Earlier we’ve talked about the differences between compost bins and compost tumblers, and let you, our wonderful composting audience, decide for yourselves on what you thought would work better for your needs. Well, let’s put our differences aside and talk about worm composting, also known in the composting world as vermiculture or vermicomposting. There’s really not much to it, we use worms, right? Right, but not just any worms; red wiggler worms or night crawlers are the preferred types of worms to use. Why not earthworms, you ask? Well, I’ll explain that in a second, but let me first tell you why red wigglers and night crawlers are so beneficial to the composting process.
Red wiggler worms, also known as red worms and by their scientific name of Eisenia fetida, are recognized as the best kind of composting worm. Thriving in darkness and swearing off light, red worms are hardy workers and can eat half of their own weight. Additionally, they have hearty appetites and can live off of food scraps such as banana peels and chicken mash (a yummy mix of cornmeal and chicken meat, this is usually used only if you plan to raise your red worms as fish bait). Red worms also live well in damp places, and as fish bait, will wiggle around on the hook since they can survive in water for several days at a time.
Night crawlers which are popular amongst fishermen can also be used as composting worms. With the same performance level as red worms, they’re not really considered your number one composting worm. One reason may be that even though they thrive in cool, shady areas, they don’t seem to fare too well if there’s too much moisture; in fact, once they hit water they’ll pretty much just die. Unusually enough, fisherman seem to like using night crawlers as bait probably because they’re pretty big and fat.
Using earthworms such as the kind that show up when it starts raining is not recommended. Earthworms are great burrowers and excellent soil aerators, but they won’t digest the organic matter and leave behind worm castings, which is what you want. Your best bet is to stick with red wiggler worms. Though not necessary, mixing red wigglers with night crawlers is okay, but you’re fine with sticking to one or the other.
Vermicomposting can be a fun activity for families, classrooms, or even just solo. Just be sure to feed your worms and watch them as they do the work for you.
Need some compost bins, wood chippers or even a lawn sweeper? Stop by Composters.com today!
Article from articlesbase.com
Related Blogs
Filed under "composting Worms" by on Jul 27th, 2011. Comment. 
<b>What We’ll Need For Building A Worm Farm At Home</b>
Building a worm farm at home can be accomplished in just 3 easy steps. First we need to get the materials.
You will need a container to house the environment, which will be known as our compost bin. It doesn’t have to be any more than a plastic tub to work as a wormery compost. The bin will need to be about 1 foot tall. The surface area of the lid should be about 4 feet by 5 feet, assuming you will be adding about 20 pounds of waste each week.
The second material we will need is the bedding for the wormery worms to live in. This can be made out of shredded paper or cardboard or it could even come from outside in the form of dead leaves and grass. Here is a very important tip for your wormery compost – the bedding must be moist when you put it in the compost bin! Wormery worms require a moist environment to be able to move about in.
The final thing we need for buillding a worm farm at home are, of course, the worms! I suggest red wigglers, but there are several species of worms that get the job done. The average household wormery compost requires about 2 pounds of worms.
<b>Building A Worm Farm At Home – 3 Steps And You’re Done</b>
Step one to building a worm farm at home is to prepare the compost bin. Depending on the size of the container you got, you will need to drill 7-11 holes in the bottom to allow for water drainage and aeration to keep the air fresh and odors down.
Once the compost bin is prepared, we are ready to add our bedding. Remember, the most important thing to building a worm farm at home is to make sure your bedding is moist when you put it in the bin! You should fill the compost bin to about 75% full.
The last step to building a worm farm at home is to find a suitable location for your wormery compost. Worms survive best in moderate temperatures (40-80 F). You can keep your compost bin indoors or out. If you do not live in a very temperate zone, you should carry your wormery compost inside during colder months. If you leave your compost outside, be sure to keep the lid on the bin.
Building a worm farm at home is an easy thing to do, but there are a lot more steps to ensuring the survival of your wormery worms. Where you locate your compost bin and how often you add waste can also affect the quality of the compost that your heap produces. If you want to learn more about <b> <a target=”_new” rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2697957']);” href=”http://www.squidoo.com/building-a-worm-farm-at-home”>building a worm farm at home</a> </b>, you can read more about <b> <a target=”_new” rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2697957']);” href=”http://wormerycompost.com”>wormery compost</a> </b> at my website <b> <a target=”_new” rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2697957']);” href=”http://wormerycompost.com”>http://wormerycompost.com</a> </b>.
Article from articlesbase.com
www.RedWormComposting Presents…a quick and dirty overview of using composting worms (such as Red Worms and European Nightcrawlers) in raised garden beds.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Related Blogs
Filed under "composting Worms" by on Jul 26th, 2011. Comment.
