What to Consider When You Start Worm Composting
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There are many reasons to start worm composting, from reducing waste to saving money on your garbage bill. Worm composting is also a great way to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil, so it’s healthier and more fertile. Worm composting does require some initial investment, but after you purchase your worms and the accessories for your bin, it’s a flawed maintenance process that doesn’t take much time out of your day. Even if you don’t have a lot of space or money, there are lots of ways you can get started with worm composting at home. This article covers everything you need to know about worm composting at home.
Things to Consider When You Start Worm Composting
There are a few things to consider when you start worm composting. Here are some tips:
Where to Buy Worms
Before you get started, you should know where to purchase worms for your composting bin. These worms are red wrigglers (see Red Wiggler Worms – Things You Need To Know), which are very common in temperate regions worldwide and used for composting. There are a few different ways to go about purchasing your red wrigglers. You can take a trip to a local worm farm or store selling worms for composting. This is the best way to ensure that you’re purchasing healthy, live worms already used to living in captivity. Some online sellers specialize in selling worms for composting. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you’re purchasing red wrigglers and that they’re coming from a reputable seller. The other way – belive it or not – is to buy them online and have them sent to your home. See one of my former articles: https://redwormfarms.com/red-wigglers-for-sale-cheap/
Amount of worms you need
How many worms do you need to start worm composting? That depends on the type of system you choose to use. Your first step is to decide what you want to compost. You can compost fruits, vegetables, paper, leaves, or anything else that you would put in a compost pile. Generally, a pound of worms can process a pound of organic waste per week. Smaller composters, such as a bin or mini bin, can hold about five pounds of waste at a time, so that you would need about two pounds of worms to compost it. Larger systems can hold 10 to 20 pounds of waste at a time, so that you would need five to 10 pounds of worms.
The types of worms
Many different types of worms can be used for composting. Some of them, such as red wrigglers, are particularly well-suited to composting due to their large size and rapid reproduction. Other composting worms include night crawlers, European earthworms, and red worms. Red wrigglers are the most common composting worm. They are often sold for use in composting bins, and they make great indoor composting worms. They are larger than night crawlers but smaller than European earthworms. European earthworms are often used to speed up composting, such as when turning a compost pile. They can also be used in a composting bin, but they are too small to be good composting worms.
How to Feed the Worms
After you’ve bought your worms and put them in the composting bin, the next step is feeding them. You will have to feed your worms because they feed off the organic matter in your composting bin. We recommend feeding worms a small piece of fruit or vegetable scraps daily. Avoid adding dairy, meat, or nut-based foods as they contain too many vitamins that could kill the worms. To create compost, your worms will eat the food you feed them and mix it with the bedding and other materials in the composting bin. You can use this compost on your plants and garden to add nutrients, improve soil health, and reduce fertilizer and gardening costs over time.
Where to keep your worms
Your worms should live in a warm, dark place while eating your composting materials. There are three main container types that people use to house their worms. The first is a bin with an opening at the bottom for the worms to exit when they mature. This is a good choice if you plan to keep your worms indoors. The bin can be kept on the floor or countertop, even if it’s not close to a window. The second type of container is a bucket with a lid that has holes for the worms to escape from. This can be kept anywhere in your home, but keeping it out of direct sunlight is a good idea. The third type of container is a box with holes that the worms can escape from, with a lid on top. You can put this box just about anywhere in your home, as long as it’s not too warm.
Best temperature and condition for your worms
The best temperature range for your worms is between 55 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. You can place a thermometer in your worm bin to ensure you keep the temperature at the right level. You will also want to ensure your worms are kept in ideal conditions, like a good amount of humidity and ventilation and plenty of bedding material. You can test the moisture in your worm bin with a hygrometer. Remember that your worms will like to be kept in the dark and out of direct sunlight. This will help protect them from getting too warm or drying out.
Things to avoid when you start worm composting
You should try to avoid a few things when you start worm composting.
Don’t feed them meat or dairy products.
Worms are omnivores, so they’re happy to eat everything from fruit and vegetables to bread crusts and pasta. But they don’t need animal protein, so avoid feeding them meat or dairy products.
Don’t overfeed your worms.
If too much food goes into a worm bin at once, it can overwhelm the worms’ digestive systems, causing them to die off before they have time to reproduce and grow their colonies large enough for harvesting.
Avoid adding citrus fruits or peels.
Citrus fruits contain oils that are toxic to worms. If you want to add something acidic like lemon juice or vinegar, make sure it’s diluted with water first so it won’t harm your worms.
Avoid using any chemical fertilizers or pesticides
These chemicals can kill your worms and pollute the soil in the process. It’s best to avoid using them altogether if you can help it!
Conclusion on start worm composting
Most people don’t think about composting as a means of creating fertilizer and soil, but it can be a great way to save money and reduce your waste. Knowing what type of worms you are buying and how many you need to purchase before you start your composting bin is essential. If you follow these worm composting tips, you’ll be well on creating a healthy, nutritious compost that you can use on your plants and garden.
