound. It tills the soil, destroysmicroscopic organisms that cause plant disease, breaks down toxins, andturns the ground into rich compost, creating the most fertile areas onearth." The publication "Best Practice Guideline to Managing On-siteVermiculture Technologies" is freely available on-line from www.recycledorganics.com This "how to"guideline is based on applied research and development rather thanregurgitated myth, has been produced with regard to the real worldrealities of on-site and commercial scale vermiculture operations, andhas been reviewed by commercial vermiculture practitioners. Cityworm "Picture yourself afterdinner. It has been a hard demanding day in the City. But now you candescend into the dark...touching the rich, dark vermicompost, releasingthe memory-filled odor of damp earth---taking you into forests and theprehistoric past." WormWoman.com WormSources Books For WormEnthusiasts New Worm BinHarvest MethodUrban HomeComposting ChristmasWorms "There were worms in the carpet,worms on the chairs, worms in the hallway, worms on thestairs." TheBurrow The WormDigest is an excellent publication for the wormenthusiast. DiscussionForum City Farmer's Urban AgricultureDiscussion Forum Search OurSite  Return to Contents' PageRevised February 10, 2009Published by CityFarmer Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture cityfarm@interchange.ubc.ca |
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