Red Wiggler Worms and Fertilizer

Worm Bins

• When keeping red wiggler worms for the purpose of making fertilizer, they are generally kept in a worm bin. This container keeps the worms in one place, allows the owner to control what they are fed, when they are fed and what happens to the worm castings -- feces -- as the worms consume their food. The bin is filled with dampened bedding, such as shredded newspaper, which the worms will eat along with their food.

Feeding

• Red wiggler worms can be fed almost anything, though they will not eat meat, dairy or grease. These worms can eat their own weight in garden and kitchen scraps each day. It is best to feed them slightly less than that to make sure they are able to get through it all. Excess food in the worm bin attracts flies, ants and rodents. If food is left over after several days, the amount can be reduced until the worms catch up.

Castings

• Castings is the term used to describe worm feces. Worm castings look like small pellets of rich, dark dirt. As worms eat their way through their food, bedding and soil, they excrete castings, eventually replacing all of the contents of the worm bin with castings. Worm castings are a rich source of plant nutrients, containing not only important minerals but also beneficial microbes. Red wiggler castings work well as a natural fertilizer.

Harvesting

• The worms cannot live long in a bin filled with castings, but as long as they have bedding to crawl into they will be okay. The castings are harvested periodically and used as fertilizer for both indoor and outdoor plants. Castings can be dumped out on a tarp in a bright area, and as the worms burrow down into the pile the upper layers are removed. The harvested castings are immediately ready to be used to fertilize plants, since they won't burn the roots. Castings are applied either as top dressing or mixed into the soil.