Vermicomposting for Beginners: Make Valuable Compost Anywhere!

Gardeners love finding worms in their garden beds.  They are efficient decomposers that enrich and aerate soil and their presence signifies a happy, thriving garden.  Vermicomposting, or vermiculture, is a composting method that utilizes worms to create a nutrient dense compost that is perfect for any garden. In this article you’ll learn all about vermicomposting for beginners!

 

How to Get Started With Vermiculture

Disclaimer: this page contains affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Getting started with vermicomposting is incredibly easy and can be done on any budget.  All you need is a worm bin and a specific kind of earthworm, known as a “red wiggler,” which excels at composting food waste.   “Red wiggler” worms can be purchased online in quantities ranging from 100 worms to 2000 worms, depending on the amount of food waste you produce weekly.  An order of 1000 worms tends to work well for most beginning vermicomposters.  Worm bins can also be ordered online and indoor and outdoor bin options are available.  If you choose to order a premade bin, many home gardeners opt for a stacking bin with multiple trays due to ease of compost harvest.

 

Making Your Own Worm Bin

Worm bins for vermicomposting can also be homemade with a plastic tote container and a hand drill.  Select a tote between 15 and 50 gallons in size and be sure not to use a clear tote as worms prefer dark environments.  Next, drill a series of 1/4” holes near the top of the tote for air flow.  Mesh screening material can be glued around the holes to discourage worms from escaping; however, this is optional.  Once your holes are drilled, replace your tote lid and you’ve made yourself an effective and budget-friendly worm bin.

 

Setting Up Your Worm Bin

 

Before adding your worms, prepare your substrate to create an ideal environment for burrowing worms.  Several inches of rehydrated coconut coir, shredded newspaper or cardboard (without colored inks) or crumbled, dry leaves make a great worm bedding.  Moisten your substrate to the moisture level of a damp, wrung out sponge.  Several handfuls of garden soil should then be added to provide grit for your worms to aid their digestion.  Next, gently add your worms and cover them with a loose layer of substrate.  While adjusting to their new environment, it is normal for some to try to escape their bin.  To discourage this, add several sheets of moistened newspaper to the top of the substrate.  Do not feed your worms for one to two days after they arrive to give them some time to settle in.

Vermicomposting for Beginners

 

When you’re ready to begin vermicomposting, gently dig into the substrate, add food scraps and then cover the food scraps again with substrate to discourage fruit flies.  Only add food scraps once a week and bury them on one side of the container, alternating to the other side of the container on the following week.  After one week, the majority of your food scraps should be gone and any remaining pieces must be removed to prevent mold growth.  By keeping track of what your worms consume in a week, you will quickly learn how much to feed them.   Only feed your worms the amount they can eat in one week’s time.

Food scraps generally will add enough moisture to your bin; however, if the substrate becomes too dry or too wet, add water or more substrate or shredded paper.  A well-maintained worm bin should produce no odors and can be kept indoors without issue.  It is important to remember that temperature will affect the activity level of your worms, with 50°F to 85°F being the ideal range.  Warmer or cooler temperatures will slow worm activity and temperatures above 95°F or below freezing will be fatal.  If you choose to place your vermicomposting bin outdoors, select a shady spot and insulate it well for winter.

 

What Kind of Waste Can You Feed Your Worms?

 

Worms are efficient composters and can process many food scraps quickly.  Most vegetable and fruit scraps can be added; however, onions, citrus and very spicy foods should be avoided.  Bread, pasta, eggshells, coffee grounds, loose-leaf tea and pesticide-free grass clippings and garden waste are also great additions to your worm bin.  Worms cannot consume any animal manure, meat, dairy, overly processed or moldy foods.  Large food scraps should be cut into smaller pieces and all paper should be shredded for easier digestion.  As worms are only fed on a weekly basis, a countertop compost bin to collect food scraps is a must.

Good Worm Foods:

• vegetable scraps
• fruit (except citrus)
• bread
• pasta
• eggshells
• coffee grounds and tea leaves
• pesticide free grass clippings
• garden waste
• paper

 

Harvesting Vermicompost

 

You will know it’s time to harvest your worm compost when most of your substrate has been converted into dark, rich “worm castings,” or worm waste.  For several weeks prior to harvest, feed your worms only on one side of your bin to encourage them to cluster together so they can be easily gathered.  Worm castings can then be collected, and you may opt to sift your castings through a hardware cloth screen to remove any additional worms and undigested food scraps.

Worm castings are a nutrient-rich compost that are full of minerals and trace elements in their most usable forms.  Castings can be sprinkled directly on your garden beds, added as an amendment when planting new plants and seedlings, dug into houseplant pots or steeped in water to make compost tea.   Your plants will thank you for it!

 

Written by Lauren Landers

Lauren operates a 2 acre homestead using organic methods. You can find more of her work at Zero Waste Homestead.

 

More by Lauren: