Astro Findings

Composting With Worms

Go Green with Composting!

Composting is a great way to Go Green. By composting, you recycle yard and kitchen wastes, which reduces the volume of garbage that would otherwise end up in landfills. And it’s easy to learn and use.

The concept is simple: set up your bin(s), throw in your compost materials, and let the microbes and/or worms work their magic.

Plant remains and other once-living materials slowly decompose to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that makes for the best fertilizer possible for your plants and garden!

For those living in apartments and condos, you can compost too. Set up a vermicomposting bin (worm farm) indoors. When done properly, it does not emit any smell or attract insects.

Follow these steps to set up your own worm farm:

1. Get a plastic bin or polystyrene box with a lid on top
puncture holes on the bottom to allow the liquid (worm wee) to drain

2. Use a second lid or box to collect the liquid

3. In the top bin, add a thick layer of bedding (shredded newspaper is best, with hay and/or leaves) and soak with water

4. Get some compost worms (Reds, Tigers or Blue) at a garden store or online

5. Add some soil to help the worms get started
let the worms settle for a few days as you start to collect food scraps

6. Add food in one corner of the bin, rotating through different corners each week

Red wiggler worms
What to feed the worms?

Worms can eat a variety of organic material. As they do not have teeth, it is best to cut up the compost materials into small pieces.

Worms like fruits and vegetables (except onions & citrus fruits), crushed egg shells, coffee grinds, tea bags, leaves, plant clippings, and grass.

Tips

Be careful to avoid overfeeding your worms. For a medium sized bin, 1 liter per week works well. By the time you rotate through the 4 corners, the food in the first corner should be pretty much decomposed.

Make sure to keep adding bedding to your compose bin on a fairly regular basis and that it is kept damp by regularly spraying with water.

Collect the worm wee in the bottom box or lid (a turkey baster works well for this). Add small amount to watering can when you water your plants – they will absolutely love it!

Collect the vermicast (the soil-like substance the worms create) from the bedding using a gardening trowel or your hands. The worms should wriggle away because of the light. Use vermicast as a fertilizer that you can sprinkle around your plants. Again, they will absolutely love it!

It is best to use composting worms rather then earth worms as they will breakdown the food quicker.

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Tags: Composting
Posted in Composting · March 14th, 2010 · Comments (0)