Separating

I wanted to prime a bin of coarse material with worms, but didn’t want to spend hours teasing through material with a teaspoon.

I had a metal mesh-tray, previously used for filing papers on a desk.

I reasoned that if I dumped material on the tray, healthy worms would escape the light by traveling downwards, through the mesh, onto a collector.

Here is a half-gallon of material dumped onto a plastic cloth. Extracting worms from this could take me quite a wile, because the material is a mixture ranging from castings all the way to clumps of wet shredded paper.
This is the sheet of castings after the first batch of material. I gave the mesh tray a gentle shake to deposit a thin layer of castings, and the worms are still making themselves at home.
Here is my mesh tray. I have removed the material that sat there for an hour. I figure that the robust worms have migrated downwards, away from the light, through the mesh and into the thin sheet of castings underneath.

Here we see my mesh-tray sitting on top of the sheet of castings, with about a half-gallon of material dumped onto the tray.
Here is the sheet of castings after the fourth pile of material has been left out for an hour. The sheet is about ½ cm deep, and the worms have scurried out of sight.
We are left with the nucleus of writhing worms. These are visible because I turned the small cone with the teaspoon just before taking the photo.I saw plenty of eggs as I teased away the castings, so in the end I tossed the castings and the worms into the bin.

Waste Not, Want Not!

It’s that-time-of-year when I start emptying out the large tubs on the balcony, accumulating and mixing the soil into an over-winter bin, where it can lie fallow until the spring.

The process involves sieving the material, and I usually end up with a couple of cubic feet of coarse clumps of soil, desiccated chicken bones, and scraps of plastic.

This year instead of tossing it out I’ve decided to reclaim it through two channels – casting AND worm tea simultaneously!

I have grabbed the clear-plastic bag liner from a one cubic foot carton of kitty-litter.

It sits in the hand basin in the executive washroom; I want to know that there are no leaks.

Yet.

Here’s the carton with one corner cut away. The triangular scraps go into the vermicomposter, of course.

One corner of the plastic liner will protrude through this hole.

Here’s an old kitchen rack I’ve been using for a pot-stand on the balcony this past summer.

A Second Use for Everything.

The liner goes into the carton standing on the rack.

About six inches of one corner of the liner is pulled out and dangles over the basin.

A two—litre tub will collect the tea.

I fill the box with paper scraps, because this will be a vermicomposter.

I throw on the scraps from preparation of last night’s supper (shish-kabobs with chicken, tomato, mushroom, green peppers, red peppers, zucchini and onion, plus the tea bags from last night and the coffee grounds from this morning).

I’m not planning on using this for serious vermicomposting, but the worms may as well have a little something to get them started.

Here is a tub of coarse material, sitting on the balcony.

In past years I would have sent this downstairs to the dumpster.

I take about a gallon and a half of the coarse material indoors.

The coarse material sits atop the kitchen scraps, atop the paper scraps.

I have a rectangle of cardboard which I’ll use to shut out the light.

What better way to moisten the whole affair than with a Water Bottle Drip-Feeder ?

I made a pin-prick hole about two inches up from the bottom corner.

Since I’ll be using the compost tea in my Water Bottle Drip-Feeder the bottom two inches of the bag corner will serve as a sump to collect stray bits of soil or castings.

I’m betting that the worms will stay away from the wetness at the base of the bag and won’t venture into my collector tube.

Fast-Breeder Nursery

Procedure for lightning-fast breeder:
Have a milk sac bag prepared crammed full of dry shredded paper.
Run the day's scraps through a meat mincer, or a blender, with a cup of water. Makes wet slurry.
Place the bag on a composting bin that seems a tad dry and could use moisture. Pour the slurry into the bag. The paper absorbs much of the water (large bacterial breeding area), the whole thing acts as a sieve, and excess (bacterial food) moisture quickly runs into the bin.
When the bag is drained (after about one hour) charge it with worms and soil and place it in the black-bag lined nursery carton.

