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    WORM COMPOSTING - RecyclingSmart

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    Worm Composting
    Worm composting is a natural recycling system that uses worms and organic waste materials. Red worms break down food scraps and shredded paper in a suitable container, producing nutrient-rich fertilizer known as castings. A properly maintained worm composting system is odorless and easy to care for while benefiting the environment.

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    WORM COMPOSTING - RecyclingSmart

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    Worm Composting
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    Worm composting is a natural recycling system that uses worms and organic waste materials. Red worms break down food scraps and shredded paper in a suitable container, producing nutrient-rich fertilizer known as castings. A properly maintained worm composting system is odorless and easy to care for while benefiting the environment.

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    Worm composting is a natural recycling system that uses worms and organic waste materials. Red worms break down food scraps and shredded paper in a suitable container, producing nutrient-rich fertilizer known as castings. A properly maintained worm composting system is odorless and easy to care for while benefiting the environment.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    126 views2 pages

    WORM COMPOSTING - RecyclingSmart

    Uploaded by

    Worm Composting
    Worm composting is a natural recycling system that uses worms and organic waste materials. Red worms break down food scraps and shredded paper in a suitable container, producing nutrient-rich fertilizer known as castings. A properly maintained worm composting system is odorless and easy to care for while benefiting the environment.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    WORM COMPOSTING

    Worm composting is a natural recycling system using worms and organic waste
    materials. When you feed kitchen scraps and shredded paper to special worms
    (red worms) housed in a suitable container, the resulting material can be used as
    a nutrient-rich fertilizer. Properly maintained, worm composting is an odorless
    system that is easily maintained, kind to the planet, an easy way to get rid of
    much of your food scraps.

    SMART TO KNOW
    • Castings: Worms break down organic materials such as food scraps to pro-
    duce nutrient rich fertilizer known as castings. This natural fertilizer can be
    used for lawns, gardens and house plants.
    • Compost Container: A compost container is used to the hold organic matter
    like kitchen scraps to be transported to a worm bin, heap or pile.
    • Worm Bin - A worm bin is a container which provides worms a home that
    efficiently breakdown organic matter into nutrient rich castings.

    SMART FACTS
    • Red Wigglers can live 6-10 years.
    • Worms wiggle and move by
    squeezing muscles around their
    bodies.
    • A red wiggler population can
    double in 1 year.
    • Worms breathe through their skin,
    so they must stay moist.
    SMART WEBSITES
    www.wormwoman.com
    www.compost-bin.org
    www.composters.com
    www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/worms
    (Herman the Worm)

    www.recyclesmart.info
    BIN INSTRUCTIONS
    MATERIALS NEEDED
    • Worm bin
    • Worm food (Food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags,
    and even coffee grounds)
    • Water
    • About 2 cups soil or compost
    • Shredded moist newspaper (bedding)
    • Red worms (elsenia fetida), also called "red wigglers”

    ASSEMBLY
    Buy or build a box or container about 18 gallons in size. The container should be at least
    12 inches deep and provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food
    waste per week. Drill 8 to 12 holes (1/8 ") in the bottom for aeration and drainage. Place a
    tray underneath to capture excess liquid, which can be used as liquid plant fertilizer
    (compost tea). Fill the box with moistened shredded newspaper and about 2 cups of soil
    (bedding). Add the redworms. For one pound per day of food scraps, you'll need two
    pounds of worms. Pull aside the bedding, bury the food waste and then cover it up with
    the bedding again. Divide the bin into three or four imaginary sections (larger bin, more
    sections) and bury successive loads in different locations in the bin. Worm bins can be lo-
    cated in the basement, shed, garage, balcony or kitchen counter. They need to be kept
    out of the hot sun, heavy rain and cold. Keep between 55-72 degrees F.

    HARVESTING YOUR CASTINGS


    After 4-6 weeks, the bedding will be noticeably darker with worm castings. After two
    months have passed, there will still be some of the original bedding visible in the bin plus
    brown and earthy-looking worm castings. Dump 2/3 of the bin, worms and all, into your
    garden. Add fresh bedding and food to the bin for the remaining worms.

    TROUBLESHOOTING
    Odor is minimal if you don't overload the system.
    Worms don’t like bones, glass, plastic, or tin foil!
    Do not put fats, cooking/salad oils, oily foods, hot spicy food scraps, meat or dairy.
    If worms are dying you may need to check the moisture content, add more food, and/or
    add more bedding (shredded newspaper). Worms in an active 18 gallon bin, can process
    up to 5 lbs. of scraps per week.

    WORM SOURCES
    Benzie Organic Solutions 231.882.0776 Flowerfield Enterprise 269.327.0108
    SMART BIN SOURCES
    www.wormwoman.com www.composters.com www.gardeners.com
    Recycle
    Hotline
    941-5555
    Printed on recycled paper www.recyclesmart.info

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