Checklist
Reference
page
1. Read Worms Eat My Garbage................... ...
2. Weigh kitchen waste for 2-3 weeks to get average
amount produced in your household. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
3. Select size of container required and
assemble m a t e r i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14
4. Determine what beddings are available,
and either order or s c r o u n g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-20
5. Determine quantity of worms you need,
and order w o r m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-33
6. Build b o x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14
7. Prepare beddings. If manure, do so at least
2 days prior to arrival of worms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-36
8. Add worms to b e d d i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9. Bury garbage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-45
10. Check moisture periodically; look for cocoons
and young w o r m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-47
11. Harvest worms and prepare new bedding. . . . . . . . . 47-54
12. Use vermicompost or worm castings on
house plants or in your garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-76
by
Mary Appelhof
with illustrations by
Mary Frances Fenton
Flower Press
Gratitude is expressed to the
artist: Mary Frances Fenton
"Variety of Garbage Eaten by
Garbage Eaten by
Final Report from the
Center for Appropriate Technology, 1979.
artist: Dr. Dan Dindal
"Food Web of the Compost Pile" appeared in Ecology of Compost,
published by the State University of New York College of Environmental
Science and Forestry.
Library of Congress #82-242012
Worms Eat My Garbage. ® 1982 by Mary Appelhof. All rights
reserved. Printed in the
book, including illustrations, may be reprinted, photocopied,
memory-stored, or transmitted by any means without written permission
from the publisher. Brief quotations embodied in critical
articles or reviews are permissible.
First edition.
Published by Flower Press
10332 Shaver Road
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49002
U.S.A.
ISBN 0-942256-03-4
Contents
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v i
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
1. What should I call it?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Where should I put a worm bin?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. What kind and size container should I use?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. What are worm beddings, and where do I get them? . . . . . . . 15
5. What kind of worms should I use?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6. What is the sex life of a w o r m ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7. How many worms do I n e e d ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8. How do I set up my worm bin?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
9. What kinds of garbage, and what do I do with it? . . . . . . . . . 38
10. How do I take care of my worms?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
11. What are the most commonly asked questions
about w o r m s ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
12. What are the other critters in my worm bin?. . . . . . . . . . . . 59
13. How do plants benefit from a worm bin?
Completing the circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14. What are other ways can I r e c y c l e ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Afterword: How many worms in an a c r e ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Metric conversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Record sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Suggested references. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
S o u r c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Preface to the Seventh Printing
This little guide is now in the hands of over 22,000 individuals
and institutions in 50 states and as many foreign countries. I interact
with hundreds of people who use worms to eat their garbage, too. The
collective knowledge of home vermicomposting expands with every
new worm bin.
Based upon this welcome sharing, I recommend one change.
For the worm bin described in Chapter Three, I suggest corner
reinforcements and a hinged lid, as developed by the urban
gardening organization, Seattle Tilth. The lid provides a bench to sit
upon, discourages access by rodents, and helps to maintain proper
moisture conditions.
To make it easier to get started composting garbage with
worms, I now offer a worm bin made of recycled plastic with a unique
aeration system. I call it my Worms Eat My Garbage™ Worm-away
™. People like the convenience of having the worm bin, book,
and worms delivered to their door. This unit is becoming popular in
classrooms, as well.
With the increased interest in handling our garbage in
environmentally-sound ways, worm bins may well be the wave of the
future. May this book be your guide to an effective, enjoyable way to
get rid of your garbage and produce your own potting soil.
Mary Appelhof
January, 1992
Acknowledgments
Just as earthworms take raw organic materials, rework them,
and combine them with minerals of the earth to make nutrient-laden
worm castings, talented generous people have taken my original
manuscript, reworked it, and added shape, figure, and form to create
this book. I am indebted to all who made the process such a pleasant
task. These include Dr. Dan Dindal for content review, comments,
support, and illustrations; Dr. Ed Neuhauser for technical review;
Ethel Keeney for editing; Dr. Roy Hartenstein for extensive laboratory
studies; Cheryl Lyon for the plant growth response experiment; worm
bin owners for feedback on what works and what doesn't; Elin
Shallcross for compiling the index; Peg O'Neill, Loring Janes, Gail
Bosshard, and Sylvia Brown for proof-reading; Mary Ellen Brown for
the bio; and Dr. Scott Geller, Dr. Lewis Batts, Dr. Bethe Hagens, Hazel
Henderson, and Mary Brown for their generous comments. To Kathe
McCleave goes major credit for careful and thorough, but gentle,
editing. Sue Janes wove the tapestry of type. And finally, Mary
Frances Fenton, whose fine illustrations add so much, and who
contributed not only artistic, editing and consulting talent, but also
kept the worms bedded, fed, and counted when I was too busy working
on the book. I thank you all.
MA August 1982
Printed on recycled paper.
Foreword
Worms eat my garbage. They've been eating it for the
past ten years. Before then I used to object to the smell that
developed when I dumped coffee grounds, banana peels, table
scraps, and other food waste into my kitchen wastebasket. I
got rid of the smell in my kitchen when I learned how to
compost food waste outdoors by mixing it with grass clippings,
leaves, manure, and soil. However, although composting
worked fine in the spring, summer, and fall, it was not
convenient during a northern winter. Either the ground froze,
or I'd have to wade through the snow to get to the compost
pile. Sometimes, even the compost pile froze! Now, I let
earthworms help with the composting inside the house. And
there is less odor when waste goes into the worms instead
of the wastebasket.
The process of using earthworms and microorganisms
to convert organic waste into black, earthy-smelling, nutrientrich
humus is known as vermicomposting. I began vermicomposting
when I ordered a small quantity of redworms
through the mail and started to experiment with them. I
placed them in a container in my basement, provided a bedding
for the worms, and buried most of my kitchen waste
in this bin. Using about a pound of worms, I buried 65
pounds of garbage during a 110-day period. When spring
came, I used the resulting vermicompost in my garden and
discovered that the production of broccoli and tomatoes was
much better than I had dreamed possible.
The whole vermicomposting process is very simple and
has obvious advantages in addition to increasing garden
yields. Worms don't make noise and they require very little
care. Because newspapers and packaging, cans, and glass
never get mixed in with the smelly stuff, they are cleaner
and easier to recycle. I have wonderful fertilizer for my
plants and I save the money that used to pay for weekly
trash pickup. Oh yes, and I always have plenty of worms for
fishing.
I learn more about vermicomposting every time I set up
a new unit. That practical experience plus a biology-teaching
and research background helps me evaluate the published
information available. It also convinces me that there is a need
for a detailed, yet simple, manual of vermicomposting.
Worms Eat My Garbage is the third and most comprehensive
publication I have written describing how to set up a
home vermicomposting system. The first was a two-page flyer
published by Flowerfield Enterprises in 1973 entitled "Basement
Worm Bins Produce Potting Soil and Reduce Garbage."
A second brochure, "Composting Your Garbage with Worms,"
was published by the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Nature Center in
1979 as part of a grant from the National Center for Appropriate
Technology. Although several revisions were made in
1981, it is obvious that people want more information than a
four-page pamphlet can supply.
