What is worm composting?

Worm composting is a simple method that harness worms to produce their own composts by consuming organic wastes. There are two kinds of red worms commonly used for composting -Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus.Once these worms are fed with left overs, they process it and produce composts. The composts are finally released by the worms through its tail. Composts are great fertilizers for all types of plants.

Materials for worm composting made easy for beginners

To properly build a worm composting bin, it is necessary to have complete materials such as container, bedding ,worms and food scraps. After completing all the materials, start to drill holes on the bottom of the plastic bin using a drill bit. Try to shred vegetables and paper that can act as bedding for the worms in the bin. You can also add coffee filters,raw fruit , grains, and vegetable scraps. Avoid feeding them with oily food, acidic fruits or dairy products because these are bad for worms. Moreover, these food also attract pests and create a bad smell. Orange rinds and citrus fruits can attract flies so they should not be part of the diet. The more variety of vegetables you add, the bigger the worms get. Nonetheless, do not give broccoli and onions because they emit bad smell. Simply follow the practical tips we gave to raise healthy worms and prevent composting bin problems.

The aforementioned guidelines on worm composting made easy are helpful for anyone who wants to recycle waste from their kitchen. Worms have been doing this stuff for thousands of years which is why they are valuable for the soil.If you use worm composts on your garden, you spare yourself from eating toxic residue coming from chemical fertilizers. Additionally, your plants would become healthier because the composts are filled with nutrients. If you try worm composting, then you do the planet a big favor.

Worm composting how to build sturdy worm bins

Worm bins can be bought from hardware and garden stores; however, they do cost a lot of money. Instead of buying, try to build using plastic containers with tight lids or even wood. There are many online sites that gives instructions on worm composting how to create bins. All you have to do is to furnish all the materials needed to begin constructing the bin. Once you have a built your own bin, then you can start buying wigglers.

Worm composting how to nourish worms

Try as much as possible to give worms a healthy diet by combining pasta, vegetables, fruits, even coffee and tea. Do not give dairy and animal products to the worms because type of food attracts flies and cause very foul odors. Peanut butter or orange rinds are examples of oily or acidic food that should not be fed to worms.

Worm composting how to harvest compost

More or less in 60 days, rich, black, earthy-smelling compost has been produced; thus,you can now gather the compost and use it for your plants. To be able to harvest the fresh compost, push the bedding and the worms to one side and then fill the other end with new beddings and food scraps. In as much as two weeks, the worms have already moved to the fresh food so it is more convenient to harvest the compost from the deserted side of the bin.

Finally, you have learned worm composting how to essentials which can help the planet.

Materials

Worm composting for kids requires some basic materials. Actually, the project requires a durable plastic container with a lid and a spacious bottom. Ideally, the plastic bin must have a volume of 10 gallons or more. It takes a short period to for worms to grow bigger since they consume food twice their weight.

The plastic container must have 1\4 inch holes to drain excess water so make some using a drill bit. Plastic is the most ideal bin since it is easy to clean and does not have sharp edges. Once the bin has been prepared, the children can start shredding newspapers and raw vegetables as bedding. The children can also include some tea bags, coffee grounds and eggshells.

Project Cycle

Worm composting for kids is a great way for children to witness the whole cycle of vermicomposting and shriek in delight as they handle worms. The whole cycle would be completed in three months starting from the day you made the bin to the day the composts are collected. The kids can keep track of the menu of worms and compare which food the worms consumed more. On top of this, the kids have to maintain a moist environment by spraying water everyday on the bin.

Friendly reminder

Worm composting for kids is a responsibility, be certain that the kids realize that taking care of worms can be a serious matter. Present to them the types of food that should be given to worms since not all leftover can be digested by worms. Write down the daily tasks such as feeding and spraying water. As soon as kids understand the value of worm composting, they would surely teach others the value of recycling.

The worm composting system emphasizes the value of the simple worms. Just think about how much fruits and vegetable peels are wasted daily. These peels have rich nutrients that worms would benefit from.This is one of the major advantages of a worm composting system over dump sites because waste is recycled to nourish the soil. The container is an important part of the whole worm composting system. Worm bins are made from materials like plastic,glass or wood. The surface area of a bin must be enough to hold many worms. The worms usually stay on the top surface of the soil. An efficient worm composting system has proper ventilation to allow air to circulate inside the bin. There must also be holes at the bottom to act as drainage system.The most suitable bedding materials are moist, shredded newspapers. If you know someone who has a paper shredder, ask for their waste products. Avoid providing your worms with harmful plastic,CDs, or any metals.

