Red Worm compost is one of the richest, most nutrient filled natural fertilizer that can be used. Red Wiggler, red earthworms, or just red worms all produce exceptional compost for your garden, flower beds, lawns, or other plants, through their worm castings.
Red Worms composting has been used for a long time as a natural fertilizer. Of course these worms naturally live in the ground and it has long been their job to breakdown larger food items into a more nutrient rich biodegradable form. Worms are just doing their job of breaking down the food; but at the same time are producing a high quality compost that can be used for many purposes.
So, if you would like to harness the power of the red worm and its red worm castings; consider starting a worm farm. One of the easiest ways to get started on a small scale is with a bucket worm farm. All you need is a bucket with some holes at the top, worm bedding, soil, moisture, worms, and some worm food.
When using your worm compost on your lawn for example, you can use it in a similar fashion to other fertilizers. Simply spread the worm poop evenly throughout the lawn as though you were salting a steak. Its best if applied when the ground is a little moist. Then simply water the lawn as usual, and you should be able to notice a much greener and healthier lawn coming in.
You can also use this red worm compost on your garden. The only word of caution is to avoid applying the compost directly on the edible parts of your garden; try to keep to the dirt surrounding. In fact, you can also make a compost tea out of your red worm compost.
Overall, red worms make great pets, are easy to manage, and produce a highly usuable compost for your gardens, lawns, flower beds, and much more.
One of the easiest ways to get started in worm farming, is with a bucket worm farm. A plastic 10 gallon bucket with a lid is a cheap and effective way to begin growing your worms.
Here are the materials that you need to start your bucket worm farm:
A bucket with a lid (put some holes in the lid for air).
Worm bedding (shredded up newspaper and/or cardboard).
Soil
Moisture
Food (scraps from your kitchen!)
And of course…worms.
First, start with your empty bucket and poke some holes in your lid, five or 10 small holes should suffice for your worms to breath. Yes, worms do need oxygen to survive.
How to Make a Worm Bed?
Next, place your worm bed at the bottom of the bucket. You will probably need about 4 to 6 inches of shredded newspaper or cardboard strips for your worms to be comfortable. Make sure that the worm bed is moist, but not soaking wet. Worms need moisture, but can drown in too much water. You should also add some leaves or grass trimming for a more natural environment.
How Much Dirt to Add to a Worm Farm?
Then add your soil. Make sure to add a few inches of soil to keep your worm happy in their natural habitat. The amount of dirt or soil that you add to your worm farm really depends on the number of worms that you have. For a worm farm in a 10 gallon bucket, under 200 worms is a good amount to start with. As they multiply (and they will), you can just get another bucket and repeat the process.
How Much Food Do Worms Eat?
Next you will need to feed your worms. For a list of foods that worms will consume, visit my recent post on Worm Farms: The Basics. Typically you will just need to feed your worms about once per week. You will know if you are feeding your worms too much if there is a stench coming from the bucket. To make the stench go away, just leave the worms to their food; once it is consumed, the smell will be gone.
Overall, make sure that you keep your worms in a dark place, make sure they have oxygen to breath, keep the worm farm moist, and keep them happy by feeding them. The resulting worm castings are your treasure to keep for your garden, lawn, or used as other fertilizer as needed.
This video will show you how to set up a worm bins made out of a basic rubbermaid plastic bin. There are many different materials that can be used including wood; however, this video shows you a great way that you can get starting raising worms and make the world a little greener!
Worm Bins or worm beds are very important to successfully growing and breeding your worms. Worm bins can be made from many different materials, but are typically made from plastic or wood. Also, depending on the size of your worm “collection” your bin could be small enough to fit next to your kitchen sink, or so large that it takes up an entire barn!
Worms bins can either be made on your own or you can purchase commercially made worm bins for under $100 (depending on the size and need).
A great way to start is to take a basic plastic bin and drill some holes in the lid. Or just take a plastic bucket and that can suffice as your very first worm bin. Just make sure that your worms get some oxygen, because even though they like to live in the dark, they still need to breath.
Here is a great video that shows some of the basics of worm bins.
Here is a great video that can show the basics on how to start a worm farm. Raising worms can help you be a little more environmentally friendly. This segment is all about making your life a littler more “green”. So, if you are just learning how to build a worm farm or are a red wriggler expert; this one is worth checking out.
Raising worms can be both a rewarding experience and a profitable venture. Depending on your own ambition and goals for your worm farms, you can achieve both.
However, there are a few simple things that you need to know before you tackle raising millions of worms! Worms are not your slaves to be used for their poo and profit potential!
Here are what worms need in order to stay alive and better yet…thrive!
