When you’re working in the garden, worms are a pretty normal occurrence. But did you know just how much good worms do for your soil? To get the best possible results in your garden, one option to consider is vermicomposting, or composting using worms. There are a wide range of benefits to this type of composting – here’s a quick look at the process to help you get started.
What is Vermicomposting?
Composting can provide valuable nutrients for your garden in the form of a top dressing while diverting up to 30% of the food scrap and lawn waste from the landfill. Unfortunately, it can also take up a lot of space. Vermicomposting introduces red composting worms into your composting system, speeding up the process so that you don’t require as much space to get amazing results for your garden.
Why Vermicomposting?
Red worms share almost all of the same foods as we eat, as well as grass and lawn clippings, which they process into worm casings or castings, a rich source of food for your indoor and outdoor plants. Because the worms reproduce rapidly, you can quickly maximize the results of your vermicomposting system. The worms turn the pile themselves, reducing your work, while there is virtually no scent to the small area it takes up, making it ideal for those with a patio or balcony garden in an apartment.
How to Get Started Vermicomposting?
It’s simple to get started with vermicomposting, requiring about a 10-gallon plastic tote. You’ll need to drill small holes three inches apart on the top, bottom and sides to provide ventilation through the pile. A tray or additional lid can be added to the bottom to collect any liquids. Add non-glossy newspaper shredded into squares and leaves until the bin is almost full, then add warm water until the mixture is as wet as a wrung-out sponge. Because a worm’s body is about 90% water, it’s important to keep the media damp. Add well-chopped, non-meat foods to the bin an inch below the surface. At this point, you can add worms to your bin. If you’re composting outdoors, you can use any type of red composting worm, but if you’re working indoors, avoid nightcrawler-type worms. Feed weekly, bearing in mind that worms eat their weight in food every day. Remove some of the compost regularly and replace with fresh material.
(Basic vermicomposting worm farm made from a plastic tote)
If you are handy with a few tools and wood, building a basic wooden worm farm for vermicomposting isn't very difficult. The break down below gives you a basic guideline on how to build your very own DIY worm farm for vermicomposting.
(A Basic Guide to build your own DIY vermicomposting worm farm from wood)
By using vermicomposting in your garden plans, you can quickly gain the benefits of this process, making your garden healthier and more productive than ever. Whether you need worms for your vermicomposting system or simply to add to your no-till garden to aerate the soil and add nutrients, Redbud Soil Company can help! We have a range of package sizes of red composting worms and super red European nightcrawler composting worms available to help you ramp up your garden’s productivity. Please feel free to contact us today to get started!
