Adventures in Worm Composting

It’s time to harvest! It has been a while since I’ve posted my progress in worm composting. Things have gotten busy in my life recently. I’ve been preparing to move to a new apartment. The worm composting goes on even if my worms have been largely ignored for the past week  as I packed my belongings. So take heart. Even if you can’t get to your worms on a regular feeding schedule, they will prevail.

Within 60 days or so your compost will have turned into dark brown earthy smelling compost that looks a bit like crumbled chocolate cake. It is now it’s time to harvest.

How do you do this? There is a lot of advice on the best methods for harvesting worm compost and I’ve experimented with a few. You will probably want to pick one that suits you best.

One method is to arrange a table covered with plastic under a 100-watt bulb so that the light is within 2 feet of the table. Heap the compost on the plastic in a cone-shaped mound. Any worms exposed to light will scurry to the center of the mound, letting you scoop away compost from the perimeter. Wait another 10 to 20 minutes and you can remove another layer of compost. Eventually, all the worms will have burrowed into a compact mass in the center of the pile. You can then move the worms back into the bin after lining it with new bedding.

I decided to try this method first and found it ok, but a bit time consuming. I worked at it for an hour or so one evening, got a decent amount of worm castings and then put the worms and remaining compost back in the bin. After all, it was getting late and I had work in the morning.

If the sight of wriggling worms in a pile turns you off, there are other methods you can choose. One way is to simply push the bedding and worms to one side and place fresh bedding and table scraps at one end of the bin. In a few weeks the worms will navigate over to that side and you can harvest compost from the deserted side of bin.

Compost or worm castings can go directly into the garden or house plants or used as mulch. I’ve already noticed a big difference with the plants in my garden. I have cucumber plants growing all over the place and my tomato plants look good.    

Here is a picture of my broccoli plants at an early growing stage looking very healthy. My garden looks great and it appears that my worm composting a success!

My job isn’t over however. I’m now turning my attention to the grounds around my new apartment, which could certainly benefit from some worm compost.

Adventures in Worm Composting

Help my Worms are Escaping!

I checked my worm bin recently and found that a few worms had started to crawl to the top of the compost bin. What was I doing wrong? Was my compost mixture too wet? Did the worms have enough air to breathe?

Here’s what I learned from the Worm Ladies of Charlestown website:

• The worms are adjusting to their new home.
• Keep the lid off and keep them in a bright area or under a light. ( worms do not like bright light)
• Make a pocket or two in the bedding and put some in food and cover up with bedding. Once the worms know where the food source is they will stay put.
• You can also place a piece of wet newspaper over the bedding after feeding them. They like to hang out under it.

In my research I also found that escaping worms are to be expected for the first few days as they get used to their surroundings. If this bothers you, you can keep your compost bin outside. Just remember, if you decide to do this, do not put holes in the cover of the bin, otherwise water will get in when it rains.

Pay attention to what food you feed them, some foods, such as banana skins and coffee grounds, work better than others. As I’ve mentioned in my previous article, putting citrus and onions in your worm bin may not always be a good idea. 

Plants from the onion family (including garlic and shallots) and citrus fruits contain volatile oils. If any of these are included in the food scraps, the worms will climb out of their bin to get away from the smell. 

Worms also don’t like to be moved around or jostled, so you should find a quiet dark place for them to live.

Why did I have a problem with escaping worms? I moved my worm bin out from underneath the kitchen sink to a place underneath a large table in my kitchen because I was eager to see what was going on. This is when they started to move.

I took the cover off the bin and placed it directly underneath the bright fluorescent light fixture in my kitchen. The worms quickly scurried back underneath. I loosened the bedding up a bit and put a few holes in the cover to maker sure they had enough air circulating.  I fed the worms, placed a few sheets of wet newspaper on top and moved the bin back underneath the sink.       

This seems to be working  and I have not noticed any more escaping worms. Things are moving along!

Next… harvesting

Adventures in Worm Composting

I was pleased to discover that, although I probably lost worms, I still had a few that survived my initial foray into the world of vermiculture. The worms also appeared to be reasonably healthy and well fed, but I decided that I probably needed a few more worms to insure that I ended up with enough worm castings for my gardening needs. I decided to order a pound of worms from The Worm Ladies of Charlestown. One pound of worms contains anywhere from 600 to 2,500 worms so that should be plenty.

I had my order delivered to me at work, since I don’t have a good place to receive packages at home. When the package arrived, I mentioned to a few of my coworkers what was inside. One person was somewhat horrified since, like many, she is squeamish about worms. However, being the generous person that she is, she offered to save me all her tea bags for my compost. I’m receiving leftover coffee grounds from another co worker as well. Not being a coffee drinker myself I don’t have a source for them at home so this offering was welcome. Worms apparently love coffee grounds

What Kind of food do Red Wigglers Eat?

