Getting to know the worms

This is an introduction to the worms used in composting…

Eisenia foetida: The Red Wiggler worm. (A.K.A.: Tiger Worm, Redworm, Brandling Worm)

This kind of worm is especially adapted to living in a decaying environment, especially ones such as rotting vegetables, manure and actual compost, which makes it a very good choice for vermicomposting. It does not burrow into soil, and is found in habitats where other worms will have a very difficult time surviving, therefore lessening the competition for food and space for Red Wrigglers. When it is threatened, it releases a disgusting-smelling liquid, most probably as a chemical self-defense.

Lumbricus rubellus: The Red Earthworm

You can tell that a worm is Lumbricus rubellus if it has an iridescent red sheen on its back, and a pale yellow one  on its belly. Unlike Red Wigglers, they can burrow into soil sometimes, and are found in dark, moist areas with more or less acidically neutral soil.

Now that you’ve achieved a heightened understanding of the worms, go ahead and use this knowledge to take better care of them.

Good luck!

Vermiculture and Compost

Think worms are useless?

Earthworms help solve urban waste problem

By Prosy B. Montesines
Inquirer
First Posted 03:39:00 06/25/2007

The Ten Commandments of Vermiculture:

These Ten Commandments (or Tenets) of Vermiculture will show you the basic things you need to do/should not do with your vermicompost.

I. Thou shalt keep thy worms on dark, moist and cool locations.

II. Thou shalt create 8-12 holes underneath thy bin.

III. Thou shalt not feed thy worms with meat, pesticides, and other synthetic materials.

IV. Thou shalt not put non-biodegradable material in thy vermicompost.

V.  Thou shalt not put thy organic material on top of thy vermicompost.

VI. Thou shalt not keep thy vermicompost wet.

VII. Thou shalt not introduce thy other organisms in thy vermicompost.

VIII. Thou shalt not treat earthworms as cockroaches.

IX. Thou shalt not divide thy worms by brute force to have them multiply.

X. Thou shalt keep thy worms with tender, love and care everyday.

Vermiculture set-up

Do you want to start composting, but are worried that it is a lot of work and expense? Composting is like most things in life, you can make it as easy as you want, or you can really go to town and with a little extra effort be making compost faster than you can use it. So let’s get started.

What do you need to start Composting?

1) Material for your Compost Pile

What can you put in a compost pile?

- Kitchen waste (vegetables and fruits, coffee grounds,etc.)
- Yard Waste (grass clippings, leaves, trimmings)
- Garden Waste
- Borrowed waste like neighbor’s leaves and grass clippings
- Other sources of free compost material

As important, consider what NOT to put in. These just draw pests, and don’t compost that well
- Meat
- Grease, fats
- Dairy products
- Animal feces

2) A place to put the compost pile

Some typical places people use for composting
- A simple pile, usually near the garden to simplify the task of putting waste in the pile
- A trench, more out of site, conserves moisture well in arid climates
- A simple bin (this can be built from wood, old packing crates, or concrete blocks) or something more durable like cedar
- A Commercial composting bin, plastic or metal which can be more durable
- A Compost Tumbler if you want fast compost but don’t want a lot of effort

3) A basic compost recipe

If you are into numbers, a pile built with a carbon to nitrogen ratio of about 30 is considered optimum. Most folks aren’t interested in calculating that, so a good rule of thumb is to use about a 2:1 mix, one part green vegetation (grass clippings, fresh vegetation, coffee grounds (oddly they count as “green”)) mixed with 2 parts brown waste (fall leaves, sawdust, shredded tree branches).

It’s important to get a large enough pile to provide the raw material to get it to heat up. The usual rule of thumb is at least a 3 foot by 3 foot pile. You may not want it to be much bigger than that either if you plan to turn the pile to accelerate it.

Anything you do to break up the raw material (e.g. shred it, chop it, etc.) will work to accelerate the process.

Mix them in layers, about 6 inches of green and brown alternated. Add enough water so the end product mix is damp, something akin to a damp washcloth. It is possible to have either too much or too little water. Add in some old compost, some soil, or a commercial comost activator product to provide the micro-organisms that will start to decompose the pile.

4) How fast do you want your compost pile to be?

