Composting Kitchen Waste with Worms

If you are not composting then this is a great time to begin recyling food waste!

Compost is an organic matter that is recycled and decomposed as a soil amendment or fertilizer. It usually takes a few weeks or a couple of months for the materials to break down into fertilizer. Used in gardens, composting is a wonderful way to add nutrients to your vegetable, flower or herb garden. Composting is great for the environment and the health of your family.

Start composting in Kitchen and or Small Backyard with Worms

Worms can turn your kitchen scraps into great compost for your garden. It’s easy to make your own worm composting with simple items that you can buy from your local garden center or nursery.

Getting Started

To get started on your Kitchen and Small Backyard with Worms bin you will need to build your own worm bin. You can find them online, at your local home improvement store, or make your own out of a plastic tub. Making your own worm bin is quite simple and much more cost effective. All you need to do is:

1. Buy a large plastic tub with a lid that is tightly fitted
2. Using a small drill or ice pick make air holes in the sides of your bin
3. Drill or poke holes in the bottom of your plastic bin for drainage
4. Add kitchen scraps, shredded newspaper, sawdust, or corrugated cardboard
5. Moisten with water and fill the container to the top
6. Add additional bedding if the container is too wet or cover with food waste
7. Add Red Wriggler Worms as night crawlers and earthworms do not eat kitchen waste

Maintenance

Worms like to live in temperatures ranging between 59° and 77°. Keep indoors during hot summers and cold winters.

Add kitchen waste like fruit and vegetable remains, tea and coffee grounds and filters, cereals, grains and moldy bread. Cut your scraps into small pieces for faster composting and easier digestion. Do not feed your worms dairy products, fats, meat, pet waste or non-biodegradable materials.

Rotate the food distribution as it speeds up the process. Harvest your compost in 30 to 60 days and remove the finished castings as too many could be toxic to your worms. It’s also important to change the bedding when you harvest. You can do this by pushing the castings to one side and putting new bedding and food scraps on the empty side. This way your worms will move to the new bedding and food scraps. You can also pile the compost and place it in the sun. Your worms don’t like sunlight and will quickly move just under the surface allowing you to scrape off the top layer. Repeat until you have mostly worms that can be returned to your worm bed.

Are you ready to get started composting today?

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