Vermi-Composting: The Beginnings

My dear friend (and ESW alum) Robbie kindly pointed out to me that my herb post mentioned “fertilizer”. Fertilizer? Really? What kind of environmentalist are you?! Yes, fertilizer is horrible for the environment, causing eutrophication of water bodies.When crop fertilizer runs-off into lakes, rivers, etc., it promotes growth of  large algal blooms, which deplete the water of nutrients for native species.  However, I didn't mean commercial fertilizer, and the only place my fertilizer is running off into is my sink (and to a wastewater treatment facility). Good catch, though, Robbie.

Three years ago, I did Alternative Student Break (ASB) at a greenhouse farm called Growing Power in Milwaukee. It’s funny: Will Allen, the head honcho my group hung out with and got free sweatshirts from, is now friends with the Obamas. How cool is that? Anyway, I learned all about vermi-composting. Vermi-composting is the act of using worms to enhance the composting process. They process the waste and convert it into “black gold”, an amazing fertilizer. Let me tell you, I became an expert at shoveling up worms, dirt, and compost.

Two years ago, I pitched a vermi-composting seminar to Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW-NU) Exec.  They went for it. We had a great seminar, and everyone in attendance got to take home a worm bin, some hungry worms, and an uneasy sense that they would wake up to a worm infestation. If not that fear, there was the more legitimate fear that, like mom and the puppy that followed you home, the roommates would not have it.  So it went. We were excited, and ESW’s mini-project was featured in The Daily Northwestern. Time passed. Excitement faded. A lot of worms died. People gave up. I’m proud of the fact that my worms were the last surviving clan. When I moved from my old apartment, I had to set them free because I didn’t have room to store them. It was a sad day watching them slowly crawl away, but I know they’re happily burrowing away in a better place now.

Imagine my pain when I realized my basil plant needed fertilization. I had let go all of my factory workers. It doesn’t matter; the whole situation inspired me to do better. My old, one-tiered, sad excuse for a worm bin needed a face lift anyway, and that is just what I did.

BEFORE (this isn't it, but it was practically the same)

AFTER

Ok, so maybe the after picture isn’t very representative of what my final product looks like. But the  “Worm Factory” ranges between $60-$80, and let’s be honest, I’m just a college student, and I can’t afford that on my stipend.  Here's my adaptation.

My version of the worm factory

I tried to copy the Worm Factory without having to spend a lot of money. I bought three equally sized 16-qt. plastic bins for ~$10 in total. Keep in mind, I used clear bins because I think it's interesting to see what's happening. However, I would recommend buying colored bins because worms don't like the light, and it can paralyze them. I'm going to make sure that I have my bin in a dark area at all times. My version of the Worm Factory is composed of three plastic "trays":

• Tray 1:  This is where the magic happens. This tray sits on top so it's easily accessible. Fill it with worm bedding and food until you want to harvest the compost. Then, you switch it to the position of....
• Tray 2: This is the inactive tray, and it sits between Tray 1 and Tray 3. Set Tray 1 on top of this tray and the worms will naturally move up in the soil, into Tray 1 above, where the food is at. Once they do, you can harvest your compost.
• Tray 3: The bottom tray, Tray 3, has no holes. It is there to collect "worm tea", the liquid that is generated by composting. "Worm tea" is really rich in nutrients, and can be used as fertilizer. Harvest this whenever you like.

You can add as many trays as you want, depending on the amount of compost you want each week.


How to make your own worm bin:

1. Find 2+ plastic bins (depending on how many trays you want), with an area of 200-400 sq in. and a depth between 18" and 25". Find one lid that fits securely.

2. Ventilation Holes: Use a 1/16" drill bit to poke around 30 holes in the top of the lid and around 16 holes around the top of the sides of the bins (except for the bottom tray).

3. Drainage Holes: Use a 1/4" drill bit to poke about twenty holes in the bottoms of the bins (except for the bottom tray). These holes should be big enough so that the worms can crawl up through them.

4. Start with two trays. One that will be the active tray, and one will be the bottom tray. Rip old newspaper (and/or magazines printed with soy ink but nothing glossy) into strips for bedding. You can also use coconut coir, the fancy pants version, or dryer lint, which my worms instantly loved.  Wet it so that it's as damp as a wrung out sponge, and add it to your active tray.

I stole a bunch of dryer lint from the garbage can in my apt. laundry room. Gross. I know.  One man's waste is another man's treasure.

5. Get your worms. Some claim that if you put wet cardboard on your lawn for a couple days, the worms will flock, and you can collect them. I've never tried it. You can. I ordered my worms from Uncle Jim's. They were about $20 with shipping. I got 500 red wigglers, which are superstar composters. They came healthy, happy, large, and only one day later than expected.

There were even instructions!

Strong, healthy, squirmy

6. Put your worms on the bedding, add food (here are some good rules on feeding), and top it off with a piece of damp cardboard (or more ripped up paper). Snap on the lid, and let the worms start their new, wonderful lives. They may take a couple days to adjust to their new environment.

Damp newspaper and lint bedding

Worms

Food and cardboard

Important things to note:

1. Temperature: It should be between 55F-77F. Otherwise, the worms could either freeze or overheat.
2. Moisture level: If you're getting a lot of "worm tea", it's probably because it's too wet. If you reach in, and the newspaper/lint/soil feels dry, you might want to add water. Remember the wrung out sponge rule. A bad moisture level makes unhappy worms, and they might die, try to escape, or worse yet, smell.
3. Don't let the light get in. Not only can they paralyze the worms, they can also foster fruit flies and unwanted microorganisms.

Happy Worming!