BUNguyenI asked:


Species Eisenia fetida
Sandy G

I’m doing vermicomposting as well as hot composting. Both have their benefits

By: Chris Dailey

One of natures most underrated workers are the eisenia fetida or red wiggler worms. Commonly found in organically rich soils that they help to create throughout the world including North America and some parts of Europe, these special creatures do an absolutely amazing thing: they can take vegetation that is currently rotting and process it in a way that creates compost as the natural end product of what they do with this organic matter. Contrasting this to the regular composting process, red worms have become a staple product for organic gardening enthusiasts not only by the worms used to create their own compost, but also in the way of helping decrease waste in our landfills and at the same time creating fresh organic compost. Here is a very easy vermicomposting system that anyone can do in order to create their own worm compost machine.

Organic gardening is slowly becoming one of the most popular hobbies of not only environmental enthusiasts but people that happen upon this natural way to improve their health. Organic food is known for its ability to retain more nutrients per gram of dryweight of almost every vegetable or fruit grown in this manner. One of the key ingredients is making sure that proper amounts of rich compost are added to the soil in order to ensure that the final product is in rich with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that will help a persons general health through regular eating of organic foods.

Vermicompost or worm compost is an ideal additive for any garden because of not only the nutrient value, but the system that is so easy to set up which almost anyone can use to create their own natural fertilizer. Depending upon the size of your garden and your needs, you can take a simple container in the shape of a box or a large garbage can and begin this composting process.

The first thing to consider with your vermicomposting bin is that you need to have proper aeration and drainage. Remember that your container will have a living population of red worms so it is important to consider their needs. You will want to provide fresh air and also a way for water to flow out so that it does not become stagnant. You are, in essence, creating a community of workers that will create a product for you and all they ask is that you feed them organic waste from your table on a regular basis along with keeping proper moisture and ph levels.

There are several types of vermicomposting systems that you can try out. Some have a continuous vertical flow of air and water. These are stacked on top of each other in the format of trays that our filled from the bottom up. The top tray is where you will put the organic matter that the red wigglers will eat and process. The subsequent trays will be used to catch various things such as compost, worm castings, and worm cocoons. It is also okay to build your trays horizontally but this of course takes more room. Depending upon the size of your operation, and how much space you have, you could literally create a business of creating compost from worms given enough organic waste and room in which to grow.

Thinking again from the worms perspective, you want to create an environment that is similar to the natural environment that the worms are used to in a natural setting. Imagine walking through the forest and considering the temperature underneath the trees and the layers of leaves which will soon be decomposing on the forest floor. Likewise, you want to have a similar soil makeup in your bedding as well as an equivalent temperature so that the worms feel as if they are in a natural setting and will begin to process your organic waste.

Therefore, the bedding should be moist. The bedding materials that you can use that will mimic a natural setting would include peat moss, dried manure, or even newspaper from your local store. The bedding should also allow aeration so that the decomposition process, as well as the worms ability to access air, is available. The temperature should be about where humans feel comfortable or a round 60 to 70 degrees. Lastly, there needs to be a ratio between carbon and nitrogen in the bedding mix so that not only the worms, but the other organisms that will be living with and helping the worms decompose the organic material, can feel comfortable. This ratio is about thirty to one with the majority of the bedding content being carbon based and the rest being nitrogen based.

Once you have thrown all of this together which should not take longer than a few hours of your time, especially if you have access to soil and a source for worms, you should begin adding organic material to your vermiculture system and let the process begin.

A last thing to consider is the maintenance of the worms and their habitat. The most important thing to ensure the health of your population of worms is to make sure that it is aerated properly. There needs to be enough oxygen to allow their habitat to be aerobic and not anaerobic. The difference is aerobic allows for the decomposition process to occur via the worms. Anaerobic is just the opposite and that is similar to what you would smell if you left your organic material on your counter for several days or smelled meat rotting. This is more of a stagnant process whereas the worms perform a natural processing of the waste.

The entire project should cost you no more than forty dollars to get access to worms and a container, and a few hours of your time for setup and maintenance. In doing so, you will create a small vermicomposting system that will produce for you not only the freshest compost that you will ever smell but also a rich compost that will add flavor and nutrients to your organic garden products in a way that you have never seen, or tasted, before.

By: Vicki Duong

I’m sure many of you have heard of Cesar Milan, also known as the Dog Whisperer, but are you familiar with Vern Culteur the Worm Whisperer? Unlike his canine counterpart, Culteur is well versed and in tune with the ways of the worm and its needs for a successful and fruitful compost. Compost, you say? What in the world does a worm have to do with composting? Well, my friend let me tell you more…

According to Culteur, known to his friends as Verny the Wormy, worms play a vital part in the composting process. In fact, there’s an entire composting process called vermicomposting or vermiculture which involves food scraps, yard wastes and worms. When visiting troubled gardeners and composters alike, Culteur adamantly but gently tells each one that if they’re going to start composting with worms, then they’ll have to adapt to a few changes. For instance, one of the first mistakes that many novice composters make is using the wrong worm.

Earth worms, though commonly found in the soil of any backyard and along sidewalks on rainy days, make for great fishing bait but not for worm composting. The reason, Culteur explains, is that even though earth worms aerate the soil they don’t properly digest the organic matter and produce worm castings, which is what’s needed for composting. “The best worms to use in the composting world are red wiggler worms,” says Culteur. “Night crawlers work well, also, but they don’t tend to survive for long in too damp of an environment. You’d be better off with red wigglers.”

Culteur also mentions that in order to ensure a successful composting experience, you’ll have to keep your worms happy, which means you have to regularly feed them. “Things like banana peels, chopped up vegetable stalks and leaves, in addition to some grit like a cup full of soil and some newspaper strips will keep your worms feeding and wanting for more.” After a few weeks, you’re most certainly garanteed to have rich, black gold known as worm castings to add to your garden’s soil. Before concluding, Culteur made sure to add, “Unlike dogs, you won’t have to maintain who’s the boss in this relationship; your worms will be the hardiest of workers!”

BUNguyenI asked:


Other than gardening supply stores, where’s a good place to buy or find composting worms, specifically red wiggler worms or European nightcrawlers. I live near DC