Thousands of people, both children and adults, have seen
worms at work in demonstration vermicomposting units at
energy fairs, harvest festivals, barter fairs, and garden clubs.
After the initial "yuch," questions pour out. This book is an
attempt to answer the most common questions. I hope it
convinces you that you, too, can vermicompost, and that this
simple process with the funny name is a lot easier to do than
you thought. After all, if worms eat my garbage, they will
eat yours, too.
What should I call it?
There are those who use the term "home vermicomposting
system" instead of "worm bin" because it sounds more
sophisticated. They are right on both counts. It is sophisticated
and it is a system. The system consists of:
1. A Physical Structure: the box or container
2. Biological Organisms: the worms and their associates
3. Controlled Environment: temperature, moisture,
acidity
4. Maintenance Procedures: preparing beddings,
burying garbage, separating worms from their
castings, making use of the castings (worm
manure)
I hesitate to use "home vermicomposting system" exclusively
because the term itself might frighten away some who
would feel more comfortable with "worm bin." It sounds a
lot less intimidating to just build a wooden box with holes
in the bottom, add moistened bedding and worms, bury
Worms eat my garbage
garbage, harvest worms, and set up fresh bedding as necessary.
If calling it a worm bin encourages you to try the
technique, then call it a worm bin, by all means.
On the other hand, the system is so complex that there
is a lot more that can be learned about it. Just what is
going on in that box? Are the worms really eating the garbage?
Or are they eating the bacteria, protozoa, molds, and fungi
that are breaking down the food waste? Can conditions become
too acid? How can you tell? What kinds of food might
cause overacidity? When is the best time to harvest if you want
more worms? When do you harvest to get the best castings?
What is the best size container to use for a given quantity of
garbage?
If you like to compare notes about the ideal temperature
for cocoon production, or acceptable degrees of anaerobiosis,
you might want to say you have a home vermicomposting
system. I know a lot about vermicomposting. I have such a
system. But, I also have a lot more to learn. For myself,
I just say, "Worms eat my garbage. Wanna see my worm bin?"
2.
Where should I put
a worm bin?
In deciding where to put your worm bin, consider
both the worms' needs and your own. That may sound elementary,
but I've learned from experience that there are a few
basics you should think about in advance. Adjusting now
for these items will help determine later how successful and
enjoyable a worm bin will be for you.
To make the worms happy, you'll need to think about
temperature, moisture and ventilation. Equally as important,
to make you happy, you'll want to consider your expectations,
convenience and aesthetic preferences.
NEEDS OF THE WORMS
Temperature
You will be using redworms (for reasons that I will
discuss later). Redworms tolerate a wide range of temperatures,
but they should not freeze. They have worked their way
through garbage in a basement bin with temperatures as low
Worms eat my garbage
as 50°E* The most rapid feeding and conversion of waste will
probably occur at temperatures between 55-77°F. Bedding
temperatures above 84°F could be harmful to the worms. The
temperature in moist bedding is generally lower than the
surrounding air because evaporation of moisture from the
bedding has a cooling effect on a well-ventilated location.
Locations that could get too hot include a poorly-ventilated,
over-heated attic; outside under a hot sun, or higher elevations
in a greenhouse.
Earthworms have successfully weathered cold northern
winters in pits dug into the ground and covered with manure,
straw and leaves which provide heat, food, and insulation. The
problem with an outdoor pit for winter garbage disposal is
that when the temperature drops to zero, you shouldn't disturb
the protective snow covering in order to bury food waste.
Such protection will save the worms, but your garbage also
piles up!
Moisture
All worms need moisture. They "breathe" through
their skin, which must be moist for exchange of air to take
place. Since you can always add water to the bedding when
necessary, your major concern with moisture is to place your
worm bin where there is no danger of flooding, which could
cause the worms to drown.
Ventilation
Worms use oxygen in their bodily processes, producing
carbon dioxide, just as we do. It is important that you
allow air to circulate around the unit. Wrapping it up in a
plastic bag, for example, might be tidy, but it would quickly
smother the worms.
*For metric conversions see page 88
Where should I put a worm bin? 5
YOUR NEEDS
To meet your needs, a home vermicomposting system
will have to provide a convenient method for converting
organic waste to a usable end product. Potential end products
are a supply of worms for fishing, worm castings for plants, or
vermicompost for use in your garden. Vermicompost is a more
general term than worm castings. A casting is the material
deposited after it's moved through the digestive tract of a
worm. Vermicompost contains worm castings, but also consists
of partially decomposed bedding and organic waste.
Worms of all ages, cocoons, and associated organisms may be
found in vermicompost. If a worm bin is left untended for six
months or so, worms will eat all of the bedding and organic
waste, depositing castings as they do so. In time, then, the
entire contents will be fully converted to worm castings.
Since no food remains for the worms, most worms will die and
be decomposed by the other organisms in the worm bin. The
few worms that live will be small, inactive and undernourished.
The effectiveness of your vermicomposting system will
depend partly upon your expectations and partly upon your
behavior. You can reasonably expect to bury a large portion of
your biodegradable kitchen waste in a properly prepared
worm bin, check it occasionally, make judgments about what
must be done, then harvest worms and vermicompost or
worm castings after a period of several months. You cannot
expect to merely dump all the trash from your kitchen into a
worm bin, add some worms, and come back in only two weeks
to collect quantities of fine, dark worm castings to sprinkle
on your house plants. If this is your expectation, revise it to
something more realistic, along the following lines, or don't
even begin.
Expectations
The difference between what is and what is not
reasonable to expect has to do with the kind of material
you bury, the environment you provide for the worms, the
length of time you are willing to wait to observe changes,
and the character of the end products. It isn't that difficult
when you know what you want. These are some guidelines
that will help you make reasonable judgments about what you
Worms eat my garbage
must do to maintain your worm bin so that it is effective
based upon your expectations.
Goal: Extra worms, for example,
for fishing
Maintenance level: High
Some of you will want to produce more
worms than you started with so that you can have a ready
supply for fishing. Expect to harvest your bin every two to
three months, transfer worms to fresh bedding, and accept
vermicompost that is less finished than if you were to leave
the worms in their original bedding longer.
Goal: Finished worm castings
for plants
Maintenance level: Low
Those who prefer to obtain castings in the
most finished form also have the advantage of
extremely low maintenance. You will bury
food waste in your worm bin for about four months, then
leave it alone. You won't have to feed or water the worms for
the next few months, but just let the entire culture proceed
at its own pace. The worms will produce castings continuously
as they eat the bedding and food waste. The disadvantage of
this program is that, as the proportion of castings increases,
the environment for the worms becomes less healthy. They get
smaller, stop reproducing, and many die. As you wait for the
worms to convert all the bedding and food waste to castings,
you will have to deposit fresh batches of food waste elsewhere
—perhaps in a compost pile. However, your worm bin
will provide a quantity of fine castings giving you a homogeneous,
nutrient-rich potting soil. If you prefer this system,
you may have to purchase worms every fall when you set up
your worm bin. This low maintenance program enables you
to vermicompost inside during the cold winter months,
compost outside in the traditional manner when the weather
warms up, and have finished worm castings from your indoor
worm bin sometime during the summer. A name for this
maintenance technique might be "lazy person's."
