Red Worms for Bed Mulching

Compost and Mulch

• Amend soil with organic compost every spring to maintain rich, crumbly and quick-draining gardens, and add more compost during the season for gentle organic nutrition. Lay composted material on top of the soil to keep the foundation warm and moist during the season. As this composted mulch breaks down, it adds more nutrition to the soil beneath it.

Worms in Soil

• Vermicomposting, or composting with worms, produces rich organic compost for soil with the addition of worm castings for fertilizer. The Purdue University Extension website notes that these castings improve biological, chemical and physical soil properties for plants. The Washington State University website warns, though, that some worms are more suitable for composting and gardens than others. Use Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rebellus worms for garden compost and mulch. Don't use Lumbricus terrestris.

Build a Worm Bin

• Build a worm bin to keep red worms for an ongoing supply and to produce homemade fertilized compost and mulch for your garden. Drill four to five holes in the sides of a 10-gallon container. Use trays or buckets 1 1/2 feet deep for worms, as these creatures prefer shallow dirt. Fill the container with a mixture of shredded paper, peat moss and garden soil as bedding. Wet the bedding with 1 to 2 gallons of water to moisten it throughout. Worms need this moisture to breathe.

Maintain the Worm Bin

• Fold 1 to 2 pounds of red worms into the bedding, and keep the worm bin out of direct sun or rain. The Washington State University website suggests a protected location with temperatures between 55 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit for worms. Moisten the bedding once a week to maintain a friendly environment, but never over-water. Worms die in dry bedding but drown in water or muddy bedding. Fold vegetable, fruit, bread, pasta and dessert scraps into the bedding two to three times a week. Add tea bags, coffee grounds and egg shells as well. Don't use meat or bone leftovers as these draw flies.

Release Worms

• Dump the bin out every two to three months to harvest worms and compost. Move the bedding directly into the garden, with the majority of the worms, as compost or mulch. Keep 15 to 20 worms back to repopulate the worm bin. Fill the bin with a new batch of bedding, replace your captive worms and continue your maintenance schedule.