By Toby Aarons 6N

Worms and Compost

CONTENTS WORMS AND COMPOST

FACTSWHAT WORMS LIKE IN THERE COMPOST

WORMSThe worms is an invertebrate which is an animal with out a back bone. Worms live in almost all parts of the world including marine, freshwater, and earth habitats

Compost is a mix of soil and food scraps usually fruit and vegetables, which worms (compost worms not earth worms) eat.

COMPOST

FACTS1. Worm composting (also known as vermicomposting) involves the breakdown of

organic wastes via the joint action of worms and microorganisms (although there are often other critters that lend a hand

2. Regular (soil and garden) earthworms cannot be used for worm composting. They will die if added to an indoor worm bin

3. Soil worms will however congregate in the lower regions of outdoor bins (if open to surrounding soil)

4. Most common variety used is Eisenia fetida (also spelled ‘foetida‘), although it’s larger cousin, Eisenia hortensis (a.k.a. the ‘European Nightcrawler’) is commonly used as well (more commonly to be sold as bait worms)

5. It is widely believed that a composting worm can process the equivalent of it’s own weight in waste each day. Under highly optimum conditions (not likely to be attained with a small home system) red worms have been found to process multiple times their own weight! This is very much dependent on the food stock and how well managed the system is.

What worms like to have in the compost bin

Provide damp bedding. Suitable bedding material includes shredded newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped-up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, dried grass clippings, aged manure and peat moss. Peat moss is quite acidic and should be well soaked and combined with other bedding material. Vary the bedding in the bin to provide more nutrients for the worms and to create a richer compost. Two handfuls of sand or soil will provide the necessary grit for worms' digestion of food.Fill the bin with a mixture of damp bedding so the overall moisture level is like a "wrung-out sponge." Lift the bedding gently to create air spaces. This maintains aerobic activity, helps control odors and gives the worms freer movement.

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Your worms will eat food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. To avoid potential rodent problems do not compost meats, dairy products, oily foods or grains. No glass, plastic or tin foil.Pull aside the bedding, bury the food waste deep and then cover it up with the bedding again. Divide the bin into three or four imaginary sections (larger bin, more sections) and bury successive loads in different locations in the bin. Keeping a chart of burial sites can be helpful. Weekly food waste will help determine the size of bin and number of worms you'll need. Collect food waste in a container and weigh it. Do this for two weeks to get an estimate of average food waste. Your bin should provide one square foot of surface area for every pound of food waste per week. And you will need two pounds of worms for every pound of food waste per day.