Getting Started
The purpose of this page is provide you with an overview of worm composting. Be assured that I will also be providing many other articles and blog posts that explore the various aspects of vermicomposting in much greater detail.
Here is a video I made some time ago that discusses the “fundamentals” of worm composting. If you are looking for a quick and dirty overview of this topic you may want to check it out:
Below is a more detailed description of some of the more important components you’ll likely want to consider before starting up your first vermicomposting system (keep in mind that this section was actually written LONG before I made the fundamentals video).
When it comes to starting up your vermicomposting system there are four main components to consider: 1) Container (worm bin), 2) Bedding, 3) Waste material, and of course 4) Composting worms.
Once you have read through those sections you should be well on your way towards being able to set up your own worm composting system. I have also included a section on building & setting up a worm bin, where I’ve included some YouTube videos I made.
There are a wide variety of options when it comes to choosing the type of worm bin you want to set up. If you are the handy type you may want to build your own creation, OR if you don’t mind spending the money perhaps you will opt for purchasing a complete worm bin system (which may come with bin, bedding and worms).
For anyone interested in simply trying out vermicomposting (or if you want to save some money), I would recommend heading to your local hardware store and grabbing yourself a standard Rubbermaid tub (with lid) or something similar.
Some things to keep in mind when you choose your vessel – 1) Light penetration, 2) Surface area vs depth. An ideal bin will be opaque (ie not allowing in light) and will be relatively shallow.
Red worms (and earth worms in general) are very sensitive to direct light – it can lead to considerable stress and even death if they unable to escape from it.
As far as depth goes, you don’t need to worry too much about exact dimensions but you definitely do want to put more emphasis on the surface area – this allows for greater oxygenation of the bin and also allows the worms to spread out more.
In other words, a Rubbermaid tub will be much better than a bucket.
Something I would recommend is either setting up multiple small bins OR one decent sized bin. The larger the system the more buffering capacity it will have. For example, I have a very large outdoor bin (5X3X3 feet). All worm composting experience aside, the sheer size of this system makes it very worry free. Even if there are unfavorable conditions in one section of the bin, the worms can easily move into many other favorable zones.
Similarly, I tend to keep 2 or 3 small indoor bins at one time, plus an “overflow” bucket (for excess food waste), thus making it much easier to ensure that balanced conditions prevail.
All that being said, there is nothing wrong with a single worm bin in the size range of a typical ‘blue box’ recycling container. This size of bin should be large enough to provide both buffering capacity and waste-processing potential for a typical household (especially if you use an overflow bucket and/or an outdoor composting heap as well).
Another important thing to mention is aeration. If you are using a typical Rubbermaid type of bin its not a bad idea to drill some holes in the lid and along the sides prior to adding your bedding/worms etc. This allows for more air flow in and out of the bin. If you have your bin sitting on some sort of tray you may even desire to drill a few holes in the bottom of the bin – a great way to ensure bin contents don’t get too waterlogged.
Composting worms not only need food, but also some sort of habitat to live in – bedding materials provide both. Ideal worm living conditions can be created initially by adding lots of bedding material with a decent amount of waste material (and likely some water to ensure adequate moisture conditions).
People often refer to the ideal composting moisture content as being similar to that of a wrung-out sponge. Higher moisture levels do tend to work better for worm composting, but this is definitely a good guideline to start with (especially when using a water-tight bin).
Some great materials for bedding include shredded cardboard (my favorite), shredded newspaper, aged straw, coconut coir, fall leaves and peat moss (although I prefer not to use this material since it is not harvested in a sustainable or environmentally-friendly manner). Worms seem to absolutely love rotting leaves, so definitely don’t be so quick to kick those bags to the curb in the fall. The downside of using leaves (aside from seasonality) is the fact that they don’t really absorb much water – this is why my ideal bedding will consist of a mix of leaves and brown cardboard (another material worms seem to have a real affinity for).
Bedding materials will typically need to be moistened before worms are added. In fact, a practice I highly recommend when starting a new bin is mixing bedding with a decent amount of moist food waste, then simply letting the mixture sit in a closed bin for a week or so before adding worms. This way you are creating a very friendly environment for your worms to live in. Aside from activating the important microbial community, this also allows for moisture to makes its way throughout the bin materials.
Waste Materials (ie Worm Food)
Usually people set up their own worm bin at home so they can compost their food scraps and leftovers. Unfortunately not all waste materials are created equal from a worm’s standpoint (or a human health standpoint for that matter), so we should talk a little about what should and should not be added to an indoor worm bin.