Excess Fluid

If your composter does get overloaded with fluid, you'll probably notice a river-bottom odor coming from the bin.
Don't despair.
Remove the soil and worms and undigested scraps, perhaps in small amounts in plastic supermarket bags.
Clean out the bin or pails, and reintroduce the soil and worms mixture gradually by the trowel-load.
This will give the soil some aeration and drainage properties it had lost.
If you have a chance to add some strong fibrous material, such as straw, so much the better.
If the soil is very wet, some dry shredded newspaper will help even out the load.

Eggs By Mail

You may prefer to request eggs by mail, instead of worms, if you need to order worm stock from afar.
Eggs ought to travel better than worms – they don't need a food supply, and can mature while they are traveling.
The downside is that you'll wait a week or two longer for the eggs to hatch, and you'll need to go slow while your babies mature.

Can Vermi-Composting Be Done Only Inside?

Vermi-composting is not limited to inside the dwelling; I have a vermicomposter tower on my east-facing balcony.
If you have access to ground-level, I'd recommend you build an outdoor composter (I can give you instructions for making a composter bin out of interlocking scrap timber, which (bin) won't fall apart). An outdoor composter is going to accept yard scraps as well as kitchen scraps, and can generally be a larger unit.
That said, we live in Toronto (Brrrr!) so an outdoor composter can turn into a frozen pile of kitchen scraps in a short time. Enter the vermicomposter.
Your vermicomposter is suitable for kitchen-volume scraps, and can accept meat products but does not have to be in the kitchen. I have used a tower composter in the laundry closet of a condominium apartment.

Bedding - Paper

I collect all my paper and cardboard and tear it into one-inch chunks while I'm watching TV. I hate to waste anything, even brain cells (grin!).
I place a bed of about six inches of dampened cardboard chips in the bin or pail, cover it with soil, then start adding layers of vegetable scraps and soil with the red worms.
I have found that paper screwed into a ball does not digest as well as paper torn into shreds. I suspect that the balled paper contains too much air for worms to navigate.

The Only Time We'll Discuss Waste

It isn't waste.

It's a valuable resource.

Let's you and I agree to remove the word "waste" from our domestic vocabulary.

"Waste" says that there is no further use for it.

"Resource" says we can use it again – somehow – to our advantage.

Talk To Me !

Are My Worms Alive?

I often would like to know if there is life in the old nursery.

I take a paper egg-carton and tear it up into one-inch squares. Moistening the carton first makes it easier to tear. I soak the pieces in water for five minutes, then place them atop the nursery. Retreat to a safe distance for two days, then lift the cover and inspect the damp shreds.

If you can see worm castings across the top (exposed) surface of the shreds, you know that there's only one way they can have got there.

No castings doesn't mean you have no worms, but castings means you do.

If you see castings you can nurture your nursery on the assumption that worms are active. If you see no castings, you may then consider investigating the contents of the nursery in a suitably gentle manner.

Worms Eat Their Own Weight in 2 Days

You will read variations on this throughout the literature.
My understanding is that Mary Appelhof, in writing her original book, needed a figure and made a good guess with the half-their-weight each day.
Since then everyone quotes it as gospel. I wouldn't be surprised if Mary was a bit embarrassed.
As a starting-point for calculation, it is not bad. As a rigid rule, it can easily be shown to be in error. See the section "Food Weight" for details.
For a novice, I'd suggest under-feeding the worms rather than risk over-feeding.

Start low and raise the bar.

The main failure in vermicomposter bins with new users seems to be in assuming that the entire kitchen scrap load can be stuffed into a small bin. I've heard horror stories of complete cabbages being buried.
Try adding a handful of scraps each day, or every two days, then over a period of a month, increase the addition ever so slightly. If not all the food is being digested, it may be time to start a second bin.

