It's been awhile since I wrote my first blog on Vermicomposting, or the hobby of raising worms. I recently met a young woman who is equally passionate about the subject, so that incentivized me to write up my latest findings. Warning: if looking at photos of worms makes you squeamish, you might want to skip this one!
I have been raising worms now for over 4 years, and I think my garden is definitely benefiting. The plants seem healthier, I don't have as many pests, and the more I learn about soil health the more important I realize composting is. And worms are an important part of that!
As I coached my clients for years when I was working as a strategy consultant, it's important to do "test and control" to learn properly, and here's an example where I learned a lot, and one of the reasons I keep raising worms. Check out these two sets of pea plants! The one on the left was watered with worm water (worm castings shook up in a bottle of rain water), and the other with just plain water out of the hose. I think the worm castings helped! I have more pea seeds to plant, so I think I'll test it again.
It's also downright entertaining to raise worms. I know, that sounds crazy, but almost everytime I feed them or take apart their bins, I learn something new. For instance, one of my friends was worried about compost stinking, and I can happily report that I detect no odor when I pass the worm bins, which I do multiple times a day because they are stationed in the "secret garden", the perpetually shady area between the house and the garage, which is my main pathway to the back garden. I believe that's because I don't overfeed them, and I feed them the right things.
Here are some of the things I've learned:
The first thing I'll say is that I'm not sure the whole two bin system is really necessary. I had originally read that you would feed the worms in one bin, and after awhile you stop feeding them there and start feeding them in the upper bin and they would migrate up, making it easy to "harvest" the worm castings they leave behind. My worms never moved! So I just started feeding them in both bins and I think it works fine. When I want to harvest some castings, I get some worms in there and it doesn't seem to matter. But it's possible you could just have one bin over the drainage system.
In terms of what they like to eat, I've learned that In addition to banana peels, strawberry stems, carrot peels and apples, one of their very favorite things is avocados! Not just the meat of the avocado, but the peel and even the pit. I think they actually like to "nest" inside of things, so the half an avocado peel, which is usually how I compost it, will be filled with them. And I often find them in the middle of an avocado pit, maybe they're actually helping split it? Who knows! All I can say is that I have an abundance of avocado trees that have sprouted out of my compost after years of trying to get them to grow indoors, suspended on toothpicks over jars of water.
While it's best to feed them things that are small in size, it's not really necessary. I am too lazy to chop up everything I compost, so last year I had dumped in a few small apples whole. You know when you get to that stage after what feels like MONTHS of doing up apples? I didn't have the energy to peel or chop then so just dumped them in whole. Well, you can see that didn't stop them!
I had read that you're supposed to screen the worms to keep them out of the bottom bin, that they would drown if they fell into the water. I can definitely say that I have seen many worms in my water and very few are dead. Still probably a good idea to screen them, but I've noticed that when there are a lot of worms on top of the screen, or in the case of my round bin, above the water line in the bottom bin, it seems that it's because they are overcrowded. I did a bit of research just now and they also say they do that if your bin is too wet and they are following the moisture down. In the case below, there was no moisture in the bottom bin, so I think they were just overcrowded. A good idea to check for "escapees" now and then.
Well, here's a big one. I hadn't done much research since starting my worm bins. Someone commented once on my favorite "Sonoma County Gardening" facebook group that the water that leached out of the bins was actually not good for plants, so I've been meaning to learn more about that. I had mistakenly thought it was a very rich source for my garden, and have dumped in on my roses thinking I was doing a good thing. Turns out that's NOT the case, and it actually could be bad for plants. As one does, I googled it and found this:
I have to say there are places where AI is helpful and this is one of them. I followed the last two links, and this one has a lot of helpful facts. This one is even better because a lot of people asked questions and they were answered. So from now on I'll be discarding that water!
According to these sources, the worm castings can be made into a tea. I have done a very rough version of that, by shaking worm castings into a gallon of water and using that to water seeds that I start in the spring. It definitely helped with my pea plants, so that motivates me to try more tests. Maybe I'll get myself a bubbler and start doing a more thorough job of making worm tea!
