Worm Castings

Vermicomposting, otherwise known as worm composting, turns your table scraps into a continuous supply of earthy-smelling, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer you can use to feed your vegetables.

Setting up a worm farm is easy, all you need is a suitable container, some bedding material, (which is usually torn up newspaper and cardboard) and some worms. The container can be anything that will allow for aeration but yet hold in some moisture. Use can use a small container such as a shoebox size Tupperware or a larger storage bin. More complex worm houses can be built using a tier system whereas new bedding and food are placed above the inhabited layer. Over a period of a few months, the worms will migrate upward thru holes drilled on the bottom to the new layer allowing you to harvest the castings from the old layer below. When the new bin becomes brown and is ready to be harvested, the bottom bin can then be moved to become the new top bin.

Along with the newspaper bedding material, you should add some kind of gritty material – a little soil, sand, cornstarch, aged saw dust or ground up egg shells. Worms do not have teeth so they use the grit to grind up the bedding and food scraps to help digestion. Place your worm bin in a place where the temp range is between 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Red worms generally prefer temps in the 55 to 77 level range. Feed them about once a week with chopped vegetable scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds. Avoid meats and dairy as those products could smell and attract pests. Try not to overfeed your worms, overfeeding will also cause your bin to smell.

The best worms to use for vermicompost are the Red Worm or Red Wiggler (Eisenia foetida). One pound of worms will consume about 1/2 pound of food each day. Your worm population will increase quickly, but don’t worry, they will not overpopulate your worm bin.

Worm castings, worm poop, black gold or whatever you wish to call it, is an extremely rich, nutrient-packed plant food that your vegetables will love.