Vermicomposting
Donated Kilwin’s Ice Cream bucket with drill hole locations.
Action photo of drilling holes in the buckets.
Shredded paper has been added on top of the worms.
Example of almost complete worm compost. You can easily see the red wigglers, some residue shredded paper and some food scraps.
Vermicomposting is a method of using worms to transform organic waste into a nutrient-rich fertilizer (via Hunker).
To learn a little bit more before the step-by-step demonstration, check out this cute TED ED video on vermicomposting.
These pictures are from a community event where our agriculture class invited community members to learn how to make and maintain a vermicomposting bucket.
Step 1: Obtain Bins
We have used kitty litter bins, 5-gallon buckets and (FREE) ice cream bins from Kilwins. Really any TWO buckets that sit nicely together with a lid will work. You will need to stack them so a good fit is a must. BONUS: Get a third bucket to help harvesting the compost (see more details below).
Step 2: Drill Holes into the TOP bucket
Drill about 4-6 holes in the lid, on the top rim of the top bucket and the bottom of the top bucket (for drainage to the other bucket). Your top bin will be your farm, the bottom bin is for drainage only.
Step 3: Add Worm friendly bedding & moisture
Put newspaper cuttings (1/2 inch strips) or shredded paper in the bottom of your top bin (We would get the shredded paper from the front office for our bedding). I've seen both work well. Spray a small amount of water on your paper to make a moist BUT NOT WET environment for your worms!
Step 4: Add your worms
We bought our worms from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm which you can also buy on Amazon. For a class of 25 people we bought 500 worms for about $35. You could buy more a less depending on your situation. Place your worms under your bedding.
Step 5: Feed the worms
Now that you have a suitable home for your wigglers, feed those babies! You can feed them fresh waste (coffee grounds, tea bags, veggies, fruits,), avoid too much citrus, cooked items and don't compost meat (it is harder to process and will attract unwanted pests). The more you feed them, the more they will reproduce and the more hard-working composters in your farm.
Some added tips:
If you find your worms trying to escape it is probably because the farm is too wet. Add more paper material to ellivate this problem.
If you forget to feed the farm your worm population might decrease. Remember to feed them again and monitor closely. You don’t need to buy new worms unless you are certain there are no more worms.
The more you feed them, the more they will reproduce and the more hard-working composters in your farm.
Step 6: ENJOY and harvest the black gold in a few months
When you see a lot of black (worm castings) it is time to harvest. One method would be to add a third bucket to your farm with the holes, moist paper bedding and food. Once the worms have finished the food in the original bin they will migrate up to the top bin leaving all that beautiful composted rich fertilizer below. Then you can harvest the fertilizer and restart the process.