The next few posts will be my notes on books I've been reading here at the Lazy Man's Farm.
Vermicomposting....the process of having redworms and other decomposer organisms process organic waste (your food scraps) and turn it into a great natural fertilizer that can be used in your gardens.
Worms Eat my Garbage By: Mary Appelhof
This book is very easy to read with great pictures and diagrams. When we decide to have worms, I will definitely buy this book to get me started! Here are my notes on the first half. I wrote this out originally for my dad to get him interested and then realized it's so easy all of you could do it too!
WHAT
YOU NEED
- Box or container
- Worms
- Controlled environment
- Bedding and garbage
- Temperature
- Ideal is 59-77 F
- As low as 50
- Below freezing and above 86 will kill them
- Moisture
- Standing water in the bin will drown them
- They breathe through their skin which needs to be moist
- Acidity
- Ideal level is pH5-pH9
- Too much acidic food is like pouring vinegar on them
- Ventilation
- Worms use oxygen like us. They need proper holes to breathe.
GENERAL VOCABULARY
- Castings
- manure
- Vermicompost
- Contains castings
- Contains partially decomposed bedding and organic waste from the food you add (bits an pieces of the food may be visible)
- Contains worms of all ages and cocoons.
- Vermicast
- What is let after the worms digest and redigest everything a few times over.
- Very smooth texture
- Considered overworked and has lost nutrients
WHERE TO PUT THE BIN
- Patio
- Shed
- Basement
- One person even made a coffee table for the living room with the worms inside
- Behind the shed, but it would need to be insulated for winter.
BOX OR BIN
- Shape
- Must have holes in sides, top, and bottom and covered with mesh.
- Or a rectangle cut from each side, top and bottom covered with screen/mesh
- Shallow…12-18in deep- the worms feed up so you need more surface area. More surface area means more air in the bedding and more surface to place the waste.
- Size
- Keep track of how many lbs of waste you average per week over a few weeks. Food scraps, moldy food, etc.)
- You wants 1 sq. ft. of surface for each pound of garbage per week.
- Exampls: if you have about 5 lbs of waste a week you could use a bin that is 1’x2’x3’ (5’ surface area and shallow)
- Material
- Wood
- Breathes
- Always damp so it deteriorates quicker (maybe 2-3 years)
- You can add a good finish like poly.
- You can use plywood, old boards, or old drawers.
- Plastic
- Requires more holes
- Accumulates moisture
- Already made units
- The Original vermicomposter
- Gardener’s Supply Worm Bin
- Can-O-Worms
- Worm-A-Way
- Needs to be
- nontoxic
- light and fluffy so that there is air exchange and so no anaerobic conditions begin (no oxygen)
- Some form of cellulose –carbon source to provide energy to the organisms that break it down.
- You can use
- Shredded newspaper – non color
- Leaf mold – the bottom layer of decaying leaf pile (maple is preferable to oak)
- Animal manure – horse, rabbit, cow)
- Hardwood chips
- Peat moss
ADDITIONS TO BEDDING (optional)
- Soil
- Add only a handful or 2 of soil when preparing the bedding for grit which aids in breaking down food particles in worms gizzards.
- Soil will introduce other bacteria, protozoa, and fungi that aid in composting process
- Calcium carbonate - Limestone powder
- For grit
- Keeps conditions alkaline
- Provides calcium
- Stuff use to line soccer fields
- Or pulverized egg shells do the same
- Don’t use slaked or hydrated lime.
KIND OF WORMS
- You can’t use night crawlers
- They don’t process large amounts of organic material like the composters.
- They don’t reproduce in confinement,
- And they won’t thrive in a bin if you dig around and mess up their burrows.
- RED WORMS
- Are best.
For more info on worm composting visit these sites:
Yes Love the information!! Thank Cuz!!! :)
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