So the Worms Don't Eat Orange Peel or Banana Skin?

Correct.

The bacteria break down the peels, and the worms eat the bacteria.

It might be said that despite the wide variety of food scraps we feed the vermicomposter, the worms have a diet that is limited to the number of different types of bacteria that your vermicomposter supports.

Talk To Me !

Large Tub Vermicomposters

I'm now placing worms IN my large plant tubs (15-liter and above). Large tubs, such as those that support small shrubs indoors, seem to benefit greatly from the addition of about one dozen Red Wrigglers and the occasional apple core. One-gallon hanging baskets with creepers seem to benefit.

The worms aerate the soil, provide castings, and generally do what they are designed to do. The population stabilizes to the container, and the plant growth has, as they say, to be seen to be believed.

Some people now shun Vermicomposting Bins, and just bury their food scraps into about 12 to 20 plant tubs in rotation. Makes sense to me.

Talk To Me !

How do You Tell If the Newsprint is Safe?

I can't, because I have no tools for chemical analysis.

Common sense tells me that if I wring wetted shredded paper and colored dye runs out, it might not be a good choice.

Regular newsprint is popular with the professionals, and it runs a very pale brown – probably a weak mixture of some color and black.

I've tried soaking stamps from bright red Christmas Envelopes, and that dye runs something horrid. That much dye should be avoided.

Talk To Me !

Getting Started – Continuous Feeding

Most people over-feed their bins at the start.

With more food than they can eat, the worms die, because the excess food breaks down into excessive harmful goop.

Once a week add two cupped handfuls of chopped fruit and vegetable scraps.

Don't try to make your squirm cope with all your kitchen scraps – the colony isn't big enough - yet.

Don't try to make your squirm cope with radical foods such as acidic (pickles in vinegar) or two pounds of sheep's heart. Stick to basic vegetable peelings, scraps of boiled vegetables (preferably without ketchup or salt) and the like.

Your objective during this phase is to establish a colony of worms, NOT to end the landfill problem overnight.

Fun with Food - Banana Skins

You peel your banana as do I, the normal way, right?

Three strips.

Lift the damp cardboard, carpet or bedding that you use to cover your composter and place a strip of banana soft side down. The worms will come to dine.

Bacteria

My understanding is that the Red Wriggler worms, also known by their formal name “Eisenia fetida” don't eat the food scraps – that bacteria break down the food scraps and that the worms eat the bacteria.

My understanding is that the Red Wrigglers don’t have teeth; that the common garden worm (the one you see stranded on the footpath after a rain storm) does have teeth, and can chew on the leaves it drags down into its burrow.

Once you think about it, if the bacteria can't break down your food scraps, then the worms can't help at all.

Consider foam plastic trays: bacteria don't eat polystyrene foam, so the worms don't get to help get rid of the polystyrene foam trays.

Consider apple cores: bacteria do break down apple cores, so worms can help.

Think "bacteria", it will explain a great deal.

Bin There, Dung That! - Introduction

If you have never composted before, this blog is for you.

People have different goals in approaching vermicomposting. You may find yourself described here:

You

• Want to reduce amount of garbage being put out at the curb.

• Want to grow better pot plants.

• Want to encourage children to learn about The Environment.

• Want to learn more about Red Wriggler Worms.

• Want to make vast amounts of money by raising and selling worms.

• Want to spread the good word about worm composting.

This book is a record of personal experience and beliefs; this is a record of an amateur who developed an interest in composting and vermicomposting.

Second, the approach is geared directly at "Things you can do at home, in your apartment, in your cold-climate apartment". You don't need acres of land or even six square feet in the backyard. You can use this site to vermicompost in your one-room of the boarding-house. Honest!

Third, I ask for no long-term commitment from you. You can read a self-contained page of this site in about a minute, and you'll have enough to think about for the rest of the day.

Fourth, and perhaps most important, you'll end up feeling good about yourself in a very special way.