Where should I put a worm bin?
Goal: Continuous worm supply plus vermicompost
Maintenance level: Medium
"Middle of the readers" can opt for a program that
requires just enough maintenance to keep the worms healthy.
You will harvest fewer worm castings, but you should still
have ample quantities of vermicompost to use on your house
plants and garden, and enough worms to set up your bin again.
About every four months, you will need to prepare fresh bedding
and select one of several techniques for separating worms
from vermicompost. These techniques are described in
Chap. 10.
It should be apparent that the effectiveness of your home
vermicomposting system will depend as much upon you as it
will depend upon the worms.
Convenience
The convenience of your home vermicomposting
system is directly related to its location. There are various
possibilities.
Kitchen. Since food preparation is done in the kitchen,
the most convenient location for a worm bin might be
there, too. One of my friends has a worm bin on top of his
dishwasher with a cutting board serving for a lid. When he
is through chopping cabbage, celery or whatever, he just
slides the top back and scrapes the waste into his worm bin.
You can't beat that for convenience!
Patio A patio off the kitchen could be an excellent location
for a home vermicomposting unit in climates where
8 Worms eat my garbage Where should I put a worm bin? 9
freezing temperatures are not a problem. It would be close
to the origin of food waste, close to a water supply for
maintaining proper moisture, and it would have plenty of
ventilation. Just as you can expect to get dirt on the floor
when you mix potting soils to repot plants, the periodic
maintenance in separating worms from vermicompost can get
messy, so doing that on the patio will also keep the dirt
outside.
Garage. A well-ventilated garage would be a satisfactory
location for a worm bin if it doesn't freeze. It also will
provide shade during hot weather.
Basement. Locating a worm bin in a basement, if you
have one, has the advantage of keeping it out of the way. If
problems develop—there might be short-term odors or occasional
fruit flies —the worm bin is not in the immediate
living quarters. You might find it inconvenient to have to go
downstairs whenever you want to bury garbage, however.
Basements do meet the worms' temperature needs, being
cooler in summer and rarely freezing in winter. Since they are
not in the way for most people, many worm bins, including
mine, are located in a basement.
Aesthetic considerations
For some of you, locating your worm bin will
depend considerably on what it looks like. If it is a custom-
made unit of laminated maple with sturdy legs on ball
rollers and looks like a piece out of the Nieman-Marcus catalog/
you will want it where you can show it off most readily.
More realistically, before you decide where to locate your
worm bin, 1) determine how large your unit must be to process
your kitchen waste; 2) assess the space you have available;
and, 3) determine whether you want it to be merely functional
and out of the way, or whether you want it to be the center
of attention. To put it another way, how many guests do you
want to have tramping through your basement? Or, how many
guests can deal with sitting on a window seat worm bin in the
dining room? From my experiences, I can guarantee you, until
worm bins are common, almost everyone who visits is going
to want to see yours!
3.
What kind and size container
should I use?
A variety of containers make satisfactory worm bins,
including wooden boxes, and galvanized metal washtubs or
plastic utility tubs. Although specific instructions for building
wooden worm bins are given later, general requirements
include:
Shape
Your container should be shallow (8 to 12" deep)
for three reasons:
1. Redworms tend to be surface feeders.
2. The bedding can pack down in a deep container,
compressing the air out of the bottom layers and
make it more likely to develop foul-smelling
anaerobic conditions.
The greatest concern that people express when
they hear about placing kitchen waste in a container
to be kept inside the home is, "But won't it
smell?" The answer is, "Not too badly if it is
properly set up and maintained."
We are trying to create an aerobic environment,
one in which oxygen is present throughout the
bedding. Oxygen is necessary not only for the
worms, but for the millions of microorganisms
that are also breaking down the food waste.
Among the end-products of their bodily processes
are carbon dioxide and water, neither of which
smells.
_______What kind and size container should I use? 11
Some microorganisms live and reproduce only
when no oxygen is present; these are anaerobic,
or decomposers requiring no oxygen. As they
break down waste, they produce gases that have
foul-smelling, disagreeable odors.
The secret to having an odor-free worm bin is to
have oxygen available throughout the bedding so
that both the worms and microorganisms can
break down the waste aerobically.
3. Given bins of different shape but equal volume,
the one with greater surface area provides better
aeration and more locations to bury waste on a
rotating basis.
Size
How do you decide how big your home vermicomposting
unit should be? First, you need some idea of how much
organic kitchen waste you produce. You may want to keep
track of how many pounds you throw away each week. Is it
5, 10, or 15 pounds? Many things affect this, including how
many individuals you have in your household, whether you
are a vegetarian (more worm food!), how often you eat out,
whether you use prepared mixes or start from scratch, and
how often you have to throw away left-overs and spoiled food.
Example 1. My household of two non-vegetarian
adults produces about 3.5 pounds of worm food
per week. It consists of such wastes as potato
peels, citrus rinds, outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage,
tea bags or herb tea leaves, moldy leftovers,
plate scrapings. cucumber rinds, pulverized egg
12 Worms eat my garbage
shells and onion skins. We eat lunch at home
only on weekends, and eat dinner out once or
twice a week. Our bin is 2' x 2' x 8", or about one
square foot of surface for each pound of garbage
per week.
Example 2. A one-adult household where much
food preparation was done at home had from 1.75
to 12 pounds of waste to feed worms per week.
The average over a 14 week period was 5.2
pounds per week. A 1' x 2' x 3' bin with a six
square foot surface area was used. Again this
approximates one square foot surface for each
pound of garbage per week.
Two attitudes affect the volume of waste thrown away.
1) We are more conscious of how wasteful we are, so we
tend to be more careful and have less to throw away. 2) We
know that the waste will go to good use because the worms
will convert it to worm castings which are then used to grow
better vegetables, so we feel less guilty about discarding food
waste. I don't know how this contradiction actually influences
the volume of waste.
Material
If you want to improvise with containers on hand,
be sure that the one you select has not been used to store
chemicals, such as pesticides, which may kill the worms. Some
worm growers suggest that new plastic containers should be
scrubbed well with a strong detergent, then carefully rinsed
prior to growing worms in them.
Wooden boxes. The most common sizes for wooden
boxes are 1' x 2' x 3' (1-2-3 box) and 2' x 2' x 8" (2x2 box). The
1-2-3 box is large, one that should be able to handle an average
of 6 pounds of garbage per week, or food waste from a
family of from four to six people.
1-2-3 BOX (4 to 6 person box)
Materials needed for the 1-2-3 box are:
2 pieces 5/8" CDX plywood (35-5/8" x 12")*
2 pieces 5/8" CDX plywood (23-3/8" x 12")
1 piece 5/8" CDX plywood (24" x 36")
38 2" ardox nails**, hammer, drill with 1/2" bit
*CDX plywood is exterior grade, good one side; f 2 pine boards or
scrap lumber can be substituted.
