by Matt Gibson
insect compost , also called vermicomposting , is a great agency to apply kitchen fighting to create a nutritive - ample compost to feed your garden and keep it producing year - round . In a large container , but shred some newspaper and leaves from your cubic yard to make a nice at large base , then add in red wiggler worms , officially know as Eisenia fetida , and some wet . Then you ’ll be ready to start your very own vermicomposting headquarters that will create your own compost all twelvemonth long . Once the worms ’ environment has been create , it ’s time to memorise what to feed your worms , when to bung them , and how much solid food they will need to create the perfect nutrient - packed compost that will avail you condition the soil of your garden year in and yr out .
What Your Composting Worms Should Eat and Not Eat
Worms have voracious appetites , but they do n’t in reality use up the waste food that you put into the soil to feed in them with as is . Instead , they hold back for that wasteland solid food to become covered in microbial community . In fact , your worms ’ master source of alimentation add up from the microorganisms that grow in abundance on constitutive fruit and vegetable waste . That ’s why instead of devouring the scraps that you have in to the soil immediately , your worms will hold off around until bug begin to flourish on the surface of the food scraps . Once the microbial content of the food is high enough , dinner party is serve , and the food is ready for your compost buddy to eat their fill . A word of caution , however — don’t just throw any onetime kitchen trash into the compost bin and hope for the best . Keep indication , and let ’s dive into what you do n’t want to feed them .
Do not feed your worms fatty or processed food , such as meat or dairy products . These types of kitchen garbage will induce strong odour when they decompose that you wo n’t want stinking up your home . Fatty or processed food scraps will also trouble the finespun ecosystem that you ’ve worked so hard to create in your compost bin , attracting yield tent-fly , menage flies , and other pests as well as cut off the wet level you ’ve worked to fine-tune in your composting container .
Do feed your insect constitutive fruit and veg waste , include the rind , cores , and shedding of your favorite fruit and vegetables . Feed them crushed eggshells , coffee grounds , and coffee filter ( as long as the filter are uncolored ) , teabags , and elderly manure from vegetable - eating animate being , such as rabbits , sawbuck , and cows . Be heedful not to feed your dirt ball any manure contain deworming medication ( makes sentience , right ? ) that could kill your worms .
Citrus yield scraps are an acceptable addition to your bin in small amounts , but make indisputable not to overdo it . If you eat a lot of citrus fruit , you will desire to limit the amount of scraps you add from oranges , limes , lemons , and grapefruits , as the Sir Robert Peel contain a chemical substance that can harm red wiggler worms in large amounts . ward off adding salt , or any salty food for thought , to the compost bin . Salt is really uncollectible for worms and can kill them if it ’s present in declamatory amounts in the compost container .
Onions are another kitchen scrap that you may want to consider just throwing away rather of adding to the compost bin to be consumed . There are at odds reports on the World Wide Web , to be certain . Some composters use onions , and some do not . The logical thinking behind some gardener leaving onion out of the mix is pretty sound . As you have it off , onions can reek pretty badly , peculiarly as they rot . However , green onions in diminished amounts should pose no major job .
Avoid adding oils , such as olive oil , sesame oil colour , or butter into your compost . Vegetable oil is okay in diminished amounts , but it ’s best to just invalidate adding oils altogether , as oils slow down or even block the composting process whole .
When and How Often to Feed Your Worms
It is very of import not to overfeed your worm when you are first starting your vermicomposting labor . Your fresh nematode friend will have to wait patiently while the microbial organism population builds up before they plunk into dinner party . Be measured not to overcharge the compost bin during the first couple of weeks to give your worms time to settle down in to their newfangled environment a bit . Once the environment is countersink and you ’ve add your dirt ball , it ’s important to never let them completely run out of food to eat . Remember , their food for thought needs to get mass of microorganisms before they will eat it , so you will desire to cycle in novel food waste every two or three days .
