When you have completed tasks 1 through 6 on the checklist, you are ready to set up your worm bin.
You have determined approximately how many pounds of kitchen waste you dispose of per week, purchased or built your container accordingly, selected and obtained your bedding, and ordered or collected your worms. If all materials are on hand, it takes about an hour to set up your bin.
|
Type of Bin |
Cubic Feet |
Volume in Gallons |
Pounds of Bedding |
|
2' × 2' × 8" box |
2.7 |
20.2 |
8.1 |
|
1' × 2' × 3' box |
6.0 |
44.9 |
18.0 |
|
Patio Bench |
8.6 |
64.3 |
25.8 |
|
Worm-a-Way |
2.3 |
17.2 |
6.9 |
The amount of bedding you need depends, of course, on the volume of your container. This can be a very rough measure. It is important to prepare enough bedding initially so that your container will be about three-quarters full with the moistened bedding in place. The following chart provides the approximate weight of newspaper to set up several of the bins described in this book.
A helpful rule is to use about 3 pounds of newspaper per cubic foot volume of the bin (50g newspaper/liter). For plastic containers that give capacity in gallons, use about 2⁄5 pound of paper per gallon. If you don’t have a household utility scale, stand on a bathroom scale, first alone and then with your plastic bag full of dry bedding. The difference between the two weights, of course, is the weight of the bedding.
The major task remaining to set up your worm bin is to prepare the bedding for the worms by adding the proper amount of moisture; bedding should be damp, but not soggy. A worm’s body consists of approximately 75 to 90 percent water, and its surface must be moist in order for the worm to “breathe.” By preparing bedding with approximately the same moisture content (75 percent) as the worm’s body, the worm doesn’t have to combat an environment that is either too dry or too moist.
When using shredded paper bedding, a 75 percent moisture content can be easily obtained since the residual moisture present is minimal. Just weigh the bedding and add water equal to three times its weight. To get 75 percent moisture, for example, add 15 pounds of water to 5 pounds of shredded newspaper bedding (6.8 kg water to 2.3 kg bedding). Or, expressed another way:
water:bedding ratio = 3:1 by weight
One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds (3.78 kg). In the example above, for 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of bedding you would use about 1.8 gallons (6.8 l) of water. The key to the correct ratio of water to bedding is that, when squeezed, the bedding is damp. The level of dampness is similar to clothes coming out of the washing machine. Coir needs to be soaked first because it can hold 8 to 10 times its weight in water. Moisture in leaf detritus will vary, making it necessary to do the squeeze test to be sure that it is damp enough but not too damp.
Because plastic bins tend to accumulate water, I usually recommend that you use about one-third less water when setting up a plastic bin. I will discuss this more in chapter 9.
Place about half of the bedding into the large mixing container. Add about half of the required amount of water and mix it into the bedding. Then add one or two handfuls of soil and the remaining bedding and water. Mix again until the water is well distributed throughout the bedding. Now dump the entire contents of the container into your worm bin and distribute it evenly. (The bedding absorbs the water so that little, if any, leaks from the holes in the bottom of the bin.) Your bin is now ready for the worms!
If you are using manure for bedding, it is more difficult to determine how much water to add to obtain the proper moisture content, since you don’t know how much moisture is already in the manure. Basically, you want the manure damp, but not soggy. If you squeeze a handful and produce 3 or 4 drops of water, it’s probably all right; 20 drops or a stream of water is too wet.
With manure bedding, remember to add water at least two days before you add worms. Then, if the manure heats up as it begins to compost, the worms won’t die from the heat.
Most growers package worms for shipping in peat moss, inside a permeable bag inside an aerated box. Experienced shippers pack worms in a fairly dry bedding for two good business reasons:
It is more important, however, to provide a satisfactory environment for the worms. Although worms need bedding with some moisture in it, too much moisture can intensify the effects of temperature extremes during shipping. In midsummer when the temperature is likely to be 80 to 90°F (27 to 32°C), a drier bedding acts as insulation, plus provides sufficient oxygen for the worms. Too much moisture fills air spaces, and the additional heat stimulates natural microorganisms associated with the worms to use up all available oxygen before the worms can get it. If they die, neither you nor I will want to open the box for the smell!
The insulation effect of a drier bedding for packaging also pertains to cold-weather shipments of worms. Although the worms will lose some of their moisture to the bedding, they are better off than if they were to freeze because it was too moist and too cold.
If you receive worms that seem dry, assume that the worms will quickly regain their lost body moisture when they are placed in a properly prepared bedding. This should be done within a day or two. Responsible growers try to do what’s best for the worms, guarantee their shipments, and provide information so that the customer knows what to expect.
If you need to hold your worms more than two days, open the box, sprinkle water on top to make the worms more comfortable, and add a light layer (a tablespoon [15 mL] or so per thousand worms) of oat bran on top. Feed again only when most of the food disappears in one or two days. Don’t stir the grain into the bedding, or the bedding may become sour and/or overheat.
When your bedding is ready to receive the worms, open their container and dump the entire contents on top of your freshly prepared bedding. Gently spread any clumps of worms around the surface. Leave the room lights on for a while. The worms will gradually move down into the bedding as they try to avoid the light. Within a few minutes, the majority of worms will have disappeared into the bedding. If any remain on the surface after an hour, assume that they are either dead or unhealthy. Remove them.
Once the worms are down, you may start burying food waste. Of course, by now you know the average amount of food waste your household produces in a week. Dig a hole big enough to accept the amount of food waste you are burying and dump the food waste into the hole. Draw enough bedding over the food waste to cover it completely.
An alternative method is to wrap peelings and other food waste in newspaper to keep them “contained,” and add them as a package. This keeps waste tidy and covered and provides additional bedding. This method does require a bit more water.
With lidded containers, merely close the lid after the worms go down. The simpler boxes without lids require a piece of carpet, burlap, or sheet of black plastic to keep out the light and retain moisture. The worms work up to the surface; when you lift the plastic, you will see them scramble down into the bedding.
