Arlan Hurwitz, president of Arlan and Sons, is an expert on composting with the aid of worms, or vermicomposting. Redworms Eisenia fetida and E. andrei are the species most desirable for composting. Composting worms live and breed happily in the organic environment provided by a worm bin. Worm composting is a great way to recycle kitchen and garden scraps, producing a wonderful soil conditioner. Newsprint and junk mail are another good source of food for composting worms. One pound of worms can eat 1/2 pound of garbage a day. Here's what you'll need to make a set of worm-composing bins (figure A). Materials:
Black paint
Plastic storage bins, any number
Plastic screen
Hammer
Nail
Shredded newspaper
Potting soil
Water
2 pounds red worms
- Begin by painting the bins black: worms prefer a dark environment.
- Make holes in the bottom of the plastic bins with the hammer and nail so water can drain out.
- Line the bottom of the first bin with plastic screen so the worms can't escape through the holes in the bottom.
- Place 2 pounds shredded newsprint and 1 gallon water in the bottom of the first bin. The worms don't eat the paper but rather the matter produced when the paper begins to decompose.
- Allow the paper to decompose for a few weeks, then add a scoop of potting soil. Keep the mixture moist for another week or two.
- Add worms once the newsprint and soil mixture turns to mush. Add food in the form of finely chopped kitchen scraps.
- If you like, stack a second prepared box on top of the first so the worms can crawl up through the holes in the bottom of the second box (figure B). Prepare the second and subsequent boxes in the same way, following steps 4 and 5. At the appropriate time, add food to the new box.
- As you add additional boxes, rotate the bottom layer to the top of the stack as the worms move upward. Use the finished compost produced in the bottom layer.
It takes about a year to get a vermicomposting system going. Two pounds of worms from the original bin will reproduce, yielding many more worms, which will regularly produce pounds of worm castings, or manure, for your garden. Castings have no unpleasant odor and may be used as a soil amendment or an addition to potting soil. Drippings from the worm composter can be used as liquid fertilizer or a foliar spray. Commercial worm bins have a small faucet at the bottom of the container so you can easily draw off the liquid (figure C).
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