Worm Composting (Vermicompost)
Landscape Ideas Dallas: How to start worm composting (vermicompost) by Dallas Landscape ContractorMaria Bargellini
For information on purchasing Red Wigglers (best worms ever for this) Click here.
There’s only a few types of earth worms used in indoor worm composting. This is because they do not burrow like most common earth worms but live in the top 2-6 inches of your shredded material or compost. They are susceptible to cold and hot weather which makes success unlikely outdoors. To start your worm composting you will need the following:
Materials
- Composting bin (shallow bins are better)
- Shredded paper (preferably newspaper)
- Worms (Red Wrigglers)
- Fruit (No acids like citrus)
- Water
Directions
- Moisten your shredded paper and place inside the container ½ – 1/3rd of the way up
- Place your chopped fruit inside toward the middle of the paper pile
- Scoop up your happy worms and gently introduce them to the pile. The worms will crawl into the middle to eat the fruit
- If your new little friends start climbing the sides of your bin, fret not—they’re just letting you know it might rain.
The worm castings do not smell and look much like soil. It can be harvested when 1/3rd of the paper pile has been consumed. Worms will only reproduce if there is room in their environment to support additional worms.
If your worms stop reproducing you can separate them and either create another worm compost bin (vermicompost), or share them with a friend, or pack them up and go fishing.