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Composting at home is a rewarding hobby. It converts your waste into rich humus which can be used to help your plants grow healthier. It is extremely easy to convert the waste from your kitchen into compost. It can be easily done in a very small space. All one needs is a good worm composting system and your kitchen waste and your on your way to creating your own humus.
What is a worm composting system?
A worm composting system is basically a box in which you have bedding and worms and into which you put in organic kitchen waste for the worms to eat and convert into compost which can then be used in the garden. The box could be of metal, rubber, plastic or wood. It needs to be shallow at the most about a foot and a half deep with holes drilled at the sides for ventilation. You don't need to be handy at do it yourself projects to have a worm composter as there are some great systems available at reasonable prices that contain everything you need to get you started.
Setting Up Your Bin Ready For Composting
The worm composter needs to have a base of bedding which could be shredded newspaper, cardboard, animal manure, peat, and/or old decaying leaves. There is also commercial bedding for composting available for purchase. Once you have the bedding in the box you need to dampen it so it is moist but, not wet. Next you need a small amount of soil for grit to help the worms break down the food. When that is done you are ready to introduce the worms to the worm composter.
The best types of worms to use in a worm composting system are redworms and the average ratio is about two pounds of worms to every pound of kitchen waste a day. You can get the worms from commercial growers or on the internet.
The worms can be fed on a daily basis or weekly. The waste needs to be buried in the bedding. As far as possible. If you pulverize the waste before placing it into the worm composter the worms are able to convert the waste to compost much more quickly. The room the worm composting system is in needs to be kept at a temperature of between 55F and 75F. If the temperature is too cold or too warm the worms will die. Also the bedding should not be too wet or too dry but kept moist.
Worms are one of natures best at consuming the waste and converting into compost. They do this by eating the waste and breaking it down in their bodies with enzymes which their bodies produce. At a ratio of 2 to 1 in body weight they can consume a good quantity of waste and convert it into compost without creating any foul odors. The compost created by the worms is a rich, natural fertilizer for your plants whether in your garden or in a container.