The worm composting system would be incomplete without the main feature- worms. These lowly worms have been working for ages converting waste materials into nutrient rich composts. Ideally, red worms are placed in a worm composting system since common ones in your garden could not thrive in a simulated environment like the bin.Remarkably, two pounds of garbage can be eaten by only a pound of worms. Just imagine how much waste can be recycled using a worm composting system. Worms eventually multiply fast so they can consume as much as you can give them. It takes time to harvest the composts but it is always worth it. Once the composts are collected, they can used immediately.If the composts would not be used immediately, they can be stored for a year. A worm composting system is one alternative to dump sites that emit toxic fumes, so do your part today.

Worm-a-way. This ready-made worm composting kit has very good features so kids can easily use it. The only tasks that must be done to use the kit are preparing the bedding, adding more soil, and placing the worms in the bin to start. The worm composting kit has a good ventilation system due to the vents and perforated pipes specially designed for this product. The composting kit includes a 100-page book titled Worms Eat My Garbage, ventilation tubes and different vents, assembly instructions and coupon for a pound of red worms. The book would enlighten young kids about the important role of worm composting.

Worm Factory 360. Worm composting kits are generally the same except for this one that can speed up the composting process. The faster rate of composting can be attributed to the special air flow design that improves ventilation.These worm composting kits can be placed indoor or outdoor which is a practical choice for anyone. It can also hold up to twelve thousand worms. In case you only have a small space in your home, worm composting is still a viable option using this kit. On top of that, the kit is odorless making it very suitable for places like the kitchen where food for worms are available. The kit comes with an instructional booklet, instructional video and built-in worm tea collector and spigot. It comes with a 20 year warranty on parts and workmanship.

Making your own worm composting kits is a good idea but that entails some time and knowledge to create a good environment for the worms. As compared to ready-made kits, the only tasks one must do are prepare the bed, place the worms and wait for harvest time.

Sources of red worm composting
Try to see a farmer who has a manure pile and gather some worms suited for red worm composting. You can also ask from some friends who do red worm composting. Buying from garden supply stores is also a good decision.

Ideal food volume for red worm composting
Mary Appelhof, an authority in worm composting, recommends a pound per day of food waste for every two pounds of worms as food volume. In case you start with just a few worms, decrease the amount of food until the population has increased.
The red worms diet can include the following: fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells, tea bags, paper and coffee grounds. Certain food waste like meats, dairy products, oily foods, and grains are not good for red worm composting because these attracts flies and emit foul odor. Never include broken glasses,plastic or foil inside the red worm composting bin. To avoid any stinky smell, the food scraps must be buried underneath a layer of bedding.

Ideal storage for red worm composting
Just remember that the bin must be kept off the ground using bricks, cinder blocks, or whatever is available to speed-up the composting process and make worms happy. Worms can really make a way to escape from the bin; however, as long as they are supplied with the right food and given moist bedding, they would stay put. Put some light so the worms won't move a lot and just hide. Spray water on the bedding every other day to keep it moist. Feeding your worms vegetable scraps at least once a week is good.

Red worm composting is a great way to help the environment. You help in reducing waste at the same time grow healthy plants too.

Never give dairy products or oily food to the worms.

Avoid feeding worms with something that is acidic such as orange rinds.

Keep the composting bin moist as much as possible. A very dry environment would surely kill the worms.

Maintain an ideal temperature for your worm bin. Never expose the worms to direct sunlight or cold. See to it that the temperature ranges from 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If the weather is extremely cold or hot, bring the worms indoor to protect them. A heating pad during winter season is a good measure to keep worms warm but keep it below 90 degrees unless you want to the worms to die.

Do not place fresh cow manure in the worm bin. This is a possible cause of worm composting problems since manure can raise heat levels in the bin. Also, there are pathogens in the manure that could kill the poor worms.

Some grass cuttings and leafy products like alfalfa can potentially heat up the bin so reduce use of such materials to avoid worm composting problems.

Make sure that you have properly chopped the food cuttings for the worms. Worms can easily grow bigger and multiply when fed with the right diet.

Prevent critters like centipede from inhabiting the bin since they kill worms. The bin in itself is an ecosystem so critters are part of that environment.

It is actually easy to avoid worm composting problems as long as you feed your worms well enough. Likewise, an environment that's not too cold or too hot would keep the worms happy. Just be guided by the advice given above and you would likely prevent worm composting problems.

