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Re: Worm Castings

Hi,

This is taken from an article in th e1997 Texas Garden Almanac, published by
McMillen Publishing, LLc 5819 Highway 6 South, Ste. 370, Missouri City, TX
 77459-4052 (713)261-6177, Distributed by gulf Publishing Co. P O Box 2608,
Houston, TX  77252-2608

"You grow vegetables.  You have kitchen scraps.  You put them in the worm
bin.  Worms take in old cabbage leaves at one end and put out black, magical
compost at the other.  You put it out in the garden, and you grow more
vegetables.

Sounds like a beautiful system, eh?

It's almost that easy, and even more beneficial.  Some test kitchens have
reduced their kitchen waste by as much as 75 percent, and the "black gold"
residue you get from worm composting has few equals as a soil builder and
plant food.

Worm composting is so simple kids can do it.  In fact, your kids may be doing
it at school right now.  Mary Appelhof, author of the humorously readable
"Worms Eat My Garbage," has adapted that book into a classroom workbook for
teachers and kids, and worm composting has become a popular science project
for garde schoolers.

Containers for worm composting should be shallow -8" to 12" - because worms
are generally surface feeders.  Deep containers invite compaction and the
anaerobic conditions that kill both worms and compost.  ("Anaerobic" is a
word scientists use when they mean "get yucky.")

What size?  Depends.  Are you a vegetarian, or an enthusiastic beggie eater?
 (Bigger!)  Do you eat out all the time?  (Smaller; you'll probably want to
ask your neighbors to save their peels, too.)  To decide, monitor your
kitchen garbage: Appelhof's formula is to build or buy a bin with about 1
square foot of surface area for every pound of waste you generate per week."


"Example: A Non-vegetarian  couple is likely to produce 2.5 lbs or potato
peels, cirtus rinds, outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage, tea bags, mouldy
leftovers, cucmber rinds, pulvereized egg shells and onion skins.  Ideal bin:
2-foot x 2-foot x 8 inches. Karen Overgaard, who teaches Master Composter
classes in Montgomery County, likes 20-quart Rubbermaid bins for home
worm-composting.  (You'll have to punch holes for ventilation.) [See thread
on Sq ft gardening in flower pots!!] But any chemical-free opaque contqainer
will do; if you build it with plywood, use exterior grade panels so they
won't come apart from the constant damp.  Place the bin indoors (the smell
won't be bad unless you let it get yucky) or in a shaded area outdoors.

Bedding Material comes next: 2 to 3 inches of souless potting mex, finely
shredded cardboard or paper, or hardwood sawdust.  Some gardeners like to use
manures, but this can make the medium too hot for the worms.  commercial
growers often use peat moss, but this provides no nutrients for earthworms
and should be leached in a water bath overnight to neutralize acid content.
 Both Appelhof and Texas organic gardening guru Howard Garrett have
recommended bedding that is one-third manure, one-third peat moss and
one-third shredded paper.

Dampen the bedding until it's about as moist as a wrung sponge.   Keep the
bedding misted but don't pour water on it.  The worm media should stay damp
but never soggy.

Food for worms can be most any vegetable matter that isn't slaty or oily;
many composters don't like to add meat (though the worms will cope with it
fine), and you should avoid putting in fish, meat bones and dairy products.
 Cat feces are a no-no; do not let the womr bin double as a litter box.  (You
laugh.)  chop up large items to speed up their eventual consumption.  Two
pounds of worms will consume about 7 pounds of food scraps per week, though
temperature and worm activity will make this vary some.

If fruit flies appear, sprinkle a little fireplace ash or soft rock phosphate
on top of the food material.  If your food and bedding look too wet, loosen
it with a trowel and add more paper or dry leaves.

Harvesting options:  After a few weeks, when the worm compost has the look
and fragrance of the forest floor, you have some choices.  Appelhof likes to
push the vermicompost and worms to one side and add new bedding and food; the
womrs will move to the new material and in a few weeks you can take out
wormless compost and fill in more bedding stuff.  In another technique,
"divide and dump," you take all but one-third of the vermicompost, worms and
all, and dump it \straight into the garden.  (You should have enought worms
and cocoons left inthe bin to serv ice another cycle.)  Garrett has an
agressive version of Method No. 1: "Place the bin under a bright light.
 Eathworms like the dark and will moove under the top layer.  Remove the top
layer and fill the bin with fresh layers of moist bedding material and food."

Children (and some adults) should be told that cutting a worm in half is not
a good way to double your worms.  Worms do have remarkable regenerative
powers, but while a front end may grow a new tail, a back end never grows a
new head.  If you want more worms, provide a good home and put your trust in
invertebrate lust.  (Harvesting your compost more frequently tends to promote
breeding, but the resulting compost is less finished.)"

Have fun and good luck!!

Margaret, who's been lurking for a while now....

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