Worm Composting Is Great – Start A Worm Farm
I bet you think it’s hard and time consuming to have a composting system. Not only is composting easy and simple to operate, it’s good for the environment and helps heal the mark you leave on the earth.
Think about it…..when you are composting, you are literally giving back to the earth. Thanks to “living green,” composting systems have come a long way in the last few years. Composting doesn’t have to be stinky and smelly anymore, with flies buzzing all around.
Now there’s Vermicomposting…..
“Vermi” is Latin for worm. Vermicomposting means using worms to turn organic matter, such as fruit and vegetable waste, leaves, manure, coffee grounds, etc., into nutrient rich, water soluble compost. The worms eat these materials and excrete castings which are a perfect fertilizer for plants.
How to get started:
- Find a sturdy container – like a wooden box, an old bathtub, plastic storage bin, large planter box, etc. Be sure it is big enough and strong enough to hold moist bedding material as well as provide aeration and drainage.
- Collect bedding material for the worms – moist newspaper that has been shredded works well; other common materials are peat moss and coconut coir.
- Get your worms – Eisenia fetida (foetida) and Eisenia hortensis (red wigglers and red worms) are a probably the best composting worms to use. As a general rule, use one pound of worms per one cubic foot of space in your sturdy container.
Visit Monster Worms for more on how to start composting with worms – like what to feed your worms and how to handle problems like overwatering and mites.
Composting with worms is a simple first step to living green and doing your part to help the environment.
Get your hands dirty and have fun!
Do you currently compost with worms? What is the easiest part? The hardest?
I enjoyed your article. Keep up the good work.
Do you use the liquid run off from your bin as a tea? There are quite a few different opinions on this subject.