Vermiculture Recycling

Worms

• The best type of worms to use for your vermicomposting project are red earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus) or brandling worms (Eisenia foetida). These worms are better adapted to live in the warm temperatures in your compost than earthworms and are capable of breaking down your food wastes more quickly than other species of worms. You can often find redworms in bait supply stores and garden catalogs.

Worm Bins

• The best worm bins provide a wide and shallow growing environment that accommodates the surface-dwelling habits of redworms. In most cases a box that measures 1 foot deep by 2 feet wide by 3 feet long can handle about 6 pounds of kitchen food waste at a time. The best materials to use for building a worm box are metal, plastic or wood. Boxes that are made out of porous materials such as wood last longer and are less likely to leak if they are lined with a plastic sheet. In most cases you can keep your worm bins inside or outside so long as the temperature inside the bin stays between 55 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

Recyclables

• Vermiculture requires bedding and recyclable materials to provide a living environment and food for your worms. Corrugated cardboard, newspaper or partially decayed leaves are excellent materials for building the bedding for your worms. The best source of food for your worms is kitchen waste that consists of fruit and vegetable scraps. Your worms can also break down other materials such as coffee grounds and filters, crushed egg shells and tea bags.

Vermicompost

• The final product of vermiculture is a nutrient-rich organic soil amendment known as vermicompost. You can mix vermicompost directly into the soil to improve the structure of your soil and provide nutrients for your plants. Vermicompost improves your garden soil by introducing helpful microbes and increasing the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in the soil.

Considerations

• Animal products such as dairy, fat, meat and bones break down very slowly in a worm bin and can attract rodents or promote the growth of bacteria that will create a noxious odor. Your worms need air and moisture to thrive. You will need to moisten your worm bin periodically to prevent it from drying out.