WORM FARMINg
Worm compost can be a cheap source of nutrients for many different agricultural and horticultural applications. It is also an easy way to of not just getting rid of food and paper waste, but converting it to good use at the same time.
I found the following methodology to create worm compost to be very useful (source). We will experiment with different types of bedding materials as well as food sources.
How You Do It
Buy or build a box with holes in the bottom. Fill the box with moistened bedding. Add the redworms. Pull aside some of the bedding, bury the food waste and cover it up with the bedding. Add one cup of soil or sand to provide grit for worms' digestive process.
What You Need
1. The Container
Buy or build a container or use an old dresser drawer, trunk or barrel. Wood containers are absorbent and good insulators for worms. Plastic containers do work but compost tends to get quite wet.
The container should be between 8-12 inches deep and provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food waste per week (e.g., 6 lbs of waste requires a bin 2 feet by 3 feet or 2 bins 1 foot by 3 feet).
Depending on the container's size, drill 8 to 12 holes (3/16- 1/4 ") in the bottom for aeration and drainage. A plastic bin may need more drainage - if contents get too wet, drill more holes. Raise the bin on bricks or wooden blocks for air circulation. Place a tray underneath to capture excess liquid, which can be used as liquid plant fertilizer.
Worms like a moist, dark environment. Their bodies are 75 to 90 per cent water and worms' body surfaces must be moist for them to breathe. Cover the bin to conserve moisture and provide darkness. Indoors, place a sheet of dark plastic or burlap sacking on top of the bedding. Outdoors, use a solid lid to keep out unwanted scavengers and rain.
Worm bins can be located in the basement, shed, garage, balcony or kitchen counter. They need to be kept out of the hot sun, heavy rain and cold. When temperatures drop below 40 degrees, bins should be indoors, heated or well-insulated. The container can be heated with an electric heating cable placed in the bottom third of the container. To insulate, surround the container with rigid Styrofoam.
2. The Worms
Redworms are best suited to worm composting. They are often found in aged manure, compost heaps, and piles of leaves. They are also known as red wiggler, brandling and manure worms. Their official names are Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus. Redworms are best suited for composting because they thrive on organic material, such as food waste. Dew-worms, on the other hand, are better suited to life in the soil and shouldn't be used in a worm bin.
You can get your worms from a compost bin, purchase them or find a horse stable or farmer with an aged manure pile.
For one pound per day of food waste, you'll need two pounds of worms (roughly 2,000). If you are unable to get this many worms at the start, reduce the amount of food waste until the population increases. And the population will increase. Redworms mature sexually in 60-90 days and can then produce cocoons which take 21 days to hatch baby worms. Once they start breeding they can deposit two to three cocoons per week with two baby worms in each cocoon. The limits on their reproduction include availability of food and room to move and breed. So worm populations don't usually exceed the size of the container.
I found the following methodology to create worm compost to be very useful (source). We will experiment with different types of bedding materials as well as food sources.
How You Do It
Buy or build a box with holes in the bottom. Fill the box with moistened bedding. Add the redworms. Pull aside some of the bedding, bury the food waste and cover it up with the bedding. Add one cup of soil or sand to provide grit for worms' digestive process.
What You Need
- a container (made of wood or plastic)
- worms (500-2,000 redworms)
- bedding (shredded newspaper, corrugated cardboard and/or leaves)
- food waste (fruit and vegetable waste)
1. The Container
Buy or build a container or use an old dresser drawer, trunk or barrel. Wood containers are absorbent and good insulators for worms. Plastic containers do work but compost tends to get quite wet.
The container should be between 8-12 inches deep and provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food waste per week (e.g., 6 lbs of waste requires a bin 2 feet by 3 feet or 2 bins 1 foot by 3 feet).
Depending on the container's size, drill 8 to 12 holes (3/16- 1/4 ") in the bottom for aeration and drainage. A plastic bin may need more drainage - if contents get too wet, drill more holes. Raise the bin on bricks or wooden blocks for air circulation. Place a tray underneath to capture excess liquid, which can be used as liquid plant fertilizer.