**Ardox nails have a spiral shape which increases their holding power,
particularly important for wood which is alternately wet and dry.
What kind and size container should I use? 13
The
1-2-3
Worm Box
Figure 1. Construction diagram for 1-2-3 Worm Box showing side overlap
on corners and holes in bottom for aeration.
Figure 1 shows how to interlock the corners for greater
strength. Once the sides are nailed together with about four
nails per side, secure the bottom to the sides using five to seven
nails per side. Drill twelve 1/2" holes in the bottom for
aeration and drainage. These bottom holes require you to
place the bin on boards, legs, or casters to allow air to circulate
underneath. Interestingly, the worms don't usually crawl out
of the holes. However, small amounts of bedding or worm
castings fall out, so you may want to have a sheet of plastic or
a tray underneath your bin.
2x2 BOX (2 person box)
Materials needed for the 2' x 2' x 8" box suitable for one or two
people are:
4 pieces 5/8" CDX plywood (23-3/8"x8")
1 piece 5/8" CDX plywood (24" x 24")
36 2" ardox nails, hammer, drill with 1/2" bit
(See 1-2-3 Box notes for ardox nails or substitute woods.)
Nail the sides together, overlapping the corners as shown
in Figure 1. Secure the bottom to the sides using about five
14 Worms eat my garbage
nails per side. Drill nine 1/2" holes in the bottom for aeration
and drainage, and follow the recommendations above for a
tray and for raising the box from the surface upon which it sits.
Fancy boxes. Some people have built worm bins as a
piece of furniture, providing legs on casters, staining and finishing
boards of finer grades of wood, or using a more attractive
(and more expensive) grade of plywood, such as birch.
Two precautions you should be aware of are to 1) use exterior
grade plywood, since the box will be damp most of the time, and
you don't want the layers to separate from each other, and 2)
avoid highly aromatic woods, such as redwood or cedar, which
may be harmful to the worms.
How long will a wooden box last? Used continuously,
without ever letting the box dry out, unfinished wooden
boxes should last two to three years. Longevity can be increased
by letting the box dry out for several days between
set-ups. Some people prefer to rotate between two boxes for
more convenient maintenance and to allow the boxes to dry.
A good finish that seals all edges, such as polyurethane
varnish, epoxy, or other waterproofing material, should
extend box-life considerably.
4 . What are worm beddings,
and where do I get them?
A major component of your home vermicomposting
system is bedding. Worm beddings are functional since they
not only hold moisture, but provide a medium in which the
worms can work, as well as a place to bury the garbage. Worm
bedding is usually cellulose in some form. It must not be toxic
to the worms, since they will eventually consume the bedding
as well as the garbage. The most desirable beddings are light
and fluffy, conditions necessary for air exchange throughout
the depth of the container. This helps control odor by reducing
the chances that anaerobic conditions will develop.
If left six months or more, all the bedding may be converted
to worm castings. It can become so dense that the worms
have a hard time moving through it. When these castings are
allowed to partially dry and are then screened, it is impossible
to identify either bedding or the garbage that was originally
buried. However, normal procedures for maintaining a healthy
worm population (discussed in Chap. 10), require that worms
be removed from the bedding before it is completely converted
to castings.
16 Worms eat my garbage
Many materials make satisfactory beddings. Some of the
more common beddings are listed below, along with brief
comments on their advantages and disadvantages. Your choice
can be highly individual, depending upon ayailability, convenience,
and economic considerations.
Shredded corrugated (cardboard)
Shredded corrugated cartons make one of the best
beddings for home vermicomposting systems. I purchase this
material in wholesale quantities from a company that shreds
scrap cuttings from corrugated carton manufacture. Although
shredding equipment similar to that used in pulverizing newsprint
for insulation is used, the fire-retardant chemical added
to insulation would contaminate worm bedding. For this
reason, machinery separate from that used to produce insulation
is required for worm bedding. Because minimum order
requirements, warehousing, marketing, and distribution costs
require a considerable investment, the availability to retail
purchasers of shredded corrugated suitable for worm bedding
will depend greatly upon demand.
Although light, fluffy, shredded corrugated is easy to
dampen to the proper moisture content, be careful when
handling it. Before the shredded material is moistened, fine,
powdery dust is easily raised. As with any quantity of fine,
particulate material, it may be harmful to breathe.
ADVANTAGES
•Clean
• Odorless
• Easily prepared
• Makes good
castings
DISADVANTAGES
• Must be purchased
• May be hard to find
• Dries out on top and edges
• Dust can be harmful to
breathe
Machine-shredded newsprint or computer strips
Paper shredding machines produce high volumes of
good worm bedding from computer print-out paper and from
newsprint. The long, tangled lengths of quarter-inch wide
strips are easily moistened, and there isn't the dust problem
there is with shredded corrugated. The strips, however, don't
hold moisture as well, since they provide more surface area
from which water can evaporate. The worms will eventually
What are worm beddings, and where do I get them? 17
eat the softened paper, as they do the corrugated though, so
the end result will also be worm castings.
The most commonly asked question about newsprint is,
"Isn't the ink harmful to the worms?" No. The basic ingredients
of black ink are carbon black and oils, neither of which is
toxic to worms. While black ink is not a problem, colored
inks are more of a concern. At one time heavy metals, such as
lead and chrome, were a major component of their pigment.
Recent government regulations, however, now prohibit the
use of heavy metals in any ink used for products that may be
eaten by youngsters, such as the funny papers. While the feds
are more concerned about our kids than they are about worms,
usually it's safe now to say that ink from newsprint will not
kill your worms.
Where can you get paper that is shredded? Ask around.
Banks and universities frequently shred volumes of computer
records; many offices have paper shredders. One hobbicraft
business bought a machine to shred newspapers so that its
customers would have packing for their greenware and
finished ceramic pieces. You only need a supply a few times
a year.
ADVANTAGES
• Clean
• Usually free for
the hauling
• Odorless
• Easily prepared
• No dust
DISADVANTAGES
• May be hard to find
• Dries out more readily than
shredded corrugated
Hand-shredded newsprint
The least expensive and most readily available bedding
is newspaper strips you shred by hand. By fully opening
a section of newspaper, tearing it lengthwise down the centerfold,
gathering the two halves, tearing it lengthwise again, and
repeating the process five to six times for each section, you will
get strips ranging from one to three inches wide. It doesn't
take long to fill your bin with bedding and have enough on
hand in a large plastic bag to change the bedding in a few
months.
18 Worms eat my garbage
ADVANTAGES
• No cost
• Readily
available
• Odorless
•No dust
DISADVANTAGES
• Requires preparation time
• Inked newsprint can be
dirty to handle
• Large strips dry out more
readily than shredded
corrugated or machineshredded
paper
• Tends to matdown in layers,
making it difficult to bury
garbage
Animal manures
Composted horse, rabbit or cow manure is good
bedding for worms, since that is a natural habitat for them.
