A Different Way of Composting

Worm composting is done in a wormery (worm compost bin) and is an alternative method of making compost that utilizes live worms to “eat” kitchen and garden refuse and turn it into castings. A worm can process half of its body weight each day, effectively reducing the materials by as much as 80%.

Watering your houseplants with worm compost tea

Worm compost bins make compost much quicker than regular compost bins or compost tumblers. After the worms eat the materials you feed them and produce the castings, which are richer in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium than normal compost, you benefit from the results in two ways. First, you can collect the liquid, a form of compost tea, that drips out of the bottom of the wormery, mix it with water, and use it to spray on your plants leaves. Second, when the castings are finished, you collect them and use them as you would compost in your garden.

How a Compost Using a Worm Compost Bin

Wormeries are very simple. One example is a vertical wormery that is composed of three trays with holes in the bottom of each tray allowing the worms to move from tray to tray. To begin, you put bedding in the bottom tray and then add the worms. The bedding can consist of shredded newspapers, mature compost, sawdust, hay, dried leaves, burlap bags, etc. The goal is to have the bedding as similar to the worm’s natural habitat as possible, which would be like the moist, dried leaves found in a garden or forest floor. The worms will then migrate towards the food.

The top tray holds the food – fresh kitchen and garden scraps that can be put in every day or so and covered with damp newspapers or other bedding. The second tray is the work-in-progress tray where most of the composting takes place. This compost is not finished yet. The third tray is where the finished product ends up.

You can keep a compost crock or compost pail in your kitchen to collect the scraps, but be careful not to provide the worms with too much at one time or it will just rot in the wormery.

When the third tray becomes full, you take the finished compost out and rotate the trays, putting the now empty bottom tray on the top and moving the other two trays down a notch. These particular wormeries are on legs and also include another container at the bottom, with a spigot, where the liquid collects. This is the liquid that, when mixed with water, is great for your plants.

There are other types of wormeries as well. The one mentioned above is vertical. You can also find divided horizontal wormeries that work much the same way. There are also wormeries that aren’t divided, but they are a lot less convenient to use as you have to empty them out from time to time to remove the compost and aerate them by hand.

The Types of Materials You Can Put Into a Wormery

The types of material you can put into a wormery are somewhat different than what you would put in conventional compost bins or compost tumblers. First, you need to chop up the materials and give it to the worms often and in small batches. You can add a lot of the same things, such as plant and vegetable refuse, that you would normally use in a compost bin or compost tumbler, but you should avoid heavily acidic fruits, onions and garlic, and some people say not to use potato peelings. Also, worms don’t do well with anything oily.

Temperature Considerations

The temperature for a wormery is important. Worms won’t survive long in high temperatures. It’s best to keep the wormery in a shady spot between 55 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (12-21 degrees Celsius). The temperature of the bedding should not drop below freezing or above 89.6 °F (32 °C).

Yes!  A Wormery is Great for Dog Feces and Cat Litter!

A separate wormery can be used to process dog feces and cat litter. Worms will eat this and turn it into castings that can be used in the ornamental part of your garden. This is especially useful if you have a dog or cat and disposing of the their feces and litter is a continuing problem. If handled correctly, there will be no odor.

A Wormery is Great in a Small Space

Wormeries are great if you don’t have a lot of space. They can be tucked into the laundry room, in a shady corner of your patio or courtyard or, when the weather permits, under a shady tree. They have no odor and they turn your garden and kitchen refuse into usable compost quickly and benefit your garden and indoor plants.

What is Worm Composting? is a post from: Compost Tumblers & Composting

What Are They and How Do They Work?

The theory behind compost tumblers is to tumble the compost so it stays aerated and decomposes faster.  You put all of your refuse with a little organic compost material into the ball or drum and tumble it in one of several ways.  It doesn’t take a lot of energy or time to produce good quality organic compost for your garden.  In your compost making efforts, you might find this is the best way to go, especially if your time and/or energy  are  limited.

The Ball Compost Tumbler. . .

The most basic of the compost tumblers is simply a ball or drum that you fill with compost making materials and roll around the yard from time to time.

This would be a good project for your children, if you have any!  These balls aren’t set upon a base, like some of the other compost tumblers.  One advantage is that you can roll them wherever you need them.