Actually, the important question to answer first is what red wigglers DON’T eat! They don’t eat:

• Meat
• Plants sprayed with insecticides
• Animal bones
• Dairy products
• Poisonous plants
• Metals
• Plastics
• Bread
• Soap

They DO eat:

• Vegetable peelings and scraps
• Washed and crushed egg shells. (Please note that whole egg shells make great habitats for baby worms.)
• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags and tea leaves
• Leaves and stems from fruits
• Shredded newspaper (no color ink please!)
• Old lettuce
• Corn husks
• Cut up paper egg cartons
• Grass clippings
• Banana skins ( another worm favorite!)

Cutting up your kitchen scraps will make it easier for the worms to eat them, and will speed the composting process! Some people use a blender, but I would be careful as this may produce excess moisture in your bin.

When you add new scraps, you can bury them a little under the bedding. Add new scraps to a different area in the bin each time to keep the worms moving around and depositing castings throughout the worm farm. Do not overfeed, and once a week put your rubber gloves on, and turn the compost and food over, this allows air to penetrate, and keeps the worms happy.

Here are a few things they will eat but that you should keep in low quantities in the worm bin:

• Citrus peels
• onions
• Tomatoes

Apparently these things can throw off the pH of the soil and affect the worms. Some articles that I’ve read have even said that citrus fruits are toxic to worms so I choose not to add them to my compost. There are plenty of other food sources that can be fed to the worms.

I found this helpful advice on the web from an article by Joan D. Filsinger

 While I tried to maintain a regular feeding schedule when I started worm composting, I have since learned that red worms are very adaptable and will eat whatever is available, including bedding materials. With 2 pounds of worms, try starting out with about a cup of food scraps every other day. Observe how quickly they eat it up, and adjust your feeding routine accordingly. But don’t worry—they can survive for weeks at a time without any fresh scraps.

Pay attention to how your compost bin smells. Your compost bin should smell like freshly turned earth. The worm bed should never smell sour. Usually if the bed smells sour it’s too wet. Add calcium carbonate, crushed egg shells, dirt, sand, or more newspaper. A bad smell could also mean that there is too much food being added. Right now I am experimenting with how much to feed my worms. I have 1 pound of worms and ½ a cup every other day seems to be working fine.

Next… trouble shooting

Adventures in Worm Composting

 Preparing the worm bed

My first step was finding the proper container to use for worm composting. I learned that most people prefer wood because it breathes better and absorbs excess moisture which is hazardous to worms. However wood will eventually be eaten (ah those worms will eat almost anything it seems…more about that later) Just don’t use chemically-treated wood, which may be dangerous to worms or leach harmful chemicals into your compost.

1. Almost any type of container can be used for housing worms.  A medium sized worm box can process more than five pounds of food waste each week.

2. You may already have what you need to make a worm-bed.  Wood containers are best but not necessary. Find an old wooden crate, a sturdy wooden box, a plastic storage container with a top, even a wash basin or an old toilet bowl will do.  Whatever you use, your worm box should be shallow.  Red worms like to live near the surface where they can breathe. 

Since my worm composting bin will most likely be located in my apartment, my choice will be plastic over wood even though I’ve read that it cracks easily. I expect that it will last long enough to take me through the summer.

I ended up using a plastic bucket that I already had in my house for now, but may move on to a shallower bin. I cleaned it thoroughly and let it sit with hot water in it for a few hours. If you decide to use a plastic bucket, clean it thoroughly and let it sit for a day or so filled with clean water before using as a worm bin.

Next, your bin should be well-ventilated, with several 1/8 inch (3mm) holes 4 inches (100mm) from the bottom (otherwise the worms will stay at the bottom of the bin and you may drown your worms). I punched in the sides and bottom of my bucket and then learned that I only needed to put holes in the sides and maybe the top. If you do drill holes in the bottom as well as the sides, remember to put something underneath so that any excess water does not leak out onto your floor.

I filled the bottom of the bucket with wet (not too wet) shredded newspapers and crushed egg shells, put the worms in and covered them over with the remaining shredded newspaper. The bedding should be dampened until it reaches the consistency of a wet sponge. Also, if you decide to use shredded newspaper for your bedding, avoid using the pages with colored ink.

 The plastic bucket is now ¼ full of newspaper, and crushed eggs shells. I purchased peat moss from a local garden shop but plan to return it because I found that Miracle Grow plant food was added and it is more suitable for house plants. Don’t think this will be good for my worms. Well, back to the drawing board. I’m also planning to purchase some worm bedding, known as coir. Coir is made from compressed coconut husk and is a bargain at $3.00 if purchased from the Worm Ladies of Charlestown.

The worms have arrived!

I have received my can of worms from Kathie Gibson. She put them in a tin can covered with a sheet of wax paper.

I brought them home and placed them in the plastic bucket containing shredded newspapers and crushed egg shells. I put the bucket on the floor. Buttercup and Smokey, my two cats, curiously sniffed at the bucket, as if sensing that there was something alive in there. However, they quickly lost interest and went back to their supper dishes.

I felt almost like a new mother. Did I prepare everything adequately to insure their survival? During the night I kept resisting the urge to get up and check to see if my worms were still alive.

In the meantime, as instructed, I am waiting seven days before adding food to my new compost bin so that the worms can get acclimated to their new surroundings.

Stay tuned…