Worm Bins Turn Garbage Into Free Garden Compost

I remember the days when the sight of a worm could send me running and screaming to mom. Having been traumatized by a cousin who loved throwing the wiggly critters on my head, it took a long time to get over my fear of worms. You could not have paid me enough to consider having a worm composter.

Reality set in when I started my first garden. I didn’t have enough energy to run from all those worms, so I dug in, resisted the urge to jump as high as the moon, and learned to appreciate them for the good they do.

Merits of Composting with Worms

“Good” is probably an understatement when it comes to talking about worm composting. It’s hard to argue about anything that turns garbage into valuable compost for free. “How much more green can you get than having those little red wigglers eat your food waste? We believe that the best part of vermicomposting is the wonderful benefits that happen when you use worms to eat your garbage, and then get to see the beneficial byproducts they make from your garbage,” says Ellen Stewart from WormCrazy, Sherwood, OR.

Composting with worms is pretty simple. You need a worm bin to hold the natural recyclers. Add food scraps and watch while the worm population grows. Using the worm tea and castings, which are the byproducts of vermicomposting, in your outdoor garden and on your indoor plants will eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.

Gardening with worm compost makes you look like you have quite a green thumb. You’ll get improved vegetable yields that grow bigger and better. Best of all is getting the most from your garden without poisoning the soil and water with toxins.

Red wigglers and European night crawlers are two good natural recyclers that work around the clock to provide your garden with nutrients. As the worm population grows, dad and the children can fish while mom tends the garden. Everyone wins with a meal of freshly caught fish and homegrown veggies.

Tips for Operating Your Worm Composting Bin

Here’s Ellen’s top tips for  worm composting:

1. Avoid over watering of the worm composting bins. You want the bin moist, not wet.
2. Worms eat as much as half their body weight in a 24-hour period of time. That means that a pound of worms can eat up to ½ pound of food a day.
3. Temperature affects the worms’ eating habits. Cold weather will slow them down, so feed them less until warm weather arrives. The optimum temperature for a worm bin is 60 - 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below or above this can affect the worms’ eating habits. Do not let the bin drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit for any prolonged length of time.
4. A good rule of thumb when overseeing vermiculture bins is to stop feeding if the worms slow their eating. Start adding more garbage when you see the worms’ food source has dwindled.
5. Keep your worm composting bin covered in order to keep out birds, raccoons and rats that will eat your bounty.

Vermiculture Industry Predictions

The vermiculture industry is one that Ellen believes will continue to grow. Worm and recycling research is becoming common. Scientists are even looking at worms as a means of dealing with toxic waste. As our landfills fill and we accumulate more and more garbage, the need to recycle it into something useful drives continued research into the valuable service that worms provide.

Tagged as: composting with worms, vericomposting, vermiculture bins worm compost, worm composting bin, worm composting bins