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    • About Vermicomposting >
      • Worm Compost bin
      • How To Make Worm Compost
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  • Home
  • Buy Worm Farm Manual
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop For Worms List
  • About European Nightcrawlers
  • About Red Worms
  • Worm Shipping Information
  • European Nightcrawlers and Redworms Uses
    • Earthworms For Fish Bait
    • Earthworms For Pet Food
  • Caring For Your Worms
  • Vermicomposting
    • Make Worm Compost
    • About Earthworms
    • About Vermicomposting >
      • Worm Compost bin
      • How To Make Worm Compost
      • Worm Composting Problems
  • How To Worm Farm
    • Worm Farm Guide
    • Worm Farm Tips
    • How To Raise Worms In Winter
    • How To Raise Worms In Summer
  • Earthworm Castings
  • FAQ
    • Ants In Worm Bedding
    • Feeding Worms
    • Caring For Worms In Winter
  • Earthworm Blog
    • Blog Post List
Earthworm Works

Worm Composting Quick Start Guide

Worm Composting is Fun

Worm composting your kitchen garbage is not only fun, it's also "green" and can save you money on plant fertilizer.  
It's easy to set up and once you have your worms all cozy in their worm bin, all you have to do is feed them and harvest the rich worms castings and compost your worms produce.

Best Composting Worms

The Red Worm is most often the worm of choice for composters.  But did you know that European Nightcrawlers also make excellent composting worms? You can also use both species of worms in the same vermicomposter.

What To Use For A Vermicomposter?
No special equipment is required.  A plastic tote you've probably got lying around the house can serve as your "compost bin".  It should be opaque, not clear.  Worms like the dark.  Make some small holes in the bottom for drainage.  You'll need to cover the holes with a fine screen wire to keep the worms from escaping.
  
You can, of course, buy a compost bin.  They are set up nicely for keeping your worms happy.

Bedding For Your Compost Worms
Dampened, shredded paper or newspapers (no envelope windows or plastic, no color-printed paper) make excellent bedding for your worms.  A layer of dampened peat moss in the bottom is a nice addition. Or, you can use all peat moss.  Just dampen it for a couple of days before adding your worms.

The bedding should be moist, but not soggy.  Squeezing a handful of bedding should produce a drop or two of water.

Where to Put Your Compost Bin
Keep your compost bin anywhere the worms will be protected from excessive heat, cold and predators.  Make it a place that is convenient for you to feed the worms and check on their well-being.
 
What to Feed Your Worms
Anything you feed your worms should be moist.  They can't eat it if it's dry.  The smaller the food is, the quicker it's broken down.
  • Chopped up fruits and vegetables
  • Coffee grounds (the filters, too)
  • Tea leaves and the bags
  • Crushed egg shells
  • Horse manure or rabbit manure
  • Shredded cardboard

What NOT to Feed Your Worms
  • Meat
  • Dog or cat feces
  • Kitty litter
  • Dairy products
  • Oils

How to Use Your Compost
When you see the bedding turn into that wonderful dark, crumbly "black gold", separate out the worms from the compost and add it as a top dressing to your plants and vegetables.  It never burns plants and is a slow release fertilizer that also add microbes to your soil.

To separate out the worms, gather the compost in to small heaps on a piece of plywood or other smooth surface.  Place the piles under a bright light and start pulling away the compost from the pile.  The worms will crawl steadily toward the middle of the pile until all of them are crowded into a ball.  

Put the squirmy ball of worms back into new bedding and start all over again.

What to do with your growing worm family
As worms mature, they begin breeding and producing egg capsules. Eventually the eggs hatch and you will see more and more worms in your compost bin.

When your bin becomes crowded, you will need to do something. You can start another worm bin, you can give them to friends and family to start their own compost bin, you can fish with them, or you can sell them.

Selling earthworms is an excellent home business or as a way to supplement your income. It's not as easy as some books have made it out to be.  But it is possible to make money selling worms. If you're interested in making money selling worms, check out our Worm Farming Guide.    
Click here for a more extensive guide to setting up your very own worm composting bin.
Next: About Earthworms
Worm Farm Manual

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