Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Worm composting
The worms crawl in the worms crawl out, they play pinochle on your snout! They also compost your food scraps! Really, who would have thought that we’d be welcoming worms inside our homes? It’s called vermicomposting.
All you need is a box, moist newspaper strips, and worms. Worms need moisture, air, food, darkness, and warm (but not hot) temperatures. Bedding, made of newspaper strips or leaves, will hold moisture and contain air spaces essential to their survival. Red worms or red wigglers are preferred. My suggestion is to use a plastic container. The amount of food scraps you intend on composting and the number of worms will dictate the size of the container, it is suggested that the bin be shallow.
Worm Composting Basics [Cornell University]
Getting started [Iowa Worm Composting]
Home Worm Composting [SFGate]
Worm composting, a Beginners Guide [Plant Natural]
Rachel of Small Notebook has a comprehensive look at making a worm compost bin and her progress over a year.
There are certain foods NOT to give your worms and there is also overfeeding them. They even have starter kits. It takes about 3 to 5 months for the worms to create the compost which you then harvest. There’s a process to that too!
I’m not recommending any particular site but wanted to give you links to see what’s out there:
The compost can be used immediately in your garden or stored till the season opens. Let me know if you’ve experimented with worm composting!