I've Got Worms

Since a few months back at a meeting at work on environmental projects when I learned about vermicomposting, I have been wanting to try it out myself. It seems really easy and is a great way to not only recycle your food scraps, but to create compost for your garden. Vermicomposting is worm composting, using worms to do just that, make compost, clean, naturally and green.

I kept talking about how I wanted to order some worms, especially after my class and I finally got some. I stopped by the local salvage shop and the manager gave me some starter worms. They have a container full and are happy to share.

Creating a worm farm is easy. First you get a container. They do not like light, so a darker one is preferred. You need to allow air into the container, so you can drill or punch holes in the lid. To prep my worm's home I put in shredded paper and soil. You have to make the mixture moist, so either spraying or pouring in some water is how to do it. You don't want it to be too wet where water squeezes out of it, but moist enough for the worms to live in.

Here is the container I got from Target and my small amount of worms already in their compost.


Here is my worm home preparation, shredded paper and soil mix. I left some paper to add to the mix when it is needed.


And here is the home after I added the worms. You can see some, they are a red-ish color. Eventually they will bury under the soil, you won't see them much.



And here is my sister checking out the worms. I explained the whole process to her, she hadn't heard of worm composting before this, so I gave her a quick lesson.


I actually added my coffee filter with used grounds in right away. Some people say to let them adjust to their home for a week, but I wanted them to be happy with some food, so I buried it in the corner. You have to bury the food and cover it up with some of the mixture, since they like to be under it.

People say you can feed them about once a week and you will be able to tell what they like by checking to see how much then eat the next week. You actually don't have to feed them at all, they will compost just paper and soil, but giving them food can increase the compost you get and of course it is a way to recycle your food scraps.

I'll keep you posted on how they do.