Let Worms Eat Your Garbage
Stocked with Maine-grown red wiggler worms in leaves or shredded paper bedding, the Wiggle Room worm bin is your basic vermiculture system. Push aside the bedding to feed your worms, and add more shredded paper when necessary. Pop the cork to collect worm tea, a great liquid fertilizer. You'll have everything you need to get started right away (including worms).
Composting with worms, otherwise known as “vermiculture,” is a great way to produce rich compost while returning organic matter to the soil. Vermiculture also reduces the amount of waste you're sending to your local landfill, and, unlike other forms of composting, can be practiced year-round, in any climate, down on the farm or up in your penthouse apartment. It's the perfect way to get rid of uneaten leftovers and kitchen scraps.
Simple Steps for Composting with Worms
- Buy a Wiggle Room worm bin.
Your bin comes with everything you need, including red wiggler composting worms.
- Pick a good place to put your bin.
Worm bins will bake in direct sunlight, so you'll want to find a shady spot, indoors or out. They also need a temperature range of between 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Basements are usually perfect.
- Bury food scraps in the bedding.
Your Wiggle Room comes filled with a few inches of damp bedding. Start feeding your worms by burying small amounts of food scraps in your bedding. A thin layer of food works better than thick clumps. If you like, put a fresh layer of dry bedding on top. Shredded paper works great.
- Feed your worms as their appetites indicate.
The material in your bin should be between 2 and 16 inches deep. As red worms only live in the top six inches of organic matter, if you fill your bin any deeper the bottom layer will simply putrefy. Worms will naturally explore and find the food scraps buried in the bedding. They will also eat the bedding over time. Check to see how much your worms are eating; don't put too much food in at one time. Hungry, healthy worms eat no more than half their weight a day. New worm owners usually err on the side of over-feeding their worms.
- Maintain moisture content.
The food scraps you put in the bin will provide all the moisture you need once your bin is working. If you feel you need to add water, the best approach is to soak some shredded paper in water, then wring it out before adding the paper to your bin. The bedding should be about as wet as a wrung-out sponge, but if it becomes too wet, your worms will die. If your bedding seems too wet (offensive odors are one sign), add dry shredded paper. In extreme cases, you can also tip your bin on its side to drain out “worm tea.”
- Harvest your castings.
To harvest your castings, you can either 1) simply scoop out half the contents of your bin and not worry if it's completely finished, or 2) dump your bin out to separate the castings from the worms, bedding and bits of food, then immediately put your worms and food back in a fresh bedding mixture. You can also simply stop feeding your worms; your bin will contain nothing but castings in a few months.
- Use your castings.
Worm castings are just about the most desirable and effective compost you can have – and it's much easier to collect than bat guano! Castings look a bit like coffee grounds. You can sprinkle them on top of the soil or work them in to the top few inches. Worm castings are especially good for starting seeds and for giving transplanted seedlings a boost.
NOTE: The Wiggle Room is available for pick up in store only.