Manure may be difficult to obtain and should not come from
recently wormed animals. Some people may object to the
initial odor, although that will disappear within a few days
after worms are added. Manure is likely to have other organisms
such as mites, sowbugs, centipedes, or grubs, which
some people would rather not have in their homes.
Setting up a bin with manure is a two-stage process,
since the medium may heat up beyond the tolerance of worms
when water is added. However, the worms can be added in
about two days when it cools down. Manure can be mixed
with peat moss to make it lighter and less compact.
ADVANTAGES
• Can be free for
the hauling
• Natural worm
habitat
• Variety of
nutrients present
• Makes good
castings
DISADVANTAGES
• Initial odors can be
objectionable
• Unwanted organisms may
be present
• May initially heat up,
delaying time when worms
can be added
• Can get compacted
Leaf mold
The bottom of a pile of decaying leaves can yield
a satisfactory bedding in the form of decomposed leaves. If
they are wet, you'll probably even find some worms! Maple
leaves are preferable to oak, which take a long time to break
down. Recent concern has been expressed about the high concentration
of lead in leaves obtained from heavy traffic areas.
Lead in the exhaust from cars using leaded gasoline settles on
the leaves, so be cautious in using many leaves from such a
source.
ADVANTAGES
• No cost
• Natural worm
habitat
What are worm beddings, and where do I get them? 19
DISADVANTAGES
• Unwanted organisms may
be present
• Leaves can mat together,
making it difficult to bury
garbage
Peat moss
Canadian peat moss is a standard bedding among
some commercial worm growers. It has superior water retention
characteristics, but provides almost no nutrients for the
earthworms. It is highly acid, and other substances harmful
to the worms may be present if peat moss is not leached
out by soaking it in an excess of water for several hours prior
to squeezing it out for bedding. It has also become more
expensive in recent years.
Peat moss can be effectively mixed with any of the other
beddings described to aid in water retention or to make
manure beddings less dense. I recommend using one-third to
one-half peat moss.
DISADVANTAGES
• Must be purchased
• Few nutrients for worms
• Acidity can be a problem
ADVANTAGES
• Clean
• Odorless
• Retains moisture
well
• Good for mixing
with other
beddings
Additions to bedding. You may have noticed that I have
not mentioned using dirt or soil for bedding. In nature, redworms
are litter dwellers; that is, they are found among masses
of decaying vegetation such as fallen leaves, or manure piles,
or under rotten logs. They are present in mineral soils only
when large amounts of organic materials are present. Although
one investigator recommends using a thin (1/2") layer
of soil in a container holding worms, I have not found it to be
essential for home vermicomposting systems. A big disadvantage
is weight. With just a half-inch of soil, for example,
a container is extremely heavy. I will, however, usually add
a handful or two of soil when I initially prepare the bedding.
This provides some grit to aid in breaking down food particles
20 Worms eat my garbage
within the worm's gizzard.
Powdered limestone (calcium carbonate) can also be used
to provide grit. It has the further advantages of helping to keep
conditions in the bin from becoming too acid, and providing
calcium, which is necessary for worm reproduction. Since
pulverized egg shells serve the same purpose, and I add them
regularly, I frequently don't bother with the limestone.
CAUTION: Do not use slaked, or hydrated lime. Use the kind
that can be mixed with feed, or that is used to line athletic
fields. The wrong kind of lime will cause your worms to
react violently and will kill them.
5.
What kind of worms
should I use?
Why redworms?
Redworms are the most satisfactory kind to use in
your home vermicomposting system, for a number of reasons.
They process large amounts of organic material in their
natural habitats of manure, compost piles, or decaying leaves.
They reproduce quickly and in confinement. When small
organisms are raised in a controlled environment, they are
said to be cultured; the culture of earthworms is known as
vermiculture. Because sufficient markets exist encouraging
people to culture redworms on a part or full-time basis, it is
possible to purchase them almost any season of the year. They
can readily be shipped via package delivery services or
through the mail.
Other common names. Calling earthworms by common
names can cause problems in communication. What I call
"redworm," you may know as "red wiggler." Your neighbor
may call it "manure worm." The bait dealer down the road
may refer to it as "red hybrid." Other common names for this
same animal are: fish worm, dung worm, fecal worm, English
red worm, striped worm, stink worm, brandling, and apple
pomace worm. Redworms frequently have a pronounced pattern
of alternate red and buff stripes, which may explain why
they are called "tiger worms" in Australia. With so many
names, how can any of us know when we are talking about
the same worm!
Scientific names
To be certain they are talking about the same thing,
scientists have developed a precise system for naming organisms.
Since much information in this book comes from
scientific papers, I will be using scientific names. So that you
won't be confused when I do, here are some basic rules that
all scientists follow:
22 Worms eat my garbage
The name of each organism consists of two words, the
first of which is called a genus (plural: genera), the second,
the species. All organisms of the same genus are more
closely related than those of different genera. Human
beings are members of the species Homo sapiens. Correct
usage requires that the genus name always be capitalized,
the species name be lower case. Both terms are of Latin or
Greek origin, or they are Latinized. Scientific names are
italicized in print, or if typewritten, underlined.
The redworms I use are Eisenia foetida (which I pronounce
i see' nee a fet' id a). Another redworm that could
possibly be used is Lumbricus rubellus, which also inhabits
compost heaps and manure piles. L. rubellus is more likely to
be a soil dwelling earthworm than E. foetida, but the soil
would have to contain large amounts of organic material.
Nightcrawlers
Most people recognize the nightcrawler, known to
some as the dew worm, night walker, rain worm, angle worm,
orchard worm, or even night lion. Scientists call it Lumbricus
terrestris, and it is unquestionably the most studied of the
3000 species of earthworms currently named. A recent
What kind of worms should I use? 23
bibliography of earthworm research lists over 200 scientific
studies with data on Lumbricus terrestris!
Nightcrawlers are not a suitable worm for the type of
home vermicomposting system described here. I once placed
80 nightcrawlers in my worm bin along with the redworms
already there. Two months later, I found only one live nightcrawler,
and that was immature. Although satisfactory environments
can be created for nightcrawlers indoors, they require
large amounts of soil, and the bed temperature cannot
exceed 50°F. Indoors, your box temperature is likely to get
higher than that. Nightcrawlers dig burrows and don't like to
have their burrows disturbed. If you try to bury garbage,
nightcrawlers move quickly around the surface of the box
trying to escape your digging.
Nightcrawlers do play important roles in soil fertility.
These large soil-dwelling earthworms have extensive burrows
extending from the ground surface to several feet deep. They
come to the surface on moist spring and fall nights and forage
for food, drawing dead leaves, grass, and other organic
material into their burrows where they feed upon it at a later
time. Nightcrawlers perform important soil mixing functions.