YES
- Vegetable & fruit waste (citrus fruit should be added in moderation when using smaller bins)
- Starchy materials – bread, pasta, rice, potatoes – all in moderation (beginners may want to avoid these altogether initially)
- Aged animal manures (careful with rabbit and poultry – need lots of bedding to balance)
- Shredded newspaper, used paper towels (common sense applies here), cardboard (great idea to add these carbon rich materials at the same time you add any wet food waste)
- Egg shells (best if ground up and in moderation)
- Coffee grounds
- Tea bags
NO
- Human/pet waste
- Non biodegradable materials
- Dairy/meat
- Oils/grease
- Harsh chemicals
These are fairly basic guidelines and of course there are exceptions under certain circumstances. I will definitely be going into much more detail in later articles.
Something I alluded to in the previous section was the fact that letting your waste material sit for a period of time is better than adding it right away. Often people assume that the worms feed directly on the waste materials themselves. In a sense they do, but more specifically they are slurping up the microbial soup that forms on rotting materials. If you throw in a bunch of fresh carrot peelings the worms won’t be able to start processing the material until sufficient microbial colonization has occured.
As I mentioned above, a fantastic way to ensure that your new bin takes off successfully is to mix a decent quantity of waste material in with your fresh bedding, then simply letting the bin sit for a week or so before adding the worms. I know this can be a challenge for those people anxious to get started, but it will go a long way in terms of ensuring your success.
Should you choose not to wait (obviously if you get your worms at the same time you get your bin it doesn’t make sense to wait) I would highly recommend that you at least try to add some partially rotting materials so that the worms have something to feed on.
I like to keep food waste in an old milk carton that sits under my sink. Aside from the convenience of not needing to take it down to the basement (where my indoor bins are located) or outside (to my outdoor bin) multiple times per day, this also allows time for microbial colonization of the materials – and don’t worry, you won’t have a stinky mess in your container if you do it properly (I’ll definitely write more about that in another article).
One of the common misconceptions amongst vermicomposting beginners is that any earthworm can be used for worm composting, or kept in an indoor bin in general.
I can still remember the disappointment of discovering (during my teenage years) that I could not keep a population of soil dwelling worms in a bucket. Before becoming interested in worm composting I was an avid aquarium hobbyist, always looking for ways to raise live food for my fish. Having heard that people were able to keep thriving “worm bins” in their house I naturally assumed they were raising the same kind I found in my garden.
Eventually I learned that most of my yard worms were of the “anecic” type – that is to say they were soil dwelling worms that create burrows and tend to lead a somewhat solitary existence (they need their space). The worms ideally suited for composting on the other hand are referred to as “epigeic”. This group tends to live in rich organic material (not soil), and are adapted to crowding and warmer temperatures. So its not difficult to see why epigeic worms would do much better in an indoor composting bin than their soil dwelling cousins.
By far, the most common variety of composting worm is Eisenia fetida – also known as the red worm or red wiggler (see the “Quick Facts” section for other names). If you are looking to start up your own worm composting bin this is definitely the worm for you. There are other species of composting worm, but we can deal with them in future articles.
So where does on get ahold of some of these worms??
Well there are various options. The easiest (but most expensive) is to simply buy them. There are a wide variety of online merchants who will sell them to you, OR you may be able to track down a local supplier (I will be eventually setting up a comprehensive supplier directory to help people find merchants in their area). If you need some recommendations simply drop me an email.
In general worms are pretty expensive (typically running somewhere between $25 and $40/lb USD, although decent discounts tend to be given on larger orders), but it’s amazing how fast you can build a large thriving population starting with only a pound of worms.
Another option is to track down someone else with a worm bin in your area and ask them to share. Over the years I’ve been given worms on multiple occasions and now happily ‘pay it forward’ on occasion myself. Getting in touch with your local gardening clubs or municiple waste management division should prove helpful.
Composting worms (E. fetida) don’t typically occur in “nature”, but there IS a decent chance of finding some on a local farm if they keep aged manure piles. I can still remember the very first time I saw a population of red wiggler worms. I was working at a horse farm and happened to dig into a pile of manure sitting behind the barn. It was absolutely LOADED with red worms! I had never seen so many worms in one place ever (nor have I since then). If I had been into worm composting at the time this would have been like hitting the jackpot.
When it comes to adding worms to a new system, I like to err on the side of caution. I prefer to build my population up to the ideal level, rather than using standard guidelines. A widely accepted recommendation is to add 1lb of worms for each sq ft of bin surface area you have. So if your bin is 1.5 X 2 ft (width x length) it should be able to handle 3 lbs of worms. I would personally rather add 1lb of worms to a bin this size and let the population reach an population equilibrium on it’s own. Red worms reproduce very rapidly under favorable conditions so it shouldn’t take too long.
Building & Setting up a Worm Composting Bin
Here are three Youtube videos I made, demonstrating how to build and set up several types of worm composting bins (the third video only shows the building process, but you can certainly apply the same methods shown in the first two videos).