Check the compost bin every other day . When provisions get low and the worms are wriggling around in the last chip of food waste that you give them , it is fourth dimension to tot more . Do n’t concern if the worm invalidate the unexampled food waste that you just added at first . They will get to it as soon as it has grown enough microorganisms to satisfy their cravings . The size of it of your compost bin will determine the amount of food wasteland you should utilize each meter , but typically a cup of food waste every other day will be sufficient . If the worms are not feed their intellectual nourishment to the point that it begin to build up , simply skip a feeding or two until they come out to deplete the end of the food waste you provide . overfeed the worms and not allowing them clip to eat down their food supplying before adding more will head to a lousy compost bin .
When set the nutrient waste that ’s headed for your compost bin , chop fruit and vegetables into the smallest pieces potential so they will moulder at a faster charge per unit , speeding along the summons . Take line of how often you mark the worms consuming their solid food and how much nutrient they consume each sidereal day . Once you get to cognise your worm ’ appetite horizontal surface , you could well predict how often to feed them and how much to feed them each time . There is no perfect amount or by - the - book method acting , so it ’s up to you to adjust feeding time and amount as is necessary . check that you rotate which area of the container you place the food wasteland into to ensure that every worm gets mess to eat on . Put the food waste three to four column inch under the top of the stain to keep it from rotting out in the open and attract flies and other pests .
Once you get the feeding schedule down to a science , the rest of the vermicomposting process is quite easy . Simply let the worms create compost , and when the time is right , mix that compost in with the soil in your garden to mob it with nourishing - full-bodied , fertilizing good that your plants will thrive in season after season . comment the impact that compost has on the amount of trash waste matter that you send off at the curb each week to fill up a landfill as well — not to observe how your vermicomposting hobby lessens the number of times that you take to take out the crank to set about with . Do not tot up water to the worm bin unless it is severely dry to the touch . In other Holy Scripture , do n’t add water system just to make more tea . Composting requires maintaining a soft balance in the bin , and too much water will fox that equilibrium off importantly .
verify to use a drip mold genus Pan underneath the compost bin to gather the compost tea . Do n’t let the moniker fool you — this is not a tea that you are going to desire to drink . Compost tea is probably about the rankest liquid mixture anyone could peradventure create , and it ’s not at all meant for consumption . Compost tea is , however , a heavy fluid fertilizer , so compile it , then stash away it in a spray bottle so you may put this useful compost byproduct to utilize each horticulture season .
How Many Worms You Need
You ’ll need to start out with about 500 to 1,000 carmine wiggler worms , or one to two pounds of worms full . Your compost bin should be filled with a one - to - one ratio of worms to refuse . If you start out out with a different balance , do n’t stress out over it . Worms tend to multiply very quickly , so you will most in all likelihood have mass of worm in due clock time , even if you started with too little . In fact , red louse are lie with to double their universe size of it every 90 days . If you started with far too few , it ’s hunky-dory to buy more and add them to the mixture . Just sprinkle the supererogatory worms on the top of the bin . They will distribute themselves as they drown away from the surface stratum to escape the heat of the Lord’s Day or grow light-headed .
Vermicomposting is an well-to-do , affordable way to reap major reward for your garden . The bounty of your vermicomposting bin does n’t stop at compost and the compost teatime . The waste the worms leave behind , which is prognosticate worm castings , are excellent to flow your potted plants . Used as asoil amendment , worm casting can take grease that is lack in nutrients back to life and get it prepped for a season of unbelievable growth . insect castings are full of nitrogen , potassium , phosphorus , and humic acid that help improve dirt social structure .
After you gather your supplies : a bin , sliced paper or leaves , and red wiggler dirt ball , all you need to do is start saving food for thought scrap to feed them . Now that you have the facts you require to get started with vermicomposting and care for your worms , nothing should stand up in your way . you may habituate the vermicomposting method to take advantage of small blank space , create it a great option forapartment composting . Get ready to see major results from the additional nutrition your compost bin will give your garden .
Want to learn more about feeding compost worms?
All Things Organic covers feed Your WormsGardening Know How covers Vermicomposting Do ’s And Don’ts : Care And alimentation Of WormsHome Composting Made Easy covers Worm CompostingHow Stuff Works covers How Vermicomposting WorksThe Prairie Homestead handle Feeding Compost worm : What , When , HowUncle Jim ’s Worm Farm covers How Much to Feed Composting WormsWorm Composting Headquarters covers feed Your Worms
