Worm composting adventures at Brighton Botanicals

“Worms are the intestines of the planet” Darwin

During the evening of March 7th, Andrew visited, while we enjoyed one of our usual gardening talks in the kitchen. We talked worms and composting. It was exciting especially once learning that the extras which would come from reproduction, could be sold as bait to help pay for the cost of the critters and their home. Not cheap. Worm castings are a very valuable completely natural fertilizer and soil additive. Worms helping to get rid of household waste?? Recycling at it's finest.

Worms don't like the light. They prefer a fluffy bed to burrow into and feed. They love coffee grounds and shredded paper. Wanting to do this for years while reading much up on it through books, magazines and the net, by the 11th, work was begun on the bins. 2 huge Rubbermaid type tubs would be the condos. Holes were drilled in the bottom for drainage--which will actually be worm casting tea! Placed nylon screening in the bottom of the bins and duct taped around the edges of the screen. We wouldn't want the little "buggers" getting out now would we??? “Uncle Andrew” shows up with shredded paper from the office. Also drilled holes in the sides, near the top and screened that over to give them air circulation. Then, went about the task of shredding, shredding and more shredding of newspaper (non-glossy) to be used as “bedding”. Jim P. was kind enough to bring up his paper shredder which was greatly appreciated. All of the resources say to soak the shredded paper overnight and wring them out the next day and fluff them into the bins for the "bedding". While, this concept, we’re sure, is delightful for some, it didn’t prove to be so here!!! This farm has pure well water, so the bathtub was filled to the brim with shredded paper and allowed to soak. Have ANY of you EVER tried to “fluff” up shredded newsprint which has soaked and then been wrung out??? It was a long process.

Worms need fine grit to help them digest their food. Worms like to eat the following stuff..with a very light sprinkling of lime if the soil bin seems to be too acidic.

On the morning of the 13th--off we go to purchase our worms. 6 pounds..so somewhere between 2100 to 3000 little bubbies. Brought them to the farm and put them all in a large bowl as you can see. That is alotta worms. They were going crazy and seemed quite upset. Hurrying to divide them and place into the 2 new freshly bedded bins, a couple of hands full of dirt and a small handful of grit were sprinkled about, then covered with a generous supply of more wet bedding and wished them well. Thought they should be given 24 hours to settle before giving a good feed because they did have the shredded paper and the dirt. On with the bin covers and nicely placed under the dining room table. Please keep in mind, that the dining room at this place hasn't been use as a "traditional" dining room for many years. At this time of year, it is about seedling trays, notebooks and now the worm bins. Remember that worms can compost right in your kitchen, so it is not disgusting that they live inside.

I was very happy for my new critters. I did EVERYTHING right and I am very smart to boot!! It was nice and warm and dark under the table--just the way worms like it. I should know because I am human and many of us know exactly what other beings like--don't we??

Around 10 that night, while getting ready for bed, (here ALONE) I happened to notice that both cats were spending a great deal of time under the table. Suddenly, I wasn't feel very well . I got a large flashlight and looked to find ------YES------ hundreds of worms on the floor and crawling down the sides of the tubs. This was not good—at all!!!! Carefully, I slid out the bins so as not to crush any of these creatures who were my responsibility--yes MINE--the human who knows best!!! The bins on the rubbermaid tubs aren't exactly tight and since worms can squish themselves under a shadow-- I had to work fast. The cats loved their squirming and enjoyed gently "playing" with them. Chance decided to "wash" some. I'm like, "shooo........ and get away from my worms--damnit!!!!" I also knew that opening the lids was going to be an experience. That it was!!! Hundreds and hundreds of worms now fiercely wriggling and squirming--all over the underside of the cover, covering the exposed inside walls-eeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!! There's one thing to come across delightful earthworms in the garden, even a handful for fishing!! I'm not much of a girly girl, but I have to say that I needed composure with this. My maternal instinct kicked in and I worked quickly saving the lot of them. They wanted to explore but had no idea of their impending doom once they got out. I somehow think that they really were not as impressed with their condos as I. Inside of the bins, it seemed way too humid. After the brave rescue, cheesecloth was used to cover the bins and a light was left on the bins for over night. No more escaping although I didn't get much sleep.

The next day, new screening was purchased and attached tightly around with bungee cords--very attractive. A small 7 watt light was still kept over the bins at night—just in case. As you can see....great engineering techniques were used to develop the lighting for the top of the box. Also note that several layers of dampened newsprint are used as a type of "pad" to lay over the bedding.

On the 16th, it was food time. Each pound of worms will consume 1/2 pound of food per day. 3 lbs of worms live in each bin--requiring 1.5 lbs of composted household waste per day. Food must be weighed each time and records kept because over feeding will cause the bins to stink because the worms cannot get rid of all of the food. Not necessary to feed them every day, but they must be given the required amount of food for each day that they will not be fed. For example--if giving each bin 3 lbs of food, then they wouldn't be fed again for 2 days, etc. Everything that they eat is ground in the food processor to make it easier for them to feed from. Did up lots for the freezer in measured bags. Some sources advise to add the feed to a corner of the bin and re-cover with bedding, using another corner on the next feeding. On the night of the 17th, I checked the food and the bins felt warm. Kept the bins in total darkness and within 15 minutes, they were crawling up the sides. At this time, the executive decision was made to ALWAYS keep the small light on at night. Each bin is dampened down with a sprinkling can everyday.

On the 18th……………………. re-checked the food corner to find worms on the top of it and off to one side. The clump of food (ground up household waste) was very very hot to the touch. The clump was also starting to smell unpleasant which showed that the worms weren’t eating enough and the large clump was getting to “hot” from decomposition. I dug out the gloves, moved the top layer of bedding, checked throughout to find the rest of the worms doing fine. The corner clump of food was then broken up and distributed throughout the bin and the top layer of bedding spread back over the whole thing. Noticed lots of alfalfa seed sprouting throughout the bin which was great. Fun to look around the bin and see them lively happily and growing.

Things “seem” to be going well now. Advice and comments should be directed to the contact section on the website http://www.brightonbotanicals.com/ Pray for us!!!! Pray for the worms!! Two great sites below can provide you with advise from the experts: http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/index.html http://www.vermiculture.ca/store/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=6