First, they need Moisture.
Moisture allows worms to stay healthy and prevents them from shriveling up and dying! Red Wriggles, Earthworms, or meal worms…you name it; they all breath through their skin and need this moisture to have their skin and breathing function properly.
Second, worms need Oxygen.
As stated, worms actually breathe oxygen. So there is a fine balance between giving the worm some moisture and drowning the little guy. Also, make sure that you don’t pack them in an air tight container; they need the air.
Third, worms need Warmth.
Although Red Worms are very resilient creatures and can survive extreme cold; they will not flourish in freezing temperatures. The optimal temperature for breeding red worms is between 15-20C (59-68F). So, make sure that you aren’t leavings your red wrigglers unattended during those long winter nights. At least for long periods of time.
Fourth, worms need a food source.
Worms love the microorganisms that grow on all sorts of waste. So, you can certainly put all sorts of garbage and/or food in your worm bin; its actually the microorganisms on this food that the worms love and flourish on.
Fifth, worms prefer the dark.
I guess that’s probably not too hard to figure out since they are naturally found under ground. However, it is important to remember if you are keeping your worm outside in particular. Make sure that they are not directly exposed to the sun for a long period of time.
So there you have it, your first course in raising worms!
Compost tea or worm tea is made by steeping vermicompost (or other compost) in water for a period of time. The resulting liquid (or compost tea) is then used as a fertilizer for plants or as a prevention against plant disease. Compost tea is just another powerful outcome from having a worm farm.
Compost tea and vermicompost are an amazing product of worms. Worms eat, then produce this vermicompost; also referred to as worm castings (worm poop!). Therefore, compost tea, is a the end product of worms breaking down organic matter which is very nutrient rich.
Compost tea is typically used as a fertilizer. The use of compost tea requires a great amount of knowledge and skill. If used on edible plants one should avoid spraying directly on edible parts of the plant. In fact, the US National Organic Program has very strict guidelines on the use of compost tea for USDA certified organic farming. In addition, it takes some trial and error before you are able to find the proper amounts of compost tea to use. Composting is a complex process and in particular compost tea is not fully understood by everyone.
In addition to fertilizer; compost tea has also been used as a way to prevent plant disease. The use of compost tea to prevent disease in plants is an extremely complex biological process. Steven Scheuerell and Walter Mahaffee of the Department of Horticluture at Oregon State University have given a more detailed presentation on: Compost Tea for Plant Disease Control: Production, Application, and Results.
It is possible to build your own compost tea machine or “brewing barrel”. Many “do-it-yourselfers” have taken this route. In addition, there are lots of barrels produced commercially as well.
The process of actually making compost tea depends on its purpose. There are several kinds of compost tea all of which are processed differently. Some of the variables are the amount of Vermicompost, amount of water, amount of time allowed to steep, amount of aeration, method of aeration, application, and other ingredients.
Worm Farms are a way for the everyday household to be environmentally friendly. In this article, we are going to discuss what a worm farm is and the benefits of worm farming.
A worm farm is often used to decompose food scraps or other items and the resulting worm castings or Vermicompost is used to fertilize a garden, grass, or other area. This worm compost is extremely rich in nutrients and therefore valuable to anyone seeking an organic, 100% natural, alternative to commercial fertilizers. The most commom types of worms to use for a worm farm or worm composting are Red Wiggler Worms (Esienia foetida) or Red Earthworms (Lumbricus rubellas).
A worm farm can be produced in small scale or large scale. There are many commercial worm farms that sell both the worms and the Vermicompost (worm castings). This organic compost is highly sought after.
However, a worm farm can be started in your own backyard, garage, or even the kitchen on a small scale! Worm farm bins (i.e. Vermiculture bins or composting bins) can certainly be purchased from other worm farms or commercial compost bin manufacturers. However, worms are very resilient and therefore a number of containers are suitable for starting a small scale worm farm; including, plastic bins, buckets, wooden crates, metal containers, and many other common items. For more details on suitable containers, visit our worm bin page.
Red Wiggler Worms and Red Earthworms can handle all sorts of common kitchen scraps, such as:
Vegetable peels
Leftovers
Fruit (no the peels however)
Moldy bread
Coffee Grounds
Coffee Filters
Tea bags
To see a more complete list of what is suitable and what is not for worms; visit our worm food page.
Most households will be able to significantly reduce the amount of waste they are putting in the garbage can by feeding their worms! Therefore, you are doing your part to keep our landfills from growing out of control. The resulting organic compost from your worm poop can also help you harvest a fruitful garden, have a green lawn, or have healthy house plants, and much more.