Setting up a Basic Worm Composting Bin
This is a basic as it comes – the simple Rubbermaid tub worm bin. For anyone just getting started, and looking for a very easy-to-build and inexpensive worm composting system, this is a great option. Just remember – you should always use a tub that is opaque, especially if you are going to keep the bin in a brightly lit location! Light can stress out or even harm the worms.
Setting up a “Deluxe” Worm Bin
This is a slightly more advanced system than the “basic” shown above. One of the limitations of enclosed plastic bins is that they can become “swampy” over time due to water accumulation in the bottom. By creating a system with a drainage reservoir you can help to eliminate this issue, and create some better quality worm compost in the process. I don’t actually use this type of system myself anymore, simply due to the fact that I used mostly open systems (which takes care of the excess moisture concern) and I just generally like to keep things as simple as possible. But don’t let that stop you from using this type of bin (lots of people seem happy with this approach!
The “Mini” Vented Worm Bin
This was originally a system I created to sell as part of a worm bin kit for those who didn’t feel like making their own bin. I later decided to stop offering the systems (didn’t really enjoy mass producing them), and instead have put more focus on providing DIY guidance.
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How long does it take for healthy red worms to reproduce?
reading thru this is fascinating…. recently bought 1 # of the E.F. (red worms)….. started in a 18 gallon sterite…. heavy peat/paper mixture for bedding…. I also drink a fair amount of coffee… have since heard that maybe they won’t eat the peat?…. also ,if they do….. how do you tell readily if the peat and or coffee grounds are consumed?
findings…
1) they eat the pulp but not the skins on granny smith apples, at least not in a months time…
2) coffee filters are slow to non exhistant in consumption rates…
3) egg shells apparently not crushed up enough, there are still quite a few in the container apparently intact….
Interesting findings, Scott – thanks for sharing.
8)
Sorry, Lisa – almost missed you there.
Coming up with a reliable and consistent figure for composting worm reproduction rates is like trying to find the Holy Grail unfortunately. A common rate that gets tossed around a fair bit is “doubling every 90 days”. If you are looking for some expert opinions, check out some of the numbers (from academic research) I included in this post:
https://www.redwormcomposting.com/reader-questions/starting-a-worm-farming-business/
The problem is that there are so many variables that can influence reproductive rate in worms, thus it’s really challenging to make any generalizations.
Anyway , Lisa – hope this response is more helpful than frustrating!
😆
No question, just wanted to say that it is remarkable that you are still answering questions on a post that is 18 months old. What a kind person you must be!
I found your site through another worm enthusiast’s blog, and I am very excited to try this method myself. I asked my husband for an indoor worm farm for Christmas, he has been very supportive of my garden over the last six years, but when I asked for worms? “You can’t REALLY think I would buy you WORMS to keep in our HOUSE, do you?”
Sigh, I’ll keep working on him, lol!
Thanks from New Brunswick,
Irma
Strange – I thought I replied to you, Irma.
Thanks for the kind words. The page, while similar in appearance to a blog post, is actually my main help page for newcomers. That being said, I am indeed still more than happy to respond to comments on any blog posts – even the really old ones. I think it really helps add to the value of them since people can read all the way down if they like, picking up lots of interesting vermi-conversations along the way!
🙂
Don’t give up on your husband – hopefully you can wear him down over time. hehe
Regards,
Bentley
Hi Bentley,
Would you be able to write a bit on the precomposting you do (i.e. the milk carton under the sink)? I have limited space, alot of potential worm food, and a wife with a tremendous sense of smell so I want to do it right. Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge and practice!
Brian
Hi Brian,
While it is no longer a “milk carton under the sink” (now an official food scrap holder), I do still collect materials before using them. I don’t have much in the way of odor issues and I am super lazy with it – generally just throw things in. To do it really well, it helps if you add shredded cardboard (or newspaper) along with the food. This absorbs excess moisture, and allows more air to get in – both important for odor reduction.
Hope this helps!
B
hello there,sory i quite new in this line of work,im from malaysia,i also practicing red worm composting,i find it quite different from your style,maybe because of the climate but im not really sure.but i like ur style better,it is much more simple,n can be done even in your own apartment,
i want to know more about this,here in malaysia if a person is practising redworm composting,they often use sawdust that are put in a water for several days to remove the chemical from the sawdust itself,n then they will use it as a medium for which the worm will be living in,as food,here we often use goat poops,which will take from goat farm and dried it out in the sun for several days to remove the smell,n then we put it into the water to make it moist n put together with the worms
Hi Zol,
There are lots of different ways to compost with worms. The methods outlined above are basically ideal for the average urban home owner. Your methods also sound good since aged manure is an excellent worm food. I would personally prefer to use shredded cardboard rather than sawdust however, since it is much more absorbent and will break down much more quickly.
