compost using red worms
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The average American produces 4 lbs. of waste each day, according to the website Population Education. A significant portion of this garbage is organic waste, such as food scraps. Rather than disposing of organic waste in landfills, consider learning compost using red worms, a practice called vermicomposting. Red worms turn food waste into nutrient-rich soils that you can use on house plants or in your garden. Composting with red worms allows you to set up a compost system indoors without making your home smell like rotting garbage.
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Things You'll Need
- Medium-sized plastic or wood box
- Drill
- Red worm bedding
- Red worms
- Organic waste
Instructions
1
Choose a container to house your red worms. Find a shallow, medium-sized plastic or wood box to use as your compost container. Select an opaque container that will not allow light to enter.
2
Use a drill to create small holes in the sides and lid of your vermicomposting container. Place holes 4 to 6 inches apart to allow air to enter the container.
3
Fill your container with red worm bedding. Choose shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard, rotting leaves, peat moss or old straw. Add small quantities of water until the wedding is slightly damp. Do not allow water to pool at the bottom of the container, which indicates that your bedding is too wet.
4
Place fruit and vegetable waste in your vermicomposting container. Mix the organic waste with the damp bedding. Wait one week to allow the produce to decay.
5
Estimate the number of red worms you need to compost your organic waste. 2 lbs. of red worms can typically consume 1 lb. of waste per day. There are about 1,000 worms in 1 lb.
6
Acquire red worms for your vermicomposting container. Some people purchase red worms from a local worm farm, while others order from an online merchant. Alternatively, go to a farm and search manure piles for populations of red worms.
7
Add red worms to your composting container. Place small amounts of fruit and vegetable waste in the bin each day. Gauge how much waste your worm population can consume per day before increasing the volume you compost.
8
Expand the types of waste you compost to include fruits, vegetables, smashed eggshells, coffee grounds, used tea bags, additional bedding materials and small amounts of starchy foods.
9
Place your red worm composting container in a convenient location that stays between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm, dry, dark locations are optimal for red worm growth and reproduction.
Tips &- Warnings
Monitor your population of red worms to determine how much food they need. As the worms reproduce, move them to a large container if necessary.
Never add oil, grease, dairy products, meat, fecal matter, chemicals or non-biodegradable products to your red worm compost container. These materials may be toxic to your worms.
Tags: compost using, compost using worms, using worms, vermicomposting container, your vermicompostingSource: www.ehow.com
