Gettin’ Dirty with Compost
This page is all about getting dirty. I mean, really dirty. Like, worms in your hair dirty. Well, maybe not in your hair but in your hands and in your handy tupperware tub that I’ll show you how to make. Hold on, hold on…don’t click to another page. Let me explain…
So here’s the deal. I do two types of composting: bin composting and vermicomposting. What’s the difference? Well, one involves lots and lots of worms. Want to know more? Don’t pretend, you know you do.
Bin Composting
Bin composting does not generally involve worms (although some from nature may find their way in to help out!). Here is a picture of my compost bin:
It’s a Smith & Hawken Bio Stack bin (dimensions are about 3′ tall and 2.5′ wide/deep). I keep it outside in the yard. Composting can be as much or as little work as you like. If you put more work into it, you get usable compost all the quicker. If you put less work into it, it will just take longer for everything to decompose.
I keep my day-to-day food scraps in a gallon-sized tub with a lid under my sink. They sell fancy compost crocks for anywhere from $20 to $60, with charcoal filters built in to prevent smell – I just use an empty Costco pretzel container and it works fine and doesn’t smell. I add the food scraps from this tub to my compost bin about once a week. When I add my weekly waste, I “turn” my compost. This just means unstacking the layers (my compost bin is made of plastic, stackable layers) and basically inverting the compost material. So what was on top now goes on the bottom. It takes me about 20 minutes to do. Or, if I’m having a busy week and don’t have time to do the full turn, I just bury my scraps in the compost and let the dirt and critters do their job.
When I do turn the compost, I add a layer of my new food scraps (called “greens”) and top it with a layer of “brown” material (like dead leaves or shredded paper). The key to good compost is complimentary amounts of greens to browns. Then I sprinkle water on the layers as I turn it, to keep the bin moist (like a damp sponge). And then it’s good for another week. As with worms, I find it fascinating that this:
and this:
can become this:
with a little effort from me in the form of water and mixing (and some help from nature’s volunteer insects).
By the way, the most commonly asked question I get about composting is “doesn’t it smell?” and the answer is no, not really. When I open the bin up and mix everything around, it does smell a little earthy. But you don’t smell anything unless you really stick your nose in there.
If You’re Interested in Composting
Check your city waste collection website to see if your city subsidizes compost bins. With a little help from some friends, Sophia and I got our compost bins from the City of Encinitas for $35 (the bin retails for about $130). If you’re a San Diegan, look at this website and also this one for information on city-sponsored composting. The price of the bin depends on where you live. There are also free composting classes at the San Diego Zoo.
So What Is Vermi-Composting?
Vermi-composting is composting with worms. I have a 10-gallon tupperware container with holes punched into it in a shady corner of my yard where no sun hits (the worms need a cool place). Here is a picture of my worm bin:
And here is one of my worms:
(You have to look close – they like to hide!)
See? Not too bad. The worms need an opaque container, one where no light can get in. They’re shy little guys and like to be in a dark place. In fact, if you put them in light they instantly try and burrow away. I used to also keep a smaller container with worms under my kitchen sink (no, they don’t try and crawl out) but it became easier just to have them all in one bin. I throw food scraps in there about once a week. A handful of carrots here or a banana peel there – whatever is on hand.
The pictures above are of worms that are almost ready to be harvested. Harvesting just means taking the worms out and putting them into fresh bedding to start the bin over. All that dirt? That’s actually worm castings (err…worm poo, if you will). When I transfer the worms to a new bin, it’s just a bedding of shredded newspaper. I add food and slowly the newspaper and food turn into castings. When the bin is all castings, then I take the worms out, use the castings as fertilizer, and put the worms in new bedding to start the process over.
Believe me, I never thought I would ever do something like this. I actually got into it after I went to a class about composting with Sophia (free class at the San Diego Zoo!) and vermi-composting was just part of the lecture. When I saw it on the class roster, I thought “eww…no thanks” but a quick demonstration was all it took to get me hooked.
Strangely, I’ve grown fond of my worms. I save bits of food for them that I think they’ll like to eat. It’s a fascinating little eco-system in the worm bin and its amazing to watch old food and paper turn into something useful. For those of you who live in apartments, worms are actually a perfect way to compost, without the need for space and a yard. They’re super low maintenance, barely require any attention, and make the best fertilizer your plants could ever ask for. My word of advice – even though it sounds gross? Don’t rule it out. I’m just sayin’…
Want to learn more about how to set up a worm bin? Read on.
