Composting With Worms?

[LivingLive]

Does anyone use worms for their compost? I'm just getting started and I remember my grandmother used worms in her compost but can't quite remember how she did this. Should I use a container such as a barrel or just fence off a small section of land for the compost heap? Also, any other advice you have for starting a compost pile would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Chuck]

Does anyone use worms for their compost? I'm just getting started and I remember my grandmother used worms in her compost but can't quite remember how she did this. Should I use a container such as a barrel or just fence off a small section of land for the compost heap? Also, any other advice you have for starting a compost pile would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

In your situation I would fence of a small piece of ground. Put everything organic into you pile except meat, cheeze, cooking oils etc. Use leaves, kitchen scraps, grass cuttings old dead plants except tomatos and squash plants. Keep it moist and turn it over every 4 or 5 months. Adding sugars such as left over soft drinks or molasses will speed up the process. Adding coffee and tea grounds is also excellent. Do this and the worms will come to help.

 

[headfullofbees]

Shredded paper and cardboard are full of cellulose: worms LOVE cellulose.

 

[ChilliGirl]

I've been looking into this recently, and I was going to actually buy a 'wormery' until I found this very useful website:

http://nurturestore.co.uk/how-to-make-a-wormery

I think this looks like a great idea. I've always just used regular compost bins, and the worms tend to gather in it anyway; but this could get kids involved in learning about organic gardening, and our eco-system. It would be lots of fun to do, and I think a lot more worms would gather in this than come to the compost bins.

 

[Beankeeper]

I personally do the bucket system. I have three large buckets. Two of the buckets have holes drilled into their bases. I stack them on top of one another, starting with the non-hole-y bucket at the bottom. I partly fill each bucket with compost (mostly greens) and soil, but the top bucket is where I put the freshest, yummiest organic materials (such as fruits, veggies, coffee grounds, etc.) and I mix it all up with the soil and worms, placing greens on top before covering that last, top bucket with a hole-drilled lid. Every day, I fill the top bucket with more veggies and fruit (I don't give them coffee grounds every day). I have 200+ red worms right now and I keep them in the laundry room, which is always roughly 73+ degrees throughout the day, which is very conducive to reproduction. The reasoning behind the bucket system is all about the drilled holes. Instead of having to separate the worms from the soil when you finally have enough to use, you simply stop putting food in the top bucket. It's easy to lift up the top bucket and put fresher food beneath it in the middle bucket (or bottom bucket if you choose to only use two). Once the worms realize that there is no more food in the top bucket, they head south toward the smells of the food below and voila! Your top bucket is emptied of worms but all the soil is there for your use! Then, if you choose a 3-bucket system like me, you can just repeat the process. I'm loving this bucket system... It's really easy and allows me to be lazy. Whether you choose my method or not, I hope you find something that works successfully for you!

 

[claudine]

There are many worms living in my compost, but I didn't put them there. Somehow, they knew where to find rotten vegetables and fruits and they got there by themselves

 

[kevinkimers]

Worms are awesome. They add nutrients to compost or soil that the plants love. You just throw them in and make for sure the compost stays mildly moist. Make sure there is a lining underneath and around it so they don't dig themselves out before they can work their magic.