Worms Eat Our Garbage
One way to make healthy food for our indoor and
outdoor gardens is to maintain a worm bin that takes our food waste and turns it
into nutrient rich compost.
...Before we bought the worms I built a three layered worm bin using some scrap wood, old window screen, small nails, and staples.... Finally, I stapled small pieces of screen over each hole so that flies and other undesirable bugs couldn't get into the bin and the worms couldn't get out. Each box is the same size so that they stack well and the worms and other beneficial microorganisms can easily migrate between each layer.
...All three layers are in production with the bottom layer containing almost completely composted material and the second and first layers in the middle and beginning stages of decomposition.
...Before we bought the worms I built a three layered worm bin using some scrap wood, old window screen, small nails, and staples.... Finally, I stapled small pieces of screen over each hole so that flies and other undesirable bugs couldn't get into the bin and the worms couldn't get out. Each box is the same size so that they stack well and the worms and other beneficial microorganisms can easily migrate between each layer.
...All three layers are in production with the bottom layer containing almost completely composted material and the second and first layers in the middle and beginning stages of decomposition.
One way to make healthy food for our indoor and
outdoor gardens is to maintain a worm bin that takes our food waste and turns it
into nutrient rich compost.
The Brueske household is happy to admit that "worms eat our garbage". Basically it works like this:
We ordered some little red wiggler worms from Sybil Willingham, Willingham Worm Farm for $16 per pound. (Regular earth worms from outside will not work in an indoor worm bin.) The worms arrived in a brown bag filled with moist, shredded newspapers. I would recommend ordering the worms in the spring or fall so that the outside temperature is mild for the worms' cross-country travel.
Before we bought the worms I built a three layered worm bin using some scrap wood, old window screen, small nails, and staples. First I nailed together three wood boxes. The box that sits on the bottom has a wood bottom and the top two levels have screen bottoms. Second, I drilled a few 1 inch holes on each side of the boxes and on the bottom of the bottom box. Finally, I stapled small pieces of screen over each hole so that flies and other undesirable bugs couldn't get into the bin and the worms couldn't get out. Each box is the same size so that they stack well and the worms and other beneficial microorganisms can easily migrate between each layer.
We prepared the bottom bin first by adding a bedding of moistened, shredded newspapers. We had this ready before the worms arrived. When we received the worms we added the entire pound and the bedding they came in to the bottom section. All we needed to complete the system was vegetable food scraps from the kitchen, which we produced a full tin pail about once per week. The food was always buried under the bedding so it didn't start to stink and so that it mixed well with the bedding.
We have been operating the worm bin for about 6 month and we are happy to report that it works great. All three layers are in production with the bottom layer containing almost completely composted material and the second and first layers in the middle and beginning stages of decomposition. We add food and fresh bedding to each layer about once every week. The bin smells sweet, has been producing usable compost, and the worms have multiplied well beyond the original 1 pound. The best part is that we have reduced our food waste garbage to 0, which has reduced our total garbage by about 50%.
We recommend it to everyone.
The Brueske household is happy to admit that "worms eat our garbage". Basically it works like this:
We ordered some little red wiggler worms from Sybil Willingham, Willingham Worm Farm for $16 per pound. (Regular earth worms from outside will not work in an indoor worm bin.) The worms arrived in a brown bag filled with moist, shredded newspapers. I would recommend ordering the worms in the spring or fall so that the outside temperature is mild for the worms' cross-country travel.
Before we bought the worms I built a three layered worm bin using some scrap wood, old window screen, small nails, and staples. First I nailed together three wood boxes. The box that sits on the bottom has a wood bottom and the top two levels have screen bottoms. Second, I drilled a few 1 inch holes on each side of the boxes and on the bottom of the bottom box. Finally, I stapled small pieces of screen over each hole so that flies and other undesirable bugs couldn't get into the bin and the worms couldn't get out. Each box is the same size so that they stack well and the worms and other beneficial microorganisms can easily migrate between each layer.
We prepared the bottom bin first by adding a bedding of moistened, shredded newspapers. We had this ready before the worms arrived. When we received the worms we added the entire pound and the bedding they came in to the bottom section. All we needed to complete the system was vegetable food scraps from the kitchen, which we produced a full tin pail about once per week. The food was always buried under the bedding so it didn't start to stink and so that it mixed well with the bedding.
We have been operating the worm bin for about 6 month and we are happy to report that it works great. All three layers are in production with the bottom layer containing almost completely composted material and the second and first layers in the middle and beginning stages of decomposition. We add food and fresh bedding to each layer about once every week. The bin smells sweet, has been producing usable compost, and the worms have multiplied well beyond the original 1 pound. The best part is that we have reduced our food waste garbage to 0, which has reduced our total garbage by about 50%.
We recommend it to everyone.
Posted: Tue - April 13, 2004 at 09:42 PM
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Published On: Jun 03, 2004 09:27 PM
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Published On: Jun 03, 2004 09:27 PM