They take organic material into deeper layers of the soil, mix it
with subsoils that they consume in their burrowing activities,
and bring mineral subsoils to the surface when they deposit
their casts as dark globs of coiled earth near the burrow
entrance. Through their burrows, nightcrawlers also aid in soil
aeration and in water retention by increasing the rate at which
water can penetrate the deeper soil layers. They may not be
good for your worm boxes, but they are very good for your
gardens.
Garden worms
I can't tell you what kind of worm you will find if
you dig in your garden. Scientists describe several soil and
pasture dwelling species including the Allolobophora caliginosa
complex of species including Allolobophora chloritica
and Aporrectodea turgida and A. tuberculata, among others.
To identify these species one would need to count the number
of segments, identify the type of projection over the mouth,
locate the position of the various openings for sexual organs,
Worms eat my garbage
and identify the pattern for the setae (bristles) on each segment
With suitable magnification, a good pair of forceps, two or
three well-illustrated books, and a considerable struggle I
might be able to come up with a tentative identification in a
half-days time. To be certain, I would send a properly preserved
specimen off to a good earthworm taxonomist.
Identifying earthworms is not for the faint of heart
6.
What is the
sex life of a worm?
Before determining how many redworms you need
to start vermicomposting, an understanding of their amazing
reproductive potential is helpful. Two of the reasons for using
redworms are that they reproduce quickly and in culture.
When some people learn how fast redworms reproduce, they
become concerned that redworms will "take over the world,"
but their numbers are controlled by environmental factors.
Many people know that an earthworm has both sexes,
and may wonder why mating is even necessary when each
worm produces both eggs and sperm. Knowledge of a worm's
structure helps explain this.
The swollen region about one-third of the distance between
the head and tail of a worm is the clitellum, sometimes
known as the girdle or band. The presence of a clitellum indicates
that a worm is sexually mature. Bait worms with this
structure are commonly called "banded breeders," so they are
old enough to breed and produce offspring.
Just as worm species differ in external characteristics, they
differ somewhat in mating behavior. For example, nightcrawlers
extend themselves from their burrows to seek another
nightcrawler with which to mate. Attracted by glandular
secretions, they find each other and lie with their heads in
opposite directions, their bodies closely joined. Their clitella
secrete large quantities of mucus that forms a tube around
each worm. Sperm from each worm move down a groove into
receiving pouches of the other worm. The sperm, in a seminal
fluid, enter the opening of sperm storage sacs where they are
held for some time.
Redworms differ from nightcrawlers by mating at different
levels in their bedding, rather than just upon the surface.
26 Worms eat my garbage
Under proper conditions, they can also be observed mating
at any time of year, whereas some species mate only during
particular seasons.
Some time after the worms separate, the clitellum secretes
a second substance, a material containing albumin. The albuminous
material hardens on the outside to form a cocoon
in which eggs are fertilized and from which baby worms
hatch. As the adult worm backs out of this hardening band,
it deposits eggs from its own body and the stored sperm from
its mate. Sperm fertilize the eggs inside this structure, which
closes off at each end as it passes over the first segment. Sometimes
called an egg case, this home for developing worms is
more properly called a cocoon.
Cocoons are lemon-shaped objects about the size of a
matchhead or a small grain of rice. They change color as the
baby worms develop, starting as a luminescent pearly white,
becoming quite yellow, then light brown. When the hatchlings
are nearly ready to emerge, cocoons are reddish. By observing
carefully with a good hand lens it is sometimes possible to
see not only a baby worm, but the pumping of its bright red
blood vessel. The blood of a worm is amazingly similar to
ours, having the same function of carrying oxygen, and having
iron-rich hemoglobin as its base.
It takes at least three weeks development in the cocoon
before one to several baby worms hatch. The time to hatching
is highly dependent upon temperature and other conditions.
(I worked with worms for years before I ever saw a worm
emerge from its cocoon. I have observed hatchlings work their
way out of their cocoon, thrashing about vigorously. When I
turned on bright lights to try to photograph them, they quickly
retreated, reacting negatively to light just as adult worms do.)
Newly emerged worms are whitish and nearly transparent,
although the blood vessel causes a pink tinge. They may
be from one-half to nearly an inch long when they hatch, but
they weigh only two to three milligrams. At that size, it would
take over 150,000 hatchlings to make one pound of worms.
Although each cocoon may contain as many as 20 fertilized
eggs, normally only two to three hatchlings emerge. Because
the number of hatchlings varies depending upon such
What is the sex life of a worm? 27_
28 Worms eat my garbage
factors as the age of the breeder which deposited the cocoon,
its nutritional state, the temperature, and whether the temperature
is constant or fluctuates daily, it is possible to
establish conditions for greater hatchling production.
The time it takes for a baby worm to become a breeder
varies, depending on the same factors—temperature, moisture,
food availability, and population density. A redworm
can be sexually mature and produce cocoons in four weeks,
but six is more common. Once it breeds and begins laying
cocoons, it can deposit two to three cocoons per week for
from six months to a year. Conservatively, then, if a twomonth-
old breeder laid two cocoons a week for 24 weeks, and
two hatchlings emerged from each cocoon, one breeder would
produce 96 baby worms in six months (2 cocoons x 24 weeks
x 2 hatchlings).
The situation is more complicated than that, however.
Before the first two months are up, the first hatchlings will
be able to breed. These could produce two cocoons for 16
weeks with two hatchlings coming from each of the four
worms resulting from the original breeder's first week's
production, or 256 more worms before the six month period
is up. The math quickly gets complicated, but since optimal
conditions for such geometric increases in numbers will
never be achieved, theoretical projections are more confusing
than informative. Dr. Roy Hartenstein of Syracuse, New York,
has calculated that eight individuals could produce about 1500
offspring within six months time.*
Population controls
With the reproductive potential described, we come
back to the question of why worms don't take over the world.
Three basic conditions control the size of a worm population.
They are: 1) availability of food; 2) space requirements;
and 3) fouling of their environment.
When food waste is fed regularly to worms in a limited
space, the worms and associated organisms, both microscopic
and larger, break down this waste. They use what they can and
This is based upon two cocoons per worm per week, of which 82% hatch,
averaging 1.5 hatchlings per cocoon, reproducing between 5 to 6 weeks, and
continuing for 40 to 50 weeks of fertility at 77°F.
What is the sex life of a worm? 29
excrete the rest. As the worms reproduce, the voracious young
worms compete with their parents and all the other worms in
the culture for the limited food available. Additionally, all
the worms excrete castings, which have been shown to be
toxic to members of their own species.
As time goes on, more worms compete for the limited
food, and more and more of the bedding becomes converted
to castings. The density of the worms may exceed that favorable
for cocoon production, and reproduction slows down.
Undesirable conditions in their continually changing environment
may cause some worms to die. Interestingly, you will
rarely see dead worms because they are rapidly decomposed
by other associated creatures in this active composting
environment.
The controls you exert over your worm population will
affect this whole process. You may choose to feed an ever
increasing population more and more food. If you want more
and more worms, you will eventually have to provide them
more space and fresh bedding, and enable them to get away
from high concentrations of their castings. You may even
choose to become a worm grower, and try to keep up with the
ever increasing demand for food, space, and elimination of accumulated
end products. But that's another story, and it's
more complicated than simply keeping enough worms alive to
process your kitchen waste so that you can use the rich
end product to grow healthier vegetables and house plants.
