They are not remotely cuddly and will not ever come when you call. You should not go on about them at dinner parties or carry around their photographs. Still, they are quiet and industrious, leaving butter left out on the table, socks and other tasty items
intact. They only require a tiny plot of “land” and compostable kitchen scraps.
Have you solved this riddle?
All right then, a final clue: vermaculture.
hint: not the bird.
Vermaculture is the process of using worms to help you compost. Other than strolling outside and rooting beneath leaves and rocks to find our staunch local population, red worms (eisenia fetida) are the most commercially available worms to use in your vermaculture system. They can eat nearly half their weight in food a day and their castings (the more scientific name for worm poop) have an amazingly high nutritional value for your plants. Good things to put in your worm bin are vegetable or fruit scraps, stale bread, coffee grounds & filters, crushed egg shells, tea bags and other organic waste. Avoid dairy products, oil or meat products.
Keep it sweet! A worm bin should smell like rich wet dirt and if it smells rancid that’s an indicator that there’s a problem in your system. (usually too much moisture or too much food)
Mid-winter is a good time to begin your mini-farm of sorts, employing the same closed circle many real organic farms enjoy.
Animals graze . fertilize soil . feeds plants . repeat!
Even apartment dwellers may amuse themselves by lording it over their own small compostville.
best off
it’s quite simple really.
a small working mulch farm in the corner of this dudes apartment kitchen.
To Make it:
* 10 gallon opaque plastic box with lid. A short, wide container is best because earthworms really only do their thing in the top few inches of dirt.
* A drill or other piercing device to punch small holes
* Old paper products like newspaper for bedding (non glossy/ no color, dyes contain chemicals harmful to worms)
* Water * Dirt * Food scraps
* A tray to put under your worm bin
* a herd of worms found or purchase
A pound costs about $30. Some sites are:
unclejimswormfarm.com
redwormsforsale.com
Use a 1/16th inch drill bit to punch holes in top/sides & bottom of your container about 1 inch apart for good ventilation. The tray under your bin will protect your floor. (Plus excess water will drain rather than drown your worms!)
Rip paper into 1 inch strips/ mist with water/ squeeze out excess & fluff up.
On top of this layer add a handful of dirt. This will help the worms digest their food. Now add your worms and a good amount of food scraps on top of them. Keep in mind that too much food is just as bad for your worm bin as too little so it’s advantageous to do some math to figure out how much you should actually add. If you’re starting with 1/2 lb of worms and they can eat half their body weight in a day, then you should only add 1/4 lb of scraps a day to your worm bin, or about 1 1/2 lb a week.
After adding the food add a layer of dry shredded newspaper on top. This will help keep fruit flies out of your worm bin (though if they end up inside it’s not harmful, only annoying) Put the lid on your bin and place where the temperature will stay between 55-77 degrees, out of direct sunlight, and where you will
remember to toss your kitchen waste into it. Keep feeding your worms every few days and if things look too dry, spray it with a bit of water. Don’t stir things around too much because this may trigger bacterial processes that will make the bin heat up and you will end up with cooked worms. When you’re ready to harvest simply push everything in the bin over to one side, add a new layer of damp bedding, and only put food on the new side. In a month or two the worms will have eaten everything from the old side and will have moved on to the new leaving you with (almost) worm free castings. You can look forward to adding this “black gold” to your garden beds this spring.
yummy rich mulch for your pleasure:)
