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Kitchen waste
Greens - If too much kitchen waste is added for the worms to process, the waste will putrify.
A balance between "green matter" such as kitchen scraps and "brown
matter" such as shredded newspaper for bedding must be maintained in
order for the worms to do their work (this is often referred to as the
carbon to nitrogen ratio). This balance should be approximately one
part "green matter" for every two parts "brown matter". Covering the
kitchen scraps with a layer of "brown matter" has the added benefit of
reducing odor and insect problems. Avoid grass clippings or other plant products that have been sprayed with pesticides. In a small bin, this includes banana peels which can kill everything in the bin, if heavily sprayed.S
Any non-biodegradable materials don't belong in a worm box.
Meats - Although proteins such as fats and meat scraps can be processed by a vermicompost bin, doing so tends to attract scavengers and should be avoided if this is a risk. Worms are unable to break down bone or synthetic material.
Over the long term, care should be taken to maintain optimum moisture levels and pH
balance. In a non-continuous-flow vermicomposting bin, excess liquid
can be drained via a tap and used as plant food. A continuous flow bin
will not retain excess liquid and requires extra water to be added to
keep the bedding moist. It is commonly believed that too many citrus peels in the material to be composted can cause an intolerable level of acidity, which can be mitigated by adding an occasional handful of lime. It is more likely to be the chemical d-limonene (best known for being the juice that spurts out when an orange is peeled) which affects worms.
As worms breathe through their skin, it is not a good idea to add
too much fat/oil to the bin, as it can hinder their breathing ability.
Other foods it is not recommended to feed too often are onions, garlic,
tea leaves/tea bags, coffee grounds, and heavily salted foods. These
are all reputed to have an adverse effect on the pH in the bin, which
should be neutral or slightly alkaline. Worms as well as other microorganisms in the composting process require oxygen,
so the bin must "breathe". This can be accomplished by regularly
removing the composted material, adding holes to a composting bin, or
using a continuous-flow bin. If insufficient oxygen is available, the
compost will become anaerobic.
This will provide a host environment for a different type of decay
process which produces a strong odor offensive to most people. Thistype of decay is found in swamps and bogs and is responsible for the stench sometimes found in these environments.
Sompe people don't use meat or milk products in the worm bin. Mice and rats could be attracted to the odors!
Cat litter should not be used . The odor of cat urine is
intolerable to worms, plus the ammonia in the urine could kill the
worms! Cats can carry the disease Taxoplasma gondiii that can be transfered
to humans and cause birth defects.
You can either make your worm bin yourself or order it from a number of
different sources. Common materials for a do-it-yourself project are
opaque plastic storage boxes and wooden boxes built from exterior-grade
plywood. A basic design would be 1 foot high, 2 feet deep and 3 feet
wide with aeration holes in the bottom. Depending on the size of your
container, you'll need to drill 8 to 12 holes (1/4-1/2 inch in size) in
the bottom. A simple cover can be made from a sheet of black plastic. A
cover will help conserve moisture and provide darkness for the worms. A
box this size will accommodate about 6 pounds of kitchen scraps a week
(the average amount from a family of 4-6). You will need to keep the
bin elevated at least an inch off the ground for air circulation. Place
a tray underneath to capture excess liquid which can be used as liquid
plant fertilizer.
The bottom of your bin will need to be lined with a 2 to 3 inch layer
of bedding material. Cellulose-based materials like shredded newspaper,
corrugated cardboard or coarse sawdust are best. Tear newspaper or
corrugated cardboard into 1 to 2 inch-wide strips. Before putting
bedding material into the bin, dampen it with lukewarm water until it
has the same moisture content as a wrung-out sponge. Adding a little
garden soil or leaf mold to the bedding will provide microorganisms for
the composting process and grit for the worms' gizzards. Check your
bedding at least once a week to make sure it stays damp. Add water if
necessary by misting with a spray bottle.
After spreading the bedding over the bottom of the bin, you're ready to
add worms! What worms do you buy? Of the 17 species available in North
America, you want redworms or red wrigglers. You can buy them at a bait
shop or through mail order. You want redworms because they can process
large amounts of kitchen scraps, don't mind confined spaces, reproduce
well in culture and tolerate a wide range of temperatures. For the bin
described above, you'll need about 2 pounds (about $25-$35). You'll get
between 600 and 1,200 worms per pound. They will be red and from 2 to 4
inches long. Put your worms on top of the bedding and watch them
quickly burrow to escape light.
Now comes the fun part, feeding your worms. Put leftover kitchen scraps
into the bin: vegetables, fruit rinds and peelings are great. Bread,
coffee grounds, cereal, crushed eggshells, pasta or rice and houseplant
clippings are also okay. Food should be cut into small pieces and
buried in the bedding every few days. By covering food waste with a few
inches of bedding, you avoid odors and pests (like fruit flies).
Rotating the burial places in the bin will provide your worms with a
balanced diet of kitchen scraps and bedding. As with outdoor compost,
you want to stay away from meat, bones, oils and dairy products.
After 6 or 8 weeks of feeding the worms, most of the bedding should be
gone and a dark, crumbly soil-looking material should be in its place.
Now it's time to harvest. Do this by pushing the nearly finished
compost to one side of the bin. Put fresh moistened bedding with some
fresh garbage in the vacant side. Over the next few weeks the worms
will migrate to the new bedding, and you can harvest. Take the finished
compost out, and put fresh bedding in, starting the cycle all over
again.
On occasion, unpleasant odors may waft from your bin when it is
overloaded with food waste. If this occurs, gently stir up the entire
contents to allow more air in. Stop adding food waste until the worms
and micro-organisms have broken down what is in the bin. If that
doesn't solve the problem, check the drainage holes to make sure they
are not blocked. Drill more holes if you need to. If the moisture level
seems right, the bedding may be too acidic due to a lot of citrus peels
and other acidic foods. Adjust by adding a little lime and cutting down
on acidic wastes.
Discourage fruit flies by always burying food scraps and not
overloading the bin. If flies persist, move the bin to a location where
the flies will not be bothersome.
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Worm composting (or vermicomposting) is a natural and efficient way to
recycle your organic kitchen scraps. And it sure beats plowing through
knee-high snowdrifts to the compost pile in the middle of winter! Worm
bins really require very little in the way of maintenance and care. You
can keep them anywhere the temperature will not go down to freezing
such as a basement, insulated garage or under the kitchen sink. The
best temperature range is 55-77 Fahrenheit.