Materials

Plastic bin with lid about 8" to 16" deep, with about 2 square feet of bottom

Worms( Red wrigglers)

Shredded cloth and paper

Drill with a 1/5" bit

Procedure:
1.Pick a bin 8" to 16" deep with about 2 square feet of bottom.

2. Create 10 to 20 1/5" holes in the top of the bin. This allows ventilation in the bin.
3. Shred paper and cloth to less than 1" strips. A paper shredder can be useful for newspaper. Do not place glossy paper and plastic for the bed. An adequate bedding can efficiently absorb excess moisture from the bin and neutralize too much nitrogen from the waste by providing carbon.

4. Keep the bed moist by spraying water on the bedding using a spray bottle. Worms often breathe using their skin so a dry bed can kill them.

5. Add the worms. Worm farmers can provide good red wigglers. Typical worms like night crawlers should not be used because they burrow deep in the ground that the bin does not provide.

6. Feed your worms. Bury your kitchen scraps under a couple inches of bedding to avoid inviting fruit flies. A pound of worms would surely decompose up to half a pound a day of kitchen food scraps and other organic wastes. Do not give meat nor dairy products to worms because they stink.

7. When everything seems crumbly and brown, your compost can be harvested.

8. Utilize compost for your garden, house plants, even street trees or give them as a gift to gardeners.

Truly, the worm composting bin is very easy to make. To prevent any worm composting bin problems, always make sure that the environment is not too cold or too hot for worms.

Materials required for a worm composting bin

Non-biodegradable plastic tub with lid (10-15 gallons)
Drill

A breathable material to line bottom of tub

Masking tape

Directions for building an indoor worm composting bin

1.Drill small holes about 4 inches. Then add two holes on each side of the bin near the lid.

2.Cut the wire mesh or breathable fabric and place inside the bottom of the tub. Tape it by the edges.

3.Produce a layer using the following materials:

a)Soil

b)Brown materials: coffee, leaves, etc.
c)Green Material: grass and shredded vegetables

How to care for an indoor worm composting bin

1.Green materials are kept buried.

2.Mix or turn the contents of the bin every two weeks.

3.Chop large vegetables in order to let them decompose quickly.

4.Apply the 3:2 rule; for every three parts of brown material, add two parts green material.

5.Lift bin over ground for some proper ventilation.

Remember to keep your indoor worm composting bin in a cool, dark place.Direct heat and even sunlight exposure can really cause worms to wither and die.It is also important to keep worms warm enough during the cold seasons as to not let them freeze to death. You can use a handy sprayer to keep the soil moist. If there is inadequate moisture in the bin, the worms can surely die from dryness. The wetness must somehow be similar to a wet sponge.If your indoor worm composting bin starts leaking, there's no need to worry to at all. Actually,It just means that your bin is due for a turning or you're spraying too much water. Placing a pan underneath the bin can serve as a catch basin. As a matter of fact, that enriched water is very good for plants in your garden. Truly, indoor worm composting benefits not only your plants but the whole environment as well.

*Rubbermaid worm composting bin This is probably the easiest to make among the worm composting bin plans because all you have to procure is a Rubbermaid and make some holes in it. It is highly recommended to get a Rubbermaid 10 gallon tote because it can house 2,000 worms. The Rubbermaid bin costs less than $10 which is a very inexpensive material. You would need two pieces of bins because the other one should act as drainage for the housing.Plus, it requires less effort to clean and maintain plastic materials which are also durable.

*Vermitopia worm bin
Vermitopia is a resource website that tackles issues on worm composting. This site shares worm composting bin plans such as the Vermitopia worm bin which was developed by one of the members.Their worm composting bin plans stand out from the rest since they advocate the use of recycled materials which are earth-friendly. Typically, these composts bins makes use of recycled 3/8 plywood which has been screwed to a 2 x 4 frame. The preferred type of wood materials are ones which have not been treated with chemicals. The bin has a surface area of 4 x 8 and stands 3.5 feet high. The special bin has several composting chambers that facilitate easy harvesting of composts. The bin can hold 32 pounds of worms which should be fed with 16 pounds of waste per day.

Worm composting bin plans are normally easy to follow as long as you have the right materials. Moreover, these worm composting bin plans have instructions that can also be modified in case you need a smaller or bigger house for the worms.
It does not matter whether plastic or wood is being used for worm composting bin plans, as long as you find ways to to manage waste the right way, that counts.