Let Worms Do Your Dirty Work:
Learn How to Compost with Worms!
Vea esta artículo en español
by Ileana Rodriguez
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Kids at the Proyecto Futuros Verdes in
Xela, Guatemala learn how to set up a worm bin to turn their food waste into organic fertilizer.
Photo by AIDG on Flickr
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Gardening season is upon us, and all of us at Toxic Free NC are making plans for our own home gardens.
We’re especially excited about experimenting with vermicomposting, or using worms to turn organic waste into a nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Vermicomposting couldn’t be easier, and we want to give you some instructions for setting up your own worm bin.
In case you’re wondering why you should invite a bunch of wiggly worms into your home, here are few reasons why composting with worms is good for you and your garden:
- When you feed worms your kitchen scraps, they digest it and turn it into free organic fertilizer for your garden.
- Setting up a worm bin is easy, inexpensive and requires very little space.
- Composting reduces the amount of garbage you send to the landfill.
- It’s fun!
Now that we’ve convinced you that vermicomposting is easy and beneficial, let’s show you how to put together your worm bin:
- Find a wooden or plastic bin with a lid. The general rule of thumb is that you need one square foot of surface area for each pound of kitchen scraps generated per week.
- Drill holes in your bin so that air can circulate.
- Add bedding for your worms. Shredded newspaper, paper bags or leaves will work best. Don’t use coated cardboard (like cereal boxes) or glossy paper (like magazines).
- Keep your bedding moist. The worms like it best when it’s about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. And keep a lid on it! Worms work best in the dark.
- Add your worms! Use red worms or “wrigglers” because they’re used to living in the kind of environment a worm bin provides.
- Feed your worms. One pound of worms will eat about 4 pounds of food scraps per week. Feed them the kinds of things you’d normally compost – veggie and fruit scraps, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, etc. Just keep away from dairy and meat products because they can make your worm bin stinky.
- Find a home for your worms. Keep your bin inside or outside, just make sure it stays between 55 and 77 degrees.
- Harvest your compost. After a few weeks, you’ll start to see worm castings, and after a few
months you’ll have enough to harvest your first batch of vermicompost!
We just set up our own worm bin at the office and we're looking forward to having our worms do the dirty work of taking care of our food scraps. If you’d like additional tips for setting up your own worm bin, send us an email or visit:
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