Bentley
Hell-o! I am setting up a worm station or two, per your outstanding suggestions here, on my shaded deck – which is approx 30 miles north of the upper Texas gulf coast. There are 2 questions still remaining: The dark plastic bins will be in a shaded location, not in direct sun. Even in shade, the area is subject to daytime temps of 85-90 for many months. Will such conditions hamper my attempts at worming? And, if my little worm farm gets up and going… what to do with the excess population? I don’t intend to go commercial and the number of friends or neighbors who’ve expressed any interest in taking the (i hope) numerous worm babies is currently zero. I hate to just toss them!
Your article and replies here are very informative!
Hi–I’m thrilled to have found this site. I got my composter (one of those add the try types made from recycled plastic) and a pound of worms earlier this month. I put the bedding together as per the instructions and have added food. However, now where but here have I seen that I should not add too much grain products at a time so plopped an handful of leftover cooked barley into a corner. They have eaten much of it and it’s gone moldy. Should I remove it or leave it? They do seem to be eating on it some but much prefer the veg peelings and such that have been placed in another corner. They did devour rather quickly the first pile of veg peelings. I’m a nervous wreck over my new charges and would love to make them happy and healthy for many reasons but I’m looking forward to their compost for additions to my garden this spring and summer. Thanks again for the site. I’m so happy to have found it.
Hey there Bentley,
I have one worm bin going, seems to be doing ok, and I am thinking of starting up a second. At my office i have a whole wastebasket filled with paper towels of the very rough, natural fiber, brown variety. I think this stuff would make great bedding, and i am hesitant to just ship it off to the landfill. It is only used to dry my hands after washing, thought i might have at one point in time wiped the mirror down with windex or something of that nature. Would this harm the worms? I know in large quantities it would obviously be bad, but would one or two paper towels with dry windex make the whole batch of material unusable? If it is I have no problem throwing it away, but I figured that if I could use it, I would.
I’m totally new at even the idea of vermicomposting. It sounds like a great thing. I garden and compost, but have a hard time finding enough material to compost. But I believe I have enough materials to keep a whole bunch of worms happy.
I have a question about food. Can the worms be fed such things as cotton seed meal, chicken feeds, etc. Thanks for the info. I’m so glad to find your web site. Thanks,
Gary
I too want to start an outside worm bin and like the flow through style of bins. My plans are to construct a bin 1foot by 1 foot by 3 feet. I will insulate it with 2 inches of styrofoam inside and R-19 insulation inclosed the same as insulation in a house.
Because I have never composted with worms, I was looking for a ballpark guess of how long it might take to reach the top of a bin with these dimensions?
I’m looking for casting more than increased numbers of worms.
How do they keep in the winter. I live in MN it gets down to -30 many times during the winter. I do not have a basement.
Gary – I suspect that both cotton seed meal and chicken feeds would work as worm foods. I would start with a small amount (make sure it’s nice and moist – probably best to layer it on top as well) to see how the worms respond. It may take a few days for them to start feeding on it so don’t be discouraged if it’s not gone quickly.
Dallas – Your system sounds good, but I’m not sure it is big enough to generate the required heat. This depends of course on your location. If you name is any indication (haha) you will likely be fine. How quickly a system like this will fill depends on a wide variety of factors – cool temperatures will definitely slow down the process a LOT. With moderate to warm temperatures and a decent starting population of worms, I suspect you would reach the top within a few months.
Cindy – Red Worms are very tolerant of cold, but this is not to say that they will be efficient at low temps. As far as survival goes, I’ve literally found them encased in frozen compost! If you want them to process your wastes quickly you will likely want to keep them at temperatures above 65 F or so.
In your case, you would definitely need something similar to my big outdoor winter worm bed. It’s has the volume necessary to generate warmth (even in very cold weather) and the insulation to keep that warmth in. Straw bales seem to work well for walls, and manure and straw are helpful for food/insulation.
HI, this is a great resource and I’m so exciting about setting up my worm bin. Would you recommend buying red worms online? If so, could you give me some advice on where to buy? If I buy locally, where can I go to find something like this?
Hi Casey – I sent you an email, but I should respond here as well for the benefit of others. Let me start by admitting I am a wee bit biased – hehe. We sell worms, and have had a lot of really positive feedback, SO I certainly see the value (and convenience) of ordering online. Shipping generally takes 2-3 days, so the worms are still in excellent shape.
If you want to buy locally, I would recommend getting in touch with your local gardening club, or agriculture extension office (if either of these exist). You might also simply try a Google search for “Red Worms, YOUR CITY/REGION” – where you substitute your own city or region to see if there are any worm businesses in your area.
Hope this helps
Bentley
I am very impressed with this thread and would like to thank You for still running it after all this time. I have learned more here then in two weeks of searching.
I have not yet started a bin, but am very close to it. Especially after finding your site, and I would like to ask how worms feel about salt? I am afraid the salt content of my waste may be too high?
hey,
i need to ask a few questions about this article please contact asap thi is impotant because i am doing a project when was this published?who published it?what was the date when this was published?whats the author name first name and last name and middle initial?
