Worm Farm, Vermicompost

How to Vermicompost (Worm Farm)

Keep the bin at a temperature between 55'F and 77"F. Place it on bricks above a sheet of plastic or one of those metal oven liners. You can then place newspaper to catch any liquid and use it to mulch your garden with (good stuff). Or you can let the "worm juice" drain into the metal liner and dilute it to water your plants with. (dilution 1 cup worm juice to 1 Gallon water)

YOU WILL NEED

Tools: 1/4 inch drill bit, bucket, pump spray bottle, hand trowel

One 12-inch-deep 50-quart plastic storage bin with lid...or close to it.

Shredded paper for bedding; enough to fill the bin 3/4 full

1 quart peat moss

1 Cup cornmeal

1 pound red worms

DIRECTIONS

1. Drill 30 evenly spaced ventilation holes in the bottom and sides of the bin.

2. Place the bedding material (paper) and peat moss in the bucket and moisten it uniformly until it is as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Mix in the cornmeal.

3. Dump the prepared worm bedding into the plastic bin. Fluff the bedding gently to create air pockets. Mist bits of paper that remain dry.

4. Add the worms to the top of the bedding. Begin adding small amounts of food scraps at first, burying them just beneath the surface. Increase the amount of food as you learn how much your worms can consume.

5. Mist the bedding as needed to keep it slightly damp. Soggy bedding causes odors.

6. After 2-3 Months, when the worms have converted most of the bedding to castings, use a hand trowel to move the compost and worms to one side of the bin. Add fresh bedding and food scraps to the empty side of the bin. Give the worms a few days to move to the fresh side and then remove the compost. Fill the empty side with fresh bedding.

The compost is enriched and excellent for plants. You can also make a liquid tea out of the compost by putting a cup full on a double layer of cheese cloth...tie off the top...and drop it in a gallon of water. Let this sit for a week, then dilute it 1 cup of tea to one gallon of water and water your plants.

FEEDING YOUR WORMS

Cut all vegetable and fruit scraps into small pieces before putting them in the bin. Include paper filters and tea bags (remove the staple)

Worms do not like spicy food such as garlic and onions. They love rinsed eggshells that are crushed, banana skins, apple peels, and wilted lettuce.

Anytime you want to energize your worms, a light sprinkling of cornmeal will do the trick.