5 Things to Avoid When You Start Worm Composting
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As you, as a frequent reader of my blog know, worm composting is an ancient method of rapid decomposition that normally takes place at higher temperatures in many regions across the globe. This decomposition is performed mostly by several kinds of bacteriae to work at higher temperatures to break down the organic materials. Concerning the best worms for worm composting see my other articles: “Best Worms for Worm Composting” and “Is It Good To Use Red Worms For Composting?“.
The most lavish and plentiful type of chemical decomposers in a composting method include aerobic bacteria that break down the chemical, as a result, heat is produced. Millions of bacterium work together in a compost pile cause the pile to warm. As the temperature rises, most of the organisms thrive.
Every individual knows what normally happens to those enormous piles of autumn leaves when they fall from the trees we build at our own lawns. If we don’t place them in the right bag at the right time, they start to get smaller and smaller, and exactly after few months nothing left. Not a mystery! The same mechanism happens with the leaves when they fall off from plants. When living things die, they start to decompose very soon due to the presence of Oxygen in nature by Aerobic bacteria. As a gardener and a human individual, we should always adopt and appreciate nature’s lessons of converting waste into sweet-smelling, rich in minerals compost.
Benefits of (worm) composting – a brief reminder
Benefits of adding compost to your gardens benefit in the following ways:
- Enriches soil health
- Enhances soil food web
- Build soil structure
- Improves drainage
- Creates more water-holding ability in the soil • Acts as a buffer to toxins
Things to avoid when you start worm composting
There are more than 100 things in our houses that we can compost; it can reduce most of your thrash which you take out from your gardens on every visit. In ancient times, people tend to use most of the thrash for worm composting but the world is changing technically. For that reason you must avoid certain things that can be added to your warm Composting mechanism:
Here are a few of them:
Tea and coffee bags
As we have discussed earlier that we used to add most of the things to our compost pile but not now. Tea leaves and coffee grounds belong to the compost pile. They provide plants with phosphorus, nitrogen, and magnesium for their better growth and to develop them into ripening plants. They are only to be added to compost piles when they are not covered with plastics. They should be added when they are bag-less or its cover has been removed properly.
The bags in which tea and coffee are covered, they are made up of nylons and other fiber substances that don’t break down during chemical decomposition.
Use coffee and tea bag as a composting material while they are either made up of cotton or hemp.
Citrus peels and onions
As fruits and vegetables that are scraps from the kitchen are basic ingredients in a home compost pile. The basic mechanism to avoid these substances is that they contain acidic particles that kill worms and other microorganisms which can slow down decomposition in your pile. Remember, if you throw citrus peels and onions rarely, they might not impact on your worm composting but can definitely affect when it is made a regular routine.
Glossy or coated paper
Several paper products act as a potential compost fodder especially tissue paper, soy-ink paper, and old paper towels; even shredded cardboard too. It has been a tradition that papers are coated with plastics in order to make it bright, glossy, and colorful. Magazines,
newspapers would never decompose properly so it should ever be avoided in a worm composting process.
Sticky labels on vegetables and fruits
Those little sticky labels on fruits and vegetables that are used for pricing and other purposes in the markets. They are made up of vinyl and plastic that acts as a non-biodegradable waste.
It must be kept in mind that those sticky labels must be removed from the surface of vegetables and fruits to avoid the chances of creating problems during its usage in the composting method.
Fish and meat scraps
Technologically, fish and meat scraps are a great source of getting the best nutrients for your garden but it must be avoided. As with the addition of such substances into the soil, it can increase its productivity level but unfortunately, it will serve as a magnet for rats, mice, raccoons, or sometimes other animals like bears, depending on where you live.
The bad smell of adding fish and meat scraps to your garden may irritate you and your neighbors.
Conclusion
The whole study has reached the conclusion that the use of worms can serve as a decomposing agent that can increase the fertility of the soil and play a vital role in the development of efficient plants. The plants fed with vermicompost are less prone to diseases than naturally grown. Moreover, it can increase soil aeration, reduces erosion, helps the soil drain properly, improves soil texture, regulate soil pH as well as reduces plant diseases. It may reduce the trash in the area to produce organic fertilizers.
I think every Horticulturist as well as individuals who are affiliated with gardening must be given detailed lectures on the importance of Worm Composting. When to use it? How to use it? What to use? And what not to use?
I think with these types of scenarios, they may get proper knowledge and understand the basic and fundamental queries to produce fertile plants and trees. So, I hope this was another useful article for you here on RedWormFarms.com!