My name is Bentley SM Christie (the site is RedWormComposting.com)
The article was published January 27, 2007 (Oh how time flies! haha)
I published it.
🙂
If you need any more info, just email me using the form on the contact page.
I’ve found all the information very useful and interesting. I’m in New England, I decided to put a composting bin together for all the families living in our big old house (3 families). I bought a large plastic composter bin (about 3’x3′ at the base and about 4′ tall), it has good aeration, it is black but in a shaded spot. I put a pound or two of red worms in there with a few buckets of shredded paper after I had about 20 lbs of vegetable matter in it that had aged for about 2 months. I put in our fall leaves and grass clippings and vegetable scraps, the occasional paper towel, I generally cut my materials up pretty small, but the neighbors generally throw things in whole.
This winter was pretty cold up this way, I’m not sure there was enough material in the bins decomposing to keep it warm enough to stop from it from freezing.
So here are my questions for anyone who cares to throw in their two cents:
1.) Come spring, I will probably need to add new worms, does it make more sense to switch to a hot composting system for this quantity of material or keep adding worms and restart the colony. For Massachusetts what is the best time to add worms, March ? April ? How many pounds is reasonable for a bin this size ?
2.) We add maybe 5 to 10 lbs a week to the bin collectively, I avoid too much citrus or onion, nothing that is chemically treated, I generally don’t add eggs shells or coffee grounds, but I suppose I could. Aside from turning the pile with a pitch fork occasionally, what general rules can I use to facilitate our composting process for our group: smaller pieces, more shredded paper or paper towels to control moisture, do I need to water, do I need a more diverse mix of materials or are there certain materials that can accelerate the process overall?
3.) On the weekends I generally go to a local food bank to sort and distribute produce for struggling families in Boston, we usually end up with 20 or so pounds of rotten vegetables that no one can use. I if start adding that much additional material every week or two will I overload my system, even with the 9 sq ft surface area ? I hate to throw all that food into the garbage, it costs the sponsoring church money to dispose of it and it does nobody any good. Is there anything I can do to help the system cope with the new amount of materials ?
Thanks much
Hello all,
My son did a science fair project on red worm composting. He earned a 3rd place. Thanks for all the information. He plans to use the expanding worm population for a fishing trip planned for the spring. We will continue to compost kitchen waste. It has been fun . Lisa
I am anticipating billions of worms,(funny…. don’t know what the heck I’d do with that many, but……..)
My primary reason for starting the worm bin was the compost for a garden, yet as an experiment I only started with 1# ,(I didn’t take the time to count them 😉 ,but my question is about… what is the best you can do to help their natural rate of increase? keeping in mind only scrap foods and a normal peat/cardboard mix being used…. 3 months running …. family of 4…. I’ve read that a temporarily-slightly dry bin along with a few layers of damp burlap can help? is this correct?
I don’t use the lid, or any cover for that matter, slightly burrying all scraps, however some have stated they cover the surface with dark plastic…. does this hinder the oxygen content in the bin?
also,is it possible to use too many coffee grounds ?…. even if its used as bedding? not just food? the small shop I work in goes thru at least a 3# can a day of coffee….. (theoretically thats 6# of worms?) I dream of the day when I can collect this and dispose of it on a regular basis along with or household scraps. thanks again in advance ,Its kinda neat to read all these questions/answers posted.
Man oh man – this thread of comments just keeps piling up – eh? It’s like a little discussion forum attached to a single article. hehe
John Q – inorganic salts are very harmful to composting worms. A salt content of 0.5% or higher (according to researchers) is not a good thing. Worms breathe through their skin and are highly sensitive to a wide range of chemicals.
Socrates
1) You will likely be surprised to find a new colony of worms in your system this spring. Obviously this depends on how cold it got, but I’ve had worms/cocoons easily survive in an unprotected backyard composter during one of our winters (which get pretty darn cold)
2) With worms in the system, turning really isn’t necessary, but you do need to make sure the contents of the bin stay moist – shouldn’t be a problem given the amount of waste you are adding. Freezing/chopping/blending etc wastes can definitely help to accelerated process.
3) Absolutely DO NOT throw that waste in the garbage – that would be a…well, WASTE! haha – seriously – there are plenty of options. Even digging a hole in the ground and burying it is a much better option (obviously tough in the winter though). I’d suggest letting the excess (what doesn’t end up in your composter) pile up until spring – you can then make a new system, bury it etc etc.
Lisa – That’s great. Congrats!
Scott – I talked in this comment post about how to speed up the process – increasing surface area and breaking down structural defenses (ie plant cell walls etc) is the key – this allows microbes to colonize much more quickly, thus accelerating the decomposition process.
