Planning a Vegetable Garden

Posts Tagged ‘Red Wiggler Worms’

Worm composting is a great way to add worm castings to your garden.  And just why do you want to add worm castings?  Because they feed the plants and the soil organically.

What is Worm Composting?

Worm composting (also called vermicomposting) is when worms turn your kitchen scraps into a super soil conditioner and plant fertilizer.  Worm composting can be done anywhere where the temperature is moderate and the bin isn’t in direct sunlight (in warm climates).  You don’t want to cook your worms!  (Nor do you want to freeze them.) 

The best termperature for your hard-working worms is between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  You don’t want the bin temperature to go below 50 or over 88 degrees Fahrenheit.  This may mean you need to put the bin inside your home in a spare corner.

Worms are amazing; they can eat almost their own body weight a day.  Naturally you won’t have just a few worms; 500 is a good number to start with.  More if you generate a lot of kitchen scraps every day.

Once worms eat the kitchen scraps, they digest it and excrete it as worm castings.  These worm castings are a fantastic addition to your garden soil!

Worm Compost Trays

If you want to get started with worm composting, you’ll need some trays, worms and worm bedding.  The worm bedding can be anything organic, like coir, shredded newspaper (black and white only; no color printing), sawdust, hay, dried leaves — anything to mimic the worm’s natural environment.  The bedding should be very slightly moist, but not wet.

Add the kitchen scraps (shredded or chopped a bit so they are easier for the worms to eat) and let the worms have at it!  Soon you’ll have glorious worm casting compost to add to your garden.

What Kind of Worms?

Red wrigglers are the best worms for vermicomposting.  You can try a local bait shop or you can order them online, to be shipped to you.

Getting Started

I found a great article on worm composting to explain all the ins and outs.

You might have an organic garden shop near to you that carries worm composting supplies; if you do — great!  Get your trays, worms and bedding and you’re all set.

If you don’t have anywhere locally to get your worms, here are some ideas below.

Happy worm composting!