The Drum Compost Tumbler. . .

One of the rolling styles that has a base is simply a drum or barrel set on a base that either has or doesn’t have rollers to facilitate the rolling process. Sometimes they will have a place for your feet so you can sit there and rotate the drum with your feet.  Later when the compost is ready, you can put it on the ground and roll it to your garden location.

A little more sophisticated are the drums that sit above the ground and have a pole that runs in the center.  They can either be mounted horizintally or vertically, with the horizontal mounted ones being easier to rotate than the vertical ones, as they tend to become very heavy when full.

The Hand-Cranked Gear-Driven Compost Tumbler. .

The most sophisiticated styles are the compost tumblers that are operated with a crank.  These tumblers sit on an above-ground frame, normally with rollers, and they are driven by a hand-cranked gear-driven system.

The main benefit of these compost tumblers is their ease of use.  Some have internal baffles to mix the compost materials better and, since they sit higher on the ground, they are easy to unload into your wheel barrow or whatever.

Kitchen Composting. . .Compost Crocks and Compost Pails

Hand-in-hand with the compost tumblers are the kitchen composters, such as  compost crocks and pails.  The crocks are really nice and look like a cute cookie jar sitting on your counter.

You can stash your daily organic material in these kitchen compost containers until you can make a trip to the compost bin, tumbler, etc., of your choice.  Look for the ones that  come with replacable filters to control odor.

The compost pails hold 3 quarts of kitchen refuse and are very attractive stoneware or stainless steel.  They come with dual charcoal filters that last from 2 – 6 months depending upon the amount of your kitchen scraps. Also, they are dishwasher safe, which is handy.

It’s not hard to learn how to compost, whatever method you use.  Which one do you prefer?

Compost Tumblers – A Brief Overview is a post from: Compost Tumblers & Composting

The Simplest Method:

Compost tea is simply liquid compost. It can be made very elaborately, with different types of equipment, or you can just take solid organic compost, either purchased or homemade compost, and soak it in water. After the mixture has steeped for a long time, you have compost tea. You then strain the liquid and apply it to your garden by spraying it on the leaves or applying it to the soil.

This easy steeping procedure produces compost tea anaerobically, meaning without the introduction of oxygen into the process. It will produce a tea that benefits your plants, but it is the least preferred of the different methods.

A Step Up:

The next step up is to use an aquarium pump to aerate the mixture in a five gallon bucket. You will need an aquarium pump, a gang valve, 3 or more feet of aquarium hose, and a couple of tablespoons of unsulfured molasses. Attach three 12″ pieces of hose to the gang valve and place it on the bucket. Look into the bucket to make sure the hoses reach the bottom.

Add one gallon of organic compost and about four gallons of water, to within six inches of the top of the bucket.  Add the molasses.  Turn on the pump and let the tea “brew” for two to three days, stirring occasionally. When it is finished, strain it into another bucket and return the solid matter to your compost pile.

Use immediately, as the microorganisms you want to benefit your garden will not last long after the air supply has been removed.

It should smell good, like fresh earth.  If, for some reason, it smells bad, return it to your compost heap and start over!

Where to find more information:

Your local nursery should have information and a good selection of mixes and equipment to aid you in making your own compost tea at home. Whatever method you chose, it’s well worth the time and effort.

Why would you use compost tea?

Compost Making

photo credit: Ajay Tallam

Your plants will benefit because compost tea is a very mild, organic liquid fertilizer that will not burn your plants.  It will improve your soil by providing beneficial living organisms wherever you use it.

If, for example, the healthy organisms in your soil have been destroyed by overuse of pesticides or a long, cold winter, the organisms can be restored by the use of compost tea. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and other active organisms found in compost tea will help your plants get the most nutrition from your soil.

Other places to find compost tea:

You can also get a form of compost tea from the liquid that drains out of the bottom of your wormery. This is especially nice to use on houseplants.

In addition, many compost tumblers come with a container attached to the bottom that catches the liquid that drains out as the compost making process goes on. You can empty this out from time to time and use it on your plants.

Give it a try!

Look into using compost tea in your compost making efforts and you will see marked improvement in your garden.

What is Compost Tea? is a post from: Compost Tumblers & Composting