Not sure what you mean re: the wet burlap etc. Like yourself I don’t use lids anymore – I find this accelerates the process and prevents build up of water (due to better air flow). A layer of plastic over top would be fine as long as it is loose (allowing oxygen).
As for coffee grounds – it likely IS possible to use too many. Like any waste you can certainly add too much at once, causing symptoms of overfeeding. The type of grounds can also make a difference – I find that the really dark, finely ground stuff isn’t appreciated nearly as much as the course-textured brownish grounds. If I were going to dispose of multiple pounds of coffee grounds per day I would definitely want to use some sort of outdoor system where you can get away with a lot more (but DO be aware of the potential for overheating).
Hope this helps!
Hi,
I work in a pig farm here south of Manila and few years ago i have encountered vermicomposting as used for plants. I was wondering if you have any suggestion(s) regarding using primarily pig manure for the worms?
Thanks.
Farah
I am new to this. I have a compost pile, outside. Can I just add worms to it? Or, do I have to build a worm farm? I live in Maine where it gets pretty cold but what I read tells me Red Wrigglers can live in these temperatures. Thank you for any advice!
Farah – Pig manure is an excellent vermicomposting feed material, but not if used fresh (lots of ammonia and salts). You should mix it with a lot of straw (or other bedding) and let it age/compost for a couple of weeks (potentially longer) before adding worms.
Sue – You certainly can composting worms to a regular pile, provided it has good moisture and food. If it just contains a bunch of general yard waste (weeds, grass, branches etc) it won’t likely be an ideal habitat for the worms. I’d add lots of shredded cardboard, fall leaves (best if partially decomposed already), straw etc – these will definitely help. If you are adding your food waste to the pile already, that will definitely help.
My understanding from this article is that worm composting is done to raise worms. I still need to see were the composting part is.
I need the humus and the compost for my garden.
How I’ll do that? Just empty the worm bucket in the soil?
Hi Gabriel,
Actually – as the name of the site (hopefully) implies, setting up a small home worm bin is usually for the purpose of composting food scraps, rather than raising worms. That being said, it is still very important for people to take into consideration the needs of the worms – since their health and well being is directly correlated to the overall success of the system.
I’ll admit, there certainly is some gray area between vermicomposting and vermiculture (growing worms) – since they can often be basically the same thing. One important distinction can be the TYPE of ‘food’ being given to the worms. When someone is focused more on raising big, healthy worms, they may opt to actually buy specific products to feed to their worms. Those people more interested in composting their wastes, on the other hand, will almost always simply add their food scraps etc and not worry too much about growing the best worms (as long as they continue to produce nice compost and get rid of all their food waste)
The bi-product of vermiculture will of course be essentially the same thing – vermicompost. In fact, it can often be even BETTER material than that produced by worms simply feeding on miscellaneous food waste (because the original material is more nutritious).
Separating worms from the compost can be accomplished using a rotary screen harvester of some sort, or by employing one of the various low-tech methods – such as ‘light separation’, the ‘onion bag method’, or my ‘garbage bag method’.
Can I add onions? If so, what are the effects in larger quantities? Same question for chili and hot peppers. We’re in Texas.
Love your site…and answers! I am interested in using worms to reduce home garbage in honduras (warm and wet). I will also have farm animals which will devour food leftovers, so I would rather give the worms the stuff no one else will eat.
You’ve mentioned cardboard– does it matter if it is wax coated?
Can you be more specific on the degradable plastic in your photo of frozen stuff (eventually almost everything will degrade….)?
I understand the salts issue; what ph level is ideal: neutral, acidic, basic?
Can I ever use some of the bleached paper as bedding, etc?
Originally I was hoping to get rid of used toilet paper (which you cant flush there) via the worms, but I noticed human waste in your list of nonos–what if I dont use the worm castings as plant food, is it still too full of salts( I could have a seperate bin for that)?
I am going to try to live “off the grid”, independently and would rather not burn my garbage. I wont be near any kind of garbage service or many utilities and would rather not add to the piles of garbage many other honduranians have around their houses. I also hope to share information about passive composting and using it in gardening, with my neighbors; maybe some will appreciate this better way of living. I should have a ton of rotting vegetation and fruit /vegie scraps since its a year round growing season there and I plan on growing/producing a majority of my own food as well as any travelers lodging with me.
I am interested in any thoughts you may have on the worms, etc. Your tip for fruit fly traps will be invaluable, I’m sure!!!
Thanks,
Patricia
One more question, if I may– what about using leaves containing tannins, strong resins,and or natural insecticides (oaks, eucalyptus, etc)
Tom – large quantities of onions and chili/hot peppers would generally not be good worm food, but it all depends on how they are handled I guess. If you heaped them up and composted them (without worms) outside for a few weeks they might be ok. All of these materials contain oils that could really irritate, or even kill the worms. If you have a giant worm bed and you can just heap these materials off to one side and leave them, over time they would likely become more worm friendly, and until then the worms could avoid them.