Starting A Worm Bin
Okay, so I piqued your interest, did I? Starting a worm bin is cheap and easy! Here is how it works.
1. Buy Your Supplies
There are many ways to make a worm bin. There are fancy pre-made bins you can buy or you can build one out of wood, but the easiest and cheapest way for a novice to get going is to use a 10-gallon tupperware container. Buy one that’s solid colored and not clear – the worms need to be out of the light. Also, you’ll have drainage holes in the bottom of your main bin so either buy two tupperware containers (so one can nest in the other – this is what I have) or just buy an extra lid and that can be your drainage catcher.
So here is your supply list:
- One 10-gallon tupperware container plus 2 lids (or 2 tupperware containers and one lid)
- Bedding, such as shredded newspaper (I think this works best)
- Spray bottle filled with water
- Drill with 1/4 inch drill bit
- Worms!
Your worm bin supplies should cost you $20 or less. As for worms, the best way to start your very own worm colony is to get worms from a friend. Worms are very reproductive little creatures. I have given worms away to interested friends several times. The worms I give them breed up into a healthy population and the worms I removed from my bin are quickly replaced by the next wormy generation. However, if you don’t have a cool vermicomposting friend like me, you’ll have to buy some. Check local nurseries or do a google search for “red wigglers” in your neighborhood. I bought my worms at Walter Andersen’s Nursery. They came in a burlap bag filled with bedding. There were at least a couple hundred worms in there and it cost me about $15.
2. Make Your Worm Home
Now that you have your supplies, it’s time to set the worm bin up. First thing you’ll need to do is to drill holes into the worm bin. Take one of the tupperware containers and drill about 15-20 holes in the bottom, 15-20 holes in the lid, and 15-20 holes around the top edge, like so:
If you bought two tupperware containers, don’t drill in your second container. You’ll stack the container with the holes inside of the container without the holes and the outer container will catch any liquid that drains out. If you got one container and two lids, don’t drill in the second lid. You’ll set your worm bin on the non-drilled lid for drainage.
Once you’ve drilled your holes, shred up your newspaper. It doesn’t need to be exact – just tear the paper into roughly 1-inch strips. Tear enough newspaper to mostly fill up your worm bin. As you add the newspaper strips to the worm bin, spray water onto the paper with the water bottle so that the newspaper is damp but not soaking. You always want your worm bin to be about as damp as a wrung out sponge.
Once you have the bin filled with damp newspaper, add the worms! They like to be buried so once you put them in there, cover them with newspaper. If the worms you buy came with bedding, you can add some of that in the bin, or even toss in a little garden soil. I usually go with straight newspaper and it works fine.
3. The First Week
Now that you have a worm bin set up, you just have to keep it going! It’s really easy and doesn’t require much attention. For the first week the worms are in a new home, they don’t really eat so don’t put food in there. If they get hungry, they can eat the newspaper (a favorite food of theirs). That first week, just keep the bin moist. A new bin tends to dry out fairly quickly so check on it once a day and spray the paper with water as needed to keep the moisture right.
4. Feeding the Worms
After the first week, start adding food scraps. Be sure to bury the scraps in the paper - the worms don’t like to come toward the top of the bin. As for frequency, I feed my worms about once a week but you can play it by ear. They eat newspaper in addition to food so don’t panic if you miss a week. Keep your eye on how quickly food is disappearing and add food more or less often, depending on your worms’ appetite.
Worms really like fruit and veggies and/or peels. You’ll want to cut the food up a bit. It doesn’t need to be diced or anything, but if the food is too big it takes the worms a long time to break it down. Here is a pic of banana peel I added to my bin, so you can get a jist of the size of the pieces I add:
As mentioned, they don’t really care for onion, garlic, or citrus fruits. It doesn’t hurt to put those in there, but the worms will just ignore them. My worms love carrots, especially if they’ve been cooked a bit (but don’t put them in the bin hot!!). Banana peels and melon rinds are also a big hit!
Worms can also eat used tea bags, coffee grounds, bread, pasta, and rice. The only things I don’t put in my worm bin are meat items or dairy, like cheese.
Lastly, worms do well if you give them some crushed eggshells from time to time. I believe this helps them with digestion. After making eggs (a regular occurance in my house), I rinse the shells off and then set them in the sun to dry out. This makes them easy to crush. Then I add the shells to a blender and give them a whirl. You end up with eggshell dust. I keep a baggie of it next to my worm bin and sprinkle some in maybe once every couple weeks.