I have started to save rain water to use in my version of worm tea, thinking that our treated water is not good for tender baby plants. We live on a community water system so the water is treated with chlorine. I have read that it is in such trace amounts that it doesn't hurt plants, but I figure rain water can't hurt. As long as I don't leave it so long that it provides a breeding ground for insects. I also discovered last year when Austin started walking and "helping" in the garden that he will go after ANY source of water to play in, so even decaying leaves or other natural materials in rain water isn't what I want him to be playing in. We'll see how much rain we get this winter and what his tendency to "taste" everything is, that will direct my efforts.
One more thing I thought was interesting, the original instructions I read said not to give them anything "big", like sticks. While it will take a long time for them to break anything down, I accidentally found them "eating" large sticks I had in the 33 gallon can I use for mulch or compost storage. It had filled partway with rain water, some worms had gotten in, and there were sticks in the bottom and NOTHING ELSE for them to eat, so they were eating those! I have also discovered them in the compost bin of nearly finished compost, eating the boards I drop down in the front. So while I don't think it's their favorite, they will eat wood.
I have experimented a little with using goat manure in my compost, and the worms seem to REALLY like that. I have found them munching on that when I directly added it to my garden, vs. plain straw didn't have the same effect. More study is needed, since I haven't really tested this thoroughly, but it's definitely worth more research. My friend Saill has goats, and I trade her garden castoffs for goat manure/straw, talk about going "full circle". Her goats -> manure-> compost -> plants -> produce -> goats. Love it! I looked it up, and it was explained like this: Manure is already partially decomposed which makes it easier for further breakdown by worms, yet it still contains a good amount of nutrition. That makes sense. My only caution is to be sure you know the source of the manure. In Saill's case she feeds her goats organic straw and doesn't give them antibiotics etc, so I know I'm not introducing any bad chemicals through the process. My neighbor is still battling a terrible weed they think came from a bad batch of hay they fed their horses, it's all over their fields. I will be sure to not put THAT manure in my compost. I know some things get broken down by the digestion process but I don't want to take any chances.
I have also experimented with what to use for "dry" ingredients in the worm bin. The thing that works best is shredded paper, since it breaks down quickly. My friend Fran has supplied me with large amounts of shredded paper from her church office. Other than that, I also use egg cartons, partly because they are handy, I'm often "crunching" egg shells and just place the carton on top. Initially I fill the indentations with water, but usually don't have to water it after that. I also have used cardboard, cotton rags, even the stuffing that comes with gift baskets sometimes. How many people look at this and think "worm food"?
I have observed that there are a few "pests" that have discovered my worm bins. The most problematic are slugs, since I definitely don't want THEM in my garden. They usually hang out on the bare tub, so they are easy to find and dispose of. Occasionally I find a frog in the bin, I don't know how he squeezed in there but it startled me the first time he jumped out. The only other things I've noticed are lots of very small white things. I need to get them under a magnifying glass to see if they are bugs or not, but they don't seem to hurt anything.
One last learning (for now). I originally started with three small bins, and later obtained a "real" worm system from Kara. Since that was working out so well, I decided to re-purpose larger tubs I had obtained for animal feed, now that we no longer had cats or rabbits. This turned out to be a mistake! The reason is they are TOO HEAVY when they start to fill up with worms/castings. Since I regularly lift the top bin to access the second bin, this was a strain. I ended up leaving the top bin separate, and recently gave one of the bins to my new friend Grace.
One more bit of research, I asked google the nutritional benefits of worm castings to the soil. Here's the recap:
Worm castings can have many benefits for soil, including:
Water retention: Worm castings help soil retain more water, which is important for healthy plants. The castings act as mineral clusters that prevent water erosion and compaction.
Soil structure: Worm castings improve soil structure, allowing roots to grow faster and more fibrous. This promotes rapid plant growth.
Nutrients: Worm castings are a natural fertilizer that contain essential micronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. They also feed beneficial soil microorganisms that slowly release nutrients into the soil.
Seed germination: Worm castings can improve seed germination and seedling growth.
Disease protection: Worm castings can help protect seedlings from disease.
Drought resistance: Worm castings can increase a plant's drought resistance.
Pest control: Worm castings can help ward off pests, fungus, and other diseases.
If that doesn't make you want to go start a worm bin, I don't know what will! Happy vermicomposting!
Comments