subject: Tips On Making A Worm Compost Bin [print this page] Keeping your trash can improve your garden and, not to mention, help in reducing your garbage output. Your left over vegetable scraps and tea bags can supply nourishment to your new vegetables and other garden plants. When vegetable and other organic scraps are eaten and processed by compost worms it becomes a high-octane plant food, also known as worm castings. A worm compost bin will get you well on your way to a low cost and plentiful supply of vegetable fertilizer.
The Bin - Step one is the actual bin. There are a variety of bins available to buy or for the DIY people building a compost bin can be fairly easy. The most common DIY bin is to use a storage bin. A 12-gallon bin would be a good start and than just add more compost bins as needed to expand production.
Drill -inch holes down the sides approximately 3-4 inches apart. A mesh can be used to cover the holes if you see flies buzzing around.
Creating Worm Tea (optional) - Worm tea gives your garden an instant boost. To add a simple compost tea option, just add a faucet or hole and plug towards the bottom of the compost bin. Add small amounts of water, do not flood out your worms, and allow liquid to drip into another container. Add about a cup or two to each gallon of water and water as usual.
Worm Bedding - Worm bedding is an important part of your worm composting environment. Worm bedding provides a place to bury your scraps, is used to maintain moisture levels, and gives your worms a place to compost. Bedding can be made from partially decomposed leaves, strips of newspaper, coconut fibers, and/or wood chips. My preference is mixture and I don't like to recommend peat moss as it is not renewable and natural peat moss is becoming limited.
You will also need to mix in some dirt with the bedding. Since worms do not have any teeth they need some type of grit in their digestive track to grind the vegetable scraps up.
The Worms - Not just any worm will work and although systems can be created for regular earthworms the worm compost bin described above will require red wigglers. They will thrive in this environment as they also stay towards the top where you will be placing your scraps to be composted.
How Many Worms - For most worm compost bins you can start out with a ratio of 2:1. This refers to the ratio of the weight of worms and the weight of organic scraps you will produce each day. This means for every pound of organic scraps you add to the bin each day you should have 2 pounds of worms.
Worm Compost Bin Care - You should visit the worm bin daily until you get use to how things go. Keep a spray bottle handy to keep the bedding moist and the worm environment should be kept between 60 and 70 degrees F. Light is meaningless to them so some basements work well. If the bin has an unpleasant smell inside, try adding more bedding.
Creating a worm bin can provide fun and education to the whole family. It is a good way to explain the process to children and the worms can sometimes feel like pets.
