The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out...

The other day I was thinking about how those of us who garden do something for the greater good every time we put a plant into the ground. Plants not only provide food and shelter for every living thing, they improve our air quality, and beautify our living space. My love for gardening was passed down from my grandmother, and I am, hopefully, passing that on to my little girl. It is important for us as adults to act as ambassadors of gardening to future generations. Nothing in the world will make your child want to learn more about gardening than a worm bin; even if it is for the eww factor alone, they will love it! 

Vermiculture, otherwise known as worm composting, allows you to rapidly compost your family's food waste. Worm bins provide high quality compost, are self-contained, and odorless.

Worms prefer the temperature to be between 50-80 degrees F. So, if you live in the North like I do, your worm bin will need to be stored inside until mid-Spring.

How To Build A Worm Bin

**Many people prefer to build wooden worm bins, which is acceptable if you have the space for it. Just be sure that you do not use treated wood.

stackable bins

Container    

• 2 rubber bins-not clear in color--worms do not like the light--clean your bin thoroughly and then fill with clean water and let stand for at least one day

• Drill out 10-20 1/8 inch holes on the lid, 10-20 (total) on the sides, and 4-8 in the bottom of the bin that you will be using for the worms (top bin in the picture). This will be your aerated worm bin.

• Place supports in the bottom bin. Styrofoam works fine. You just need to be able to keep the top bin from settling into the bottom bin. This will be your drainage reservoir. 

• Place the aerated bin inside the reservoir bin.

Fill

Now you need to fill the top bin with shredded cardboard and newspaper. Just put in a nice thick layer and cover with a thin layer of dirt. Next, add a layer of food waste. Then, sprinkle down with water until the top layer of the bedding is thoroughly moistened. Add one more layer of bedding and moisten thoroughly.

Now, you may be ready to add the worms, and you can, but it is really more beneficial to let the bin sit and rot for a couple weeks before adding the worms. You will need to purchase composting worms, which you can find online; you cannot use the worms from your yard. 

If your bin will be outside, you need to make sure that the worms stay contained within the bin. Composting worms are a non-native species and can decimate hardwood forests. Keeping them fed and properly moist will help prevent them from trying to escape.

Food Scraps

The best food scraps for your worm bin are:

• fruits and vegetables
• tea bags
• coffee grounds
• eggshells

Use citrus, onion, spicy and starchy food scraps in moderation. 

DO NOT USE meats, oily foods, and dairy scraps...A small amount of salad dressing on some lettuce that you're throwing into the bin is fine.

 

The smaller the food particles, the faster the worms will turn it into compost.

Maintenance

Water every other day and add food scraps at least once a week. Add more bedding as needed. 

Do not remove any other creepy-crawlies that you may find in your bin, except centipedes. Your worm bin is an ecosystem and all those creepy-crawlies are helpers. Centipedes, on the other hand, are massive carnivores and will eat up all your worms.

Harvesting

The easiest way to harvest is to put on rubber gloves, move any uncomposted materials aside, pull out a clump of compost, and sit it on some plastic. Scrape the compost off in layers, allowing the worms time to move towards the center of the clump. Replace the bedding, then replace the worms.

This is such an easy project that presents numerous opportunities to teach children about ecosystems and the environment, as well as fostering a life-long love of gardening.