7.
How many worms
do I need?
With some idea of how fast redworms reproduce,
you might conclude that you would eventually produce
enough worms to handle all your food waste regardless of
how many worms you used initially. You could start with a
few dozen redworms and regularly feed them small amounts
of garbage. If patience is one of your virtues, you could
wait until their natural tendency to reproduce under proper
conditions yields several thousand worms. However, most of
you will want your worm composting system to handle most
of your organic kitchen waste from the day you set it up. You'll
want to start with enough worms to consume all the garbage
you will be feeding them.
Base the number of worms initially required on two
factors: 1) average amount of food waste to be buried per day,
and 2) size of bin. Since your bin size will be based upon how
much garbage you expect, the amount you will be burying is
really the critical factor.
Worm to daily garbage ratio
The relationship between weight of worms required
and a given amount of garbage can be expressed as "worm:
garbage ratio" (: means "to"). I usually recommend a
worm.-garbage ratio of 2:1, based upon the initial weight of
worms and the average daily amount of garbage to be buried.
Thus, if you generate seven pounds of garbage per week, that
would be an average of one pound of garbage per day.
7 lb garbage per week
7 days in one week
1 lb garbage per day average
For this quantity of garbage, use two pounds of worms
initially in a container with about seven square feet of surface
How many worms do I need? 31
area (the 1-2-3 Box described in Chap. 3 would be sufficient).
Calculations for a household that produces a smaller
amount of garbage are:
3.5 lb garbage per week _ 1/2 lb garbage per day average
7 days in one week
Following the suggested worm: garbage ratio of 2:1, use
one pound of worms to the one-half pound of daily garbage.
Referring back to Chap. 3, your container size should provide
about four square feet surface area, or one square foot for each
pound of garbage per week.
Quantities of worms are specified in terms of "pounds"
rather than "numbers" for a couple of reasons, one personal
and the other biological. The personal reason is that the first
season I sold worms, my partner and I sorted and counted
50,000 worms—one by one by one. If you ever have to count
50,000 of anything one by one, you'll find an easier way to do
it, too. From that time on, I have sold worms by the pound.
The first question I always get, of course, is "How many
worms are in a pound?" Although the number will vary depending
upon the size of the worms, there are some guidelines.
Worm growers commonly estimate that there are about
1000 breeders per pound for young redworms. A bait dealer
selling worms for fishing would prefer that the worms be
considerably larger than that. If redworms don't run between
32 Worms eat my garbage
600 to 700 per pound, customers complain that they are too
small to get on a hook.
Many growers sell what they refer to as "pit-run" redworms,
or run-of-pit. These are worms of all sizes and ages,
from which bait-sized worms may or may not have been
removed. Since there could be between 150,000 to 200,000
hatchlings in a pound, the number of pit-run worms in a pound
will vary tremendously. However, 2000 is a figure commonly
used.
The biological reason for using weight of worms in determining
how many to use to start a home vermicomposting
system is that it is the biomass of the worms that is important,
not the number. Worms have been shown to consume
more than their weight each day, regardless of their size.
Since many small worms can move as much material through
their intestines as fewer large worms of equal mass, think in
terms of an earthworm biomass sufficient to do the job.
Breeders or pit-run?
There are no hard and fast rules to tell you whether
to start with breeders or pit-run. Breeders will lay cocoons
more quickly and increase the number of individuals sooner,
but they usually cost more from commercial growers because
of the labor required to sort them. Also, some growers think
breeders take longer to adjust to new culture conditions than
do pit-run worms.
If you can order pit-run by the pound, you will certainly
get more worms than if you purchase breeders by the pound.
These young, small worms will grow rapidly and soon be able
to reproduce. If they adjust to their new home faster than
breeders would have, you will be ahead starting with pit-run,
especially if they are cheaper.
Whichever you start with, breeders or pit-run, when they
produce more worms than the garbage you are feeding them
will support, many will get smaller, some will slow reproduction,
and others will die. Eventually, no matter how many
worms you start with, the population will stabilize at about
the biomass that can be supported by the amount of food they
receive.
Sources of redworms
One way to obtain the pound or two of redworms
How many worms do I need? 33
that you need to set up your home vermicomposting system is
to order them from one of the commercial earthworm growers
who advertise in the classified ads of gardening and fishing
magazines. Redworms are easily packaged and shipped
through the mail, or package delivery systems. Some growers
advertise and ship all year-round, others seasonally. As with
growing conditions, temperature extremes should be avoided,
but if the temperature is colder than 10° or above 90°F,
growers will usually wait until the temperatures moderate
before they ship the worms.
You may be able to find local growers to provide your
initial stock. If you buy redworms from bait dealers, however,
expect to pay about twice as much as you would if you buy
directly from a grower.
Those of you who like adventure may be able to collect
redworms from their natural habitat. Your chances increase if
you have a friend with horses, a barn, and a manure pile. You
may have to turn over a lot of manure to find any, but then
again, you could get lucky and find hundreds in a few pitchforks
full of well-aged, moist manure.
8.
How do I
set up my worm bin?
When you have completed tasks one through five on
the checklist that appears on the flyleaf of this book, you are
ready to set up your worm bin. You have determined approximately
how many pounds of kitchen waste you will
dispose of per week, sized and 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. ,
Preparation of worm bedding
Needed:
• Completed
worm bin
• Bedding
• 1 to 2 handfuls
of soil
Bathroom or utility scale Gallon jug • Large clean plastic
or metal garbage can for
mixing 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. A worm's body consists of approximately
75 to 90% water, and its surface must be moist in order for the
worm to "breathe." By preparing bedding with approximately
the same moisture content (75%) 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 corrugated, paper, and/or peat
moss beddings, a 75% moisture content can be easily obtained
since the residual moisture present is minimal. Just weigh the
bedding, and add three times as many pounds of water as you
have pounds of dry bedding. To get 75% moisture, for
example, add twelve pounds of water to four pounds of
How do I set up my worm bin? 35
shredded corrugated bedding. Or, expressed another way:
water:bedding ratio = 3:1 by weight
As a guideline to determine the amount of bedding you
need, it takes from four to six pounds of dry bedding to set
up a 2x2 Box, and from nine to fourteen pounds for the
1-2-3 Box. 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. To
determine the amount of water to add, remember that "a
pint's a pound the world around," so a gallon of water, which
is eight pints, will weigh eight pounds.
Place about one-half of the bedding into the large mixing
container, gently, so the dust won't fly. Add about one-half of
the required amount of water, and mix it into the bedding.
Then add one to 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
36 Worms eat my garbage
from the holes in the bottom of the bin.) Your bin is now
ready for the worms!
Manure bedding. If you are using manure for bedding,
it is more difficult to determine how much moisture 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 three to four drops of water, it's probably all right;
twenty drops or a stream of water is too wet.