Worms like a moist, dark environment. Their bodies are 75 to 90 per cent water and worms' body surfaces must be moist for them to breathe. Cover the bin to conserve moisture and provide darkness. Indoors, place a sheet of dark plastic or burlap sacking on top of the bedding. Outdoors, use a solid lid to keep out unwanted scavengers and rain.
Worm bins can be located in the basement, shed, garage, balcony or kitchen counter. They need to be kept out of the hot sun, heavy rain and cold. When temperatures drop below 40 degrees, bins should be indoors, heated or well-insulated. The container can be heated with an electric heating cable placed in the bottom third of the container. To insulate, surround the container with rigid Styrofoam.
2. The Worms
Redworms are best suited to worm composting. They are often found in aged manure, compost heaps, and piles of leaves. They are also known as red wiggler, brandling and manure worms. Their official names are Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus. Redworms are best suited for composting because they thrive on organic material, such as food waste. Dew-worms, on the other hand, are better suited to life in the soil and shouldn't be used in a worm bin.
You can get your worms from a compost bin, purchase them or find a horse stable or farmer with an aged manure pile.
For one pound per day of food waste, you'll need two pounds of worms (roughly 2,000). If you are unable to get this many worms at the start, reduce the amount of food waste until the population increases. And the population will increase. Redworms mature sexually in 60-90 days and can then produce cocoons which take 21 days to hatch baby worms. Once they start breeding they can deposit two to three cocoons per week with two baby worms in each cocoon. The limits on their reproduction include availability of food and room to move and breed. So worm populations don't usually exceed the size of the container.
3. The Bedding
Provide damp bedding. Suitable bedding material includes shredded newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped-up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, dried grass clippings, aged manure and peat moss. Peat moss is quite acidic and should be well soaked and combined with other bedding material. Vary the bedding in the bin to provide more nutrients for the worms and to create a richer compost. Two handfuls of sand or soil will provide the necessary grit for worms' digestion of food.
Fill the bin with a mixture of damp bedding so the overall moisture level is like a "wrung-out sponge." Lift the bedding gently to create air spaces. This maintains aerobic activity, helps control odors and gives the worms freer movement.
4. The Food Waste
Your worms will eat food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. To avoid potential rodent problems do not compost meats, dairy products, oily foods or grains. No glass, plastic or tin foil. Pull aside the bedding, bury the food waste deep and then cover it up with the bedding again. Divide the bin into three or four imaginary sections (larger bin, more sections) and bury successive loads in different locations in the bin. Keeping a chart of burial sites can be helpful. Weekly food waste will help determine the size of bin and number of worms you'll need. Collect food waste in a container and weigh it. Do this for two weeks to get an estimate of average food waste. Your bin should provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food waste per week. And you will need two pounds of worms for every pound of food waste per day.
Provide damp bedding. Suitable bedding material includes shredded newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped-up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, dried grass clippings, aged manure and peat moss. Peat moss is quite acidic and should be well soaked and combined with other bedding material. Vary the bedding in the bin to provide more nutrients for the worms and to create a richer compost. Two handfuls of sand or soil will provide the necessary grit for worms' digestion of food.
Fill the bin with a mixture of damp bedding so the overall moisture level is like a "wrung-out sponge." Lift the bedding gently to create air spaces. This maintains aerobic activity, helps control odors and gives the worms freer movement.
4. The Food Waste
Your worms will eat food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. To avoid potential rodent problems do not compost meats, dairy products, oily foods or grains. No glass, plastic or tin foil. Pull aside the bedding, bury the food waste deep and then cover it up with the bedding again. Divide the bin into three or four imaginary sections (larger bin, more sections) and bury successive loads in different locations in the bin. Keeping a chart of burial sites can be helpful. Weekly food waste will help determine the size of bin and number of worms you'll need. Collect food waste in a container and weigh it. Do this for two weeks to get an estimate of average food waste. Your bin should provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food waste per week. And you will need two pounds of worms for every pound of food waste per day.