5. Keep It Moist!
The only other thing you really have to watch is moisture level. Spray the worm bin contents with water as needed to keep it moist but not sopping wet – worms aren’t good swimmers. I find that once my worms are settled in a new bin, I don’t have to worry too much about their moisture level. I keep my bin in the shade outside and I think the morning dew that collects inside the bin does the job. But then again, I leave near the ocean and in a pretty humid environment. If you live in a hot and/or dry area, check your worm moisture level more often.
6. Critters, Fruit Flies and Mold
From time to time, you will get visitors in your worm bin. The most common visitors are fruit flies, especially when the weather gets warm. They won’t cause any harm but they are annoying. Keep them at bay by burying food under newspaper.
You may also see slugs or beetles creep in. Again, they’re usually not harmful. I think they’re a little gross so I usually toss them out. But most of the time, they can all live together just fine.
The other issue that may crop up is mold. Sometimes moldy fruit peels can get the newspaper moldy. Don’t worry too much about it. If food is moldy, the worms will still eat it. But if the mold starts to grow in your bin and onto the paper, pick it out as best you can. I don’t think it will harm them but it’s nasty.
7. Harvesting Time!
As time goes on, you’ll see the amount of newspaper in the bin slowly go down as the amount of “dirt” slowly go up. That’s the worms creating compost, aka pooping. When your worm bin is mostly compost and not much paper, stop feeding the worms. You want them to eat up whatever remaining food and paper bits there are so you’re left with 100% compost. That may take 2-3 weeks. I wouldn’t leave them without food for any longer. Here is a pic of how my worm bin looked on harvesting day:
See? Mostly just dirt. Amazing, huh?
Harvesting is a tedious task, I’ll warn you now. Set aside at least an hour and plan to do it on a sunny day, if possible. Here’s what you do.
First, set two plastic trash bags on the ground in the sun. This is where you’ll be separating the worms from the compost. You’ll also want to have a bucket or container in a shady spot to put your worms in once you’ve pulled them from the dirt. Next, take a hefty handful of the compost from your worm bin, worms and all, and place it on one of the bags, like this:
Just leave the dirt pile in the sun for a few minutes. The worms will burrow down away from the light, making it easier for you to separate compost from worms. When you’re ready, slowly start moving worm-free compost from the top of the dirt pile and place it on your other trash bag. You’ll see some worm stragglers here and there so look closely and pick them out as you see them.
Keep working your way down through the pile, sifting handfuls of compost and picking out worms you see. Once you get to the bottom of the dirt pile, you’ll see this unsettling site:
It’s a worm ball! The worms that burrow down away from the light group together into one big mass. The good thing is that it’s easy to scoop up the worm ball but it’s pretty gross (and why I wear gloves, as much as I love my worms).
Keep working through your worm bin contents in this way, until all the compost is separated from the worms. The worms you have left will be placed into new bedding and will start the process all over again.
8. After Harvesting
Once you’ve harvested all your compost, rinse out your empty tupperwear container and fill it with fresh damp newspaper. Then bury the worms in there, just as you did the first time. Let them chill for a week and then start feeding them. In 3-4 more months, you’ll be ready to harvest again! Here is a pic of harvested compost and my freshly set up worm bin, ready to start over:
FYI – here is a tricky thing about harvesting and I haven’t quite figured it out. When harvesting, I see some tiny, white-ish, threadlike worms that I can only assume are baby worms. They are so tiny there is no way to pick them out of the dirt. They kind of just have to go with the compost. This isn’t a problem if you plan to put the compost in your garden. The baby worms will grow into adult worms and your plants will say “huzzah!”. It’s only a problem if you plan to use the compost for houseplants because really, who wants worms in their houseplants. So my tip is to either a) let the little buggers die off and then use the compost (a sad option when you love your worms as I do) or b) just stick to using the worm compost outside in the garden.
9. What to do with the Compost
So now that you have all this dark, lovely compost, what do you do with it? Worm compost is the best fertilizer around. It’s not intended to be used as soil alone. It’s more of a supplement. So mix it with regular soil to pump up your plants. You can also put the worm compost into a burlap or cheesecloth sack, dunk it in water, and make “worm tea”. The brown liquid you get from doing this can also be used as fertilizer and can be sprayed on plants to prevent bugs (like aphids). Cool, huh?
I hope that worm tutorial helped. I love my worms, as creepy and weird as that statement may seem. Hope you enjoy them too!
