Worm Composter

Use worms to turn kitchen scraps into compost.

Here's what you'll need:

• Plastic box (about 2x2 feet for 2 people or 2x3 for four people, 8 to 12 inches deep
• One pound of red worms can process about a half pound of kitchen scraps per day
• Bedding of shredded paper or cardboard
• Kitchen scraps (lettuce leaves, broccoli stems, coffee grounds, egg shells)
• Soil
• Water

To build:

• Drill holes in the bottom of the container
• Fill with moistened bedding.  Add peat moss or leaf mold to increase water retention.
• Mix in a couple of handfuls of soil the worms need for grit.  Occasionally add a pulverized egg shell for calcium and grit.
• Place red worms in bedding.
• Bury kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and filters with the bedding in one corner of the box and cover loosely with black plastic.
• Place the next installment of kitchen scraps next to the first.  Continue this pattern placing the raw materials in an unused portion of the bedding.
• Moisten as needed to keep bedding moist, but not soggy.
• Add fresh bedding every four months or when you have more worm castings than bedding.
• Dump the compost out of the bin onto a plastic sheet.
• Create several cones of worm castings.
• Shine a light on the cones for 5 to 10 minutes to drive worms down into the piles.
• Harvest the outer layer of castings and repeat until only the worms remain.

Then start the process again by reassembling a fresh new worm bin.  Use extra worms (these well-fed worms have been multiplying) for fishing or share with friends who want to start their own worm farm.

Use worm castings as a slow release organic fertilizer for your container gardens.  You will be amazed at the impact such little critters can have on your garden.

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