I definitely wouldn’t add a lot of them to a smaller enclosed, plastic bin.
By the way, well-cooked onions aren’t too bad at all – they will have lost much of their potency. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the peppers.
B
Patricia – Wax-coated cardboard will likely take a LONG time to breakdown, or will at least leave you with a lot of wax residue in your worm bed.
The ideal pH for composting worms is probably somewhat acidic – these are the conditions they are used to living in. There certainly won’t be anything wrong with a neutral or even slightly alkaline pH either – they have a wide range of tolerance.
Using SOME white paper products really isn’t a big deal in my mind. I’m just not big on recommending them as the sole bedding material.
If using human wastes, make sure to avoid urine, and do keep it in a completely different system. Worms have been used very successfully in composting toilets, so you should have good luck with that approach – the best bet is to get a thriving system (i.e. safe habitat) set up ahead of time before starting to add the toilet paper etc.
Good question about the leaves – I would definitely recommend avoiding the use of any leaves with strong oils in them – or at least make sure to compost those leaves on their own before adding them to your vermicomposting system.
Hope this helps
B
Hi, Bentley. Do you have any experience with a vertical tray system? I bought a 5-Tray Gusanito Worm Bin Farm. It comes with a couple pieces of landscape fabric, one for just under the roof and the other goes in between the bottom worm tray and the liquid collection tray.
Unfortunately, this design still allows many worms every day to drop out of the bottom tray onto the fabric. It doesn’t stay taut so it sags down into the liquid collection tray and the poor little guys are stuck there. I figured the reason they tell you not to just line the bottom worm tray with the fabric is that the worms will eat through it? I don’t know.
I placed sheets of #7 and #10 plastic canvas mesh under the bedding of the bottom tray, but 1 or 2 worms still get through or around it every day. What do you think about lining the bottom worm tray with tulle (nylon mesh)? I was thinking about bringing it over the sides and securing it around the outside edge of the tray with a bungee cord.
Thank you so much… Melissa
Hey Melissa,
I’ve had 2 Gusanito Worm Farms since July, 2008. I keep landscape fabric under the bottom trays (mine didn’t come with it) and just let the worms fall through the trays and onto it. They all seem to survive and thrive. When it comes time to harvest the bottom trays of their compost, I just scoop them all up along with the worm castings, etc, that have also fallen through the trays. They apparently have enough to eat, don’t drown, and always seem quite healthy and content. I then separate the worms from the castings of the bottom worm trays along with the numerous stray worms who have fallen onto the sagging landscape fabric and its vermicompost and return them all to the worm factories into the upper newly-recharged trays to begin the cycle all over again. I can harvest one tray from each factory every 1 to 2 weeks.
It works great – don’t worry. I don’t have a great deal of liquid that collects. I never add water to the system, (other than the pre-moistened shredded cardboard) and I always keep the spigots open to allow air flow. They seem to be very well balanced systems.
Chris A.
P.S. Melissa –
Because my Worm Factories didn’t come with landscape fabric, I cut my own several inches larger than the footprint of the trays. I don’t know how large your landscape fabric is, but mine forms a kind of tarpaulin onto which the worms and castings can fall. It suspends them a little bit above the lowest point of the collection trays.
Anyway, they do just fine – they almost seem to like it there. They can crawl away from the drenched muck, but hey – no problem!
Chris A.
Hi Melissa,
It looks as though Chris has done an excellent job of responding to your query already (thanks Chris) – good thing, since I’m not a stacking system expert by any means. I have a single stacking bin and it’s made of wood not plastic. One of these days I should really order myself a plastic stacking system so I can at least test one out.
What I’ve found with the wooden system is that it dried out far too easily and just ended up being annoying to use. Despite the fact that I’m such a passionate vermicomposter, I am still pretty lazy and ‘hands off’ when it comes down to it – so I prefer using ‘set it and forget it’ types of systems.
8)
Thank you, Chris. Wow… you can harvest a tray every 1-2 weeks? Your worms must have a worm or something. 😉 Anyway, I actually wound up placing an empty tray on the bottom level and covered that with the fabric, so it stays real taut right underneath the working tray. No more worms falling out.
The worm bin manufacturers should make a top for the Liquid Collection Tray. It could be like a regular tray, but with a tight mesh that baby worms can’t get through, and formed so that a working tray would fit into it with no gap. I think that would solve the problem and eliminate the need for a worm-catching hammock in the LCT.
Bentley, you are just a worm guru. I’m subscribed to your blog and really appreciate you sharing all your knowledge, both past and as you learn new techniques.
Melissa –
Yes, I have 2 worm farms, one with 4 trays, and one with 5 trays, so each tray takes at least 4 weeks to make it from the top down to the bottom, and most take longer than that.
