Worm Composting!

Remember to compost!
                                                           Vermiculture!


Go Green!
 Make your own fertilizer!

          The good stuff is here at last. Some people think yuck when talking about worms. Them slimy little creatures that live in the dirt. They produce black gold or as it's called,  worm castings. To a gardener or farmer it's a godsend, and totally natural. For the small gardener in the city it can even be done inside the house. Inside the house you say. Yep.
          It's really a simple process, worms are natures little helper in that they eat raw materials and and process it in their gizzards. The result is one of the best fertilizers on Gods planet. Want a healthy lawn, field, or garden? Then lets make a compost bin for worm castings.

Drilling the Holes!

          We use rectangular Rubbermaid containers, but any container with a lid will do. Some people make them out of wood. You can be as elaborate or as innovative as need be. You'll need 2 containers that fit inside each other. Dark, solid colored, blue or black. The bottom one will be left original. So lets work on the top one. This one when finished will sit inside the bottom one. Using 1 /4 inch drill bit, drill about 6 holes in the bottom. Next drill several holes 1/8 inch around the sides to aerate the bedding and the additive. You can put screening on these if you want. Put a couple of bricks or a couple pieces of a 4x4 in the bottom of the original container and place the one with the holes inside it. There you are, now lets fill it.
          For the bedding, first put down a 2 inch layer of Spagham Peat moss. We only do this on the first container, for future containers we add a little of the first container.  The we use a mix of shredded newspaper, (I run it through my office shredder), small pieces of cardboard, and a couple hand fulls of leaves. Fill to about 4 inches thick. Sprinkle with water. Should be moist, not wet. Also add a handfull or 2 of dirt. This helps the worms digest their food.
          You're now ready for the worms. The good thing is, the worms don't have to cost anything, if you don't want them to. Dig some up, look under fallen limbs and tree trunks. They also sell red worms at Walmart. Check the fishing dept. Worms mutiply fast, so unless you are in a hurry, you don't have to have many to start.


The Finished Bin Setup!

          Place some table scraps in the mix and hide it under the bedding. Everytime you add more scraps bury them in a different section of the bin. Only put in enough scraps as your worms are composting in a resonable time period. Feed your worms slowly at first. After burying your scraps cut out a piece of card board the size of the inside of the container, and place this over the mixture. This will help with any fruit flies.
          Go ahead and place the first bin inside the second bin. As your compost drains off any excess water the second bin claims it. This is called compost tea, and is a great fertilizer. I use it in the vegatble garden and to feed any plants that need it. When the top bin is full, just make another bin. Install new bedding in it and and bury some scraps the same way we did it the first time. Place it directly on the top, of the top one now. Within 2 weeks to a month or so, most of the worms will have crawled thru the holes and moved up to the new bin. Take the middle bin and remove any worms left that did'nt make the trip to the new bin, and add them to the new bin yourself. You may want to get rid of some worms at this time, the garden, the lawn, around the shrubs, or you can use them to start another new worm bin. Use this compost any where you need it, to amend the soil, and provide fertilzer.


The Final Product!

          A lot of people have there worm bins indoors, in their houses, or Apartments. Basements and garages are a great place. I have mine out back of the garage, in the shade where the sun never shines.
Well, thats about it folks. Remember for maxium effiency, 1 lb of worms per 1 square foot of surface area in the bin. One lb of worms is able to compost 1/2 lb of food per day. Good luck and Good Vermiculture.

                       What worms eat:

These in:                                    These not in:
Fruit & Vegatable scraps                    Meat & Dairy
Coffee Grounds & tea bags                Citrus Rinds (a few is ok)
Egg Shells                                                  Oils and greases
Nut shells & hulls                                   Animal by products or pet dropping
Bread & crackers                                   Onions (a few is ok)
   
                                                  Good Luck and Good Composting!