If you really want to get compost fast, then you need to help the pile along by moving material into the hotter middle part of the pile periodically. This can be accomplished a number of ways:

- Use a compost areator tool to pull the material from the center of the pile
- Use multiple bins, and turn the compost from one bin to the next to turn it over
- Use a compost tumbler, and simply turn the unit every few days, or when the center of the pile has started to cool.

Or you can just leave it sitting by itself for a few months and it will eventually break down.

That’s it. That wasn’t too bad, was it?

Vermicomposting Information

Are you looking for a natural way to garden and dispose of food scraps? Look no further than the lowly red worm! Vermicomposting or worm composting is the process of using worms and micro-organisms to turn kitchen waste into a nutrient-rich humus that makes vegetable garden plants thrive. Worm compost is a natural fertilizer and soil amendment or conditioner.

Vermiculture Facts:

Red worms or red wigglers are the best worms for vermicomposting. Red worms may be found in compost piles, rotting vegetation or manure. They are not the same as earthworms you find in the soil, although they are a species of earthworm. The various species of earthworms play a mighty role in nature.

To get started with vermiculture, get at least a pound of red worms. They can be purchased online, at bait stores, or sometimes at garden centers. Experts say that one pound of worms eat approximately 1/2 pound of food scraps daily! After taking the food through their bodies, the worms excrete it as vermicast (aka Worm Castings, Worm Poop, Worm Manure.) The process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting.

In a worm bin. This can be as simple as an old dresser drawer, trunk or wooden barrel. Basically, a worm bin is a box with a lid. It can be wood or plastic. If you keep the worm bin inside, you can cover it with burlap or plastic. If you use a plastic box and lid, don’t keep the lid clamped down – let it loosely rest on top to allow the worms and microorganisms enough oxygen to live. Allow for drainage with between 8 – 14 holes in the bottom, depending upon box size. Worms like cool, dark, moist places.

See the resources below if you want to build your own worm bin. Alternatively, you can purchase worm bins online or at many garden centers.

What can you feed the worms?

-vegetable scraps

-fruit peelings (make sure no pesticides were used on the fruit)

-leftover pasta

-bread and grains

-tea bags

-coffee grounds and filters

-well-crushed eggshells

Don’t feed them:

-Meat

-Bones

-Wood scraps/twigs, etc.

-Cheese or dairy

-Fat

-Grass clippings

-Banana peels (or anything else that might have had pesticides sprayed on it)

-no synthetic materials

What do you use for worm bedding?

-Shredded cardboard

-Shredded newspaper

-Any shredded paper

-Buy commercial worm bedding

-Shredded fall leaves

-Shredded dead plants

-Chopped up straw

-Compost

Your bin needs to be filled about 3/4 full with the bedding. Wet the bedding and wring out the excess. Allow it to dry some but not completely. Then put it into the bin and “fluff” it up. Keep your bedding moist by misting it with water from time to time. The key is moist bedding – not wet!

What is the Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio?

Balance your green matter (e.g. scraps) and your brown matter (bedding)in a ratio of about 2 to 1. Technically, that is called the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Bury kitchen scraps under the bedding to reduce smells and outside pests.

What is the best temperature for worm bins?

They tolerate 50 – 77 degrees. Bring your worms inside if it is going to freeze, or if it gets over 85 degrees F.

How do red worms reproduce?

Redworms are hermaphroditic. They produce one egg capsule every 2 or 3 weeks. The egg capsule usually contains a dozen babies. Your supply of worms will grow quickly and you may soon need to add more boxes, or get a bigger box!

Finding Free Composting Material

Now that you have that compost pile working, you would like to find more raw material to compost. Where are some good places to find free waste material for your compost pile?
You’ve worked hard to get a compost pile working, and now that you are making compost you find that you have more uses for it than you have compost. What you need are some free sources for compost material.

Here’s couple of ideas on where to find compost material:

Coffee shops: Many coffee shops, including some of the major chains, will give you their coffee grounds. They do this because they don’t have to pay for the disposal, and it’s good public relations. Coffee grounds are a great material for the compost bin, because even though they are obviously brown, for the compost bin they are “green” in that they have a fairly high nitrogen content.

Fall leaves: I am constantly amazed at the volume of “trash” represented by fall leaves. We just let our neighbors know that we will take their leaves, and will pick some up when other folks in the neighborhood leave them out for the trash. About 50 bags a year is all we can handle, but we could get several times that amount by simply “stealing” the trash.