I shred cardboard in a heavy-duty Office-Max shredder(I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t give out), so the bedding is nice and uniform, and I puree all of the food scraps in an old Cuisinart food processor. The top tray always has just moistened bedding. The next 2 trays down have pureed food mixed with the bedding. The bottom 1 or 2 trays are well processed vermicompost finishing up. Tons of worms inhabit every level of the farm.
When it’s time to harvest the compost, I remove the roof, add food to the top tray, and then move the full bottom tray up to the top position so the worms in it can start traveling down (away from the light) and into the tray beneath. I also scoop the muck (which is very well processed compost) and worms from the landscape fabric that have fallen through the bottom-most tray. This I place into an empty kitty-litter pan to separate the worms and compost using the mound and light method.
In the meantime, many of the worms from the top tray have migrated to the next tray down, but I help the process by gently stirring up the compost periodically, thus exposing the remaining worms to the light so they will dive through the tray bottom. I then remove compost from the top tray a few handfuls at a time, placing it into the kitty-litter pan.
Next I put new moistened bedding material into the now empty top tray and replace the roof – some worms like to hang out there. I tried landscape fabric on the top tray under the roof, but I decided it was unnecessary and reduced air flow. (By the way, the worms aren’t interested in eating the fabric.)
The whole procedure takes me about an hour or two to clear the tray of compost and separate the worms from it.
I then sift through the compost in the kitty-litter pan, rescuing stray worms and viable cocoons to return to the worm farm. The pan of finished compost is then left to partially dry out over the next several days. I stir it at least once daily, and I always find a few brand-new tiny redworm hatchlings that I move into the worm farm.
Chris A.
I haven’t started a worm bin yet but was wondering what others think about a mixture of well composted horse manure and old used coffee ground and of course kitchen scraps too.
I could use the manure and coffee grounds if I don’t have enough food scraps.
hi,
i live in Dubai,uae and I have been trying for the past 3 or 4 days to buy a worm kit on line which is too far away for them to ship to me. so is there any one close by fromI could buy them and get them shipped to me. like the student from Iran Mr.Moeen Emrany.anyone else help!
I was reluctant to purchase worms over the internet due to price and couldn’t located a willing donor. But, I finally found a cheap – and local – solution to my problem…the Pet Store! A number of pet stores (and I’ve since discovered some sporting goods stores/bait stands) sell red wrigglers for feeding fish/using as bait.
The per worm cost may be higher, about $5 at PetSmart for a little tub of 50 worms. But since I was starting a small bin, it wasn’t a problem and those little dudes multiply FAST!
Dallas – your mixture sounds good, but you will definitely need some carbon-rich (preferably absorbent) materials to provide balance. If the manure was really well aged, and your system was large, with plenty of aeration you would probably be ok though.
Maryam – I don’t personally know of anyone close to you. Sorry!
Good luck.
I love your site and finally have built my own little creation to try this thing you speak so well and knowingly about. I will be purchasing my worms through your site as soon as this storm passes us by and I can not wait to get started. I have been a long time researching and reading, but have found the most useful stuff right here.
I do still have a few questions though:
1. What about tobacco products; ie, those nasty cig butts which I hear last as long as styrofoam? Would this kill the worms much like it kills man? of course, I do not really see them with matches or anything…
2. Are bananas as well loved by worms as they are by my kids and I?
Thank you for all of the great information and the outstanding site you provide.
Seems like every time I read this discussion, I glean more insight into the whole worming process. I would like to post one comment / question though….
Are there any tricks to keeping a happy worm bin in your basement , and starting your garden veggies at the other end of the same basement, without encouraging the fungus nats/ fruit flies in their migrating process from unlighted area to the lighted area? Yellow sticky traps have been employed near the garden stuff, and at least one spider has decided to make its home nearby…. which is obviously helping. Any thoughts?
I have hAD AWORM BIN FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS. MY WORMS ARE NOT GEETING FAT,I HAVE PLENTY AND THEY ARE PRODUCING JUST SO SKINNY
Scott – that’s a tough one. Keeping your seedlings healthy and not worrying about it seems like the only option in my mind (aside from the usual ways to reduce/eliminate fungus gnats which are hit and miss anyway). There is evidence to suggest that vermicompost helps to protect plants against ‘damping off’ (disease commonly spread by gnat larvae) and even against insect pests – so perhaps if you use a little of your compost with the seedlings you will be ok.
🙂
Margy – Generally this means you are not providing enough highly-nutritious food. Worms can survive for a long time (perhaps indefinitely) on paper products, and even seem to reproduce like crazy, but their size decreases over time. Perhaps the types of foods you’ve been providing just aren’t offering the worms optimal nutrition. Moisture can be important as well – if you let the system dry out too much the worms will shrink as well.