With manure beddings, 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.
Adding the worms and garbage
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
awhile. 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
garbage. Place a sheet of plastic, slightly smaller than the bed
surface, on top to retain moisture. I use black plastic to keep
out light. The worms work up to the surface, and when I lift
the plastic, I can see them scramble down into the bedding.
How do I set up my worm bin? 37
A note about worms prepared for shipping
Most growers package worms for shipping in peat
moss, although other materials are used. Experienced shippers
pack worms in a fairly dry bedding for two good business
reasons. Shipping costs are great, and there is no point in
paying to ship excess amounts of water. 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 mid-summer when the temperature
(°F) is likely to be in the 80's or 90's, 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 would 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.
9.
What kind of garbage,
and what do I do with it?
What's garbage to me may be trash to you, and slop
for the pigs, or food for the dog to someone else. I have
previously used such terms as organic kitchen waste and table
scraps. It's time to be more specific about what waste you can
expect to feed to your worms.
Vegetable waste
Any vegetable waste that you generate during food
preparation can be used, such as potato peels, grapefruit and
orange rinds, outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage, celery ends,
and so forth. Plate scrapings might include macaroni, spaghetti,
gravy, vegetables, potatoes. Spoiled food from the refrigerator,
such as baked beans, moldy cottage cheese, and leftover
casserole also can go into the worm bin. Coffee grounds are
very good in a worm bin, enhancing the texture of the final
vermicompost. Tea leaves, and even tea bags and coffee filters
are suitable. Egg shells can go in as they are, and I have found
as many as 50 worms curled up in one egg shell. Usually, I
dry them separately, then pulverize them with a rolling pin so
they don't look quite so obvious when I finally put vermicompost
in my garden.
The list in Figure 2, showing some of the variety of
food waste that can be fed to worms, was developed from
waste actually buried in worm bins at a nature center. Coffee
grounds don't appear on the list merely because none of the six
participants' families drank coffee. Use this list as a guideline
only. It is not, by any means, comprehensive.
Meat waste and bones
You will not find any meat on the list. When designing
the project we excluded the burial of meat for these reasons:
What kinds of garbage, and what do I do with it? 39
VARIETY OF FOOD WASTE FED TO WORMS
Figure 2 Actual food waste buried in worm bins during a demonstration
project at the Kalamazoo.(Michigan) Nature Center. Worms can consume
many wastes that do not appear on this list.
40 Worms eat my garbage
1) Decaying meat can produce offensive odors from the breakdown
of proteins in a process known as putrefaction. 2) Mice
and rats are more likely to be attracted to a worm bin containing
meat. 3) Although bones will eventually be "picked
clean" by the worms, their sharp edges can injure your hands
when garbage is buried. Bones also look unattractive when
vermicompost containing them is used in gardens. Since the
demonstration bins were to be located in a public exhibit area
and seen by thousands of visitors, it was important to avoid
such potential problems.
Some meat can be disposed of in a worm bin. I have
buried chicken bones, for example. If I dug too soon into the
pocket of bedding containing the bones and decaying meat,
the odor was bad, though if I didn't disturb it, I didn't notice
it. When I harvested the castings, after neglecting the box for
several months, what remained was crumbly vermicompost
containing blackened, well-picked bones and smelling like
damp rich earth.
One worm grower buried the bones from a community
chicken barbeque in his worm bins. He said that it took only
three weeks for the bones to be picked clean. Dr. Dan Dindal
of the State University of New York (Syracuse) suggests
adding a good carbon source (such as sawdust) to meat and
bones to reduce decomposition time. He finds that if meat is
chopped, ground, and thoroughly mixed with the carbon
source, rodents won't even be a problem. He says, "I do this
successfully all the time in outdoor piles."
The previous examples indicate that some meat and bones
can be successfully composted. Advantages exist for putting
some meat scraps and bones into your worm bin. The nitrogen
from meat is undoubtedly a plus for the system. Worms require
nitrogen in a form they can use. Nitrogen is also
required by the microorganisms that do much of the composting,
and which are eaten by the worms. Since meat contains
protein, which is made up of nitrogen, the elimination of all
meat from the system could result in a nutrient deficiency for
the teeming organisms that constitute a home vermicomposting
system. A further advantage of adding some meat is that
there will be more plant nutrients in vermicompost produced
_________What kinds of garbage, and what do 1 do with it? 41
by worms consuming a greater variety of materials.
A disadvantage of not putting spoiled meat, meat scraps
and bones in your worm bin is that you must then find
another way to dispose of them, which I do by burying them
in my garden. My personal feeling about burying bones and
meat waste in a worm bin is that small amounts are all right.
If I had a way to grind bones, I would certainly do so to get
rid of them and to increase the value of the nutrients of my
vermicompost. If I had a large system, away from my immediate
living quarters, all wastes, including meat and bones,
would be vermicomposted. Since I am limited to a small
system inside, I use learned judgment on the quantities I bury.
You'll want to experiment cautiously and learn for yourself
what your system can take within the design and demands
you place upon it.
No-nos
Since what is obvious to some of us isn't always
obvious to everyone, I can suggest some things that don't
belong in a worm bin. Avoid plastic bags, bottle caps, rubber
bands, sponges, aluminum foil, and glass. Such non-biodegradable
materials will stay there seemingly forever. They will
clutter up your developing vermicompost and it will look
more like trash. I have seen the same red rubber band over a
three-year period in a large outdoor pit!
Less obvious, but definitely to be guarded against is letting
a cat use your worm bin as a litter box. First of all, cat
urine would soon make odor intolerable. Secondly, the
ammonia in the urine could kill your worms. But the greatest
concern has to do with a disease organism that can be carried
in the feces of cats, called Toxoplasma gondii. Tiny cysts of
this protozoan can be inhaled and harbored in tissues of
human beings. Frequently no symptoms are felt, but it is possible
that a pregnant woman can transmit this disease to her
fetus, bearing a child who has brain damage as a result of the
Toxoplasma gondii passed on from the cat. Although most
cats do not harbor the organisms, any cat owner should be
very careful in disposing of cat litter. If you have cats, provide
a screen or other device to keep them from using your worm
42 Worms eat my garbage
bin as a litter box.
Burying the food waste
How do you feed your worms? Or, how do you place
your food waste in the bin? I keep a plastic container next to
the sink and collect all of the organic waste that will eventually
be fed to the worms. If you don't use a lid, thereby permitting
air to get to its contents, you can avoid the odors that will soon
develop in a tightly closed container. (See aerobic/anaerobic
discussion, page 10.) Some users keep the container tightly
covered, removing the lid only when adding fresh waste or
burying its contents. These tightly closed containers can get
pretty "ripe."
About twice a week, I empty the contents into my worm
bin. If I have a lot of waste to get rid of, I empty it more often;
if I don't have much, less often. In other words, I don't concern
myself with seeing to it that the worms are fed daily, twice a
week, or even, weekly. My needs, not the worms', dictate
how often the worms get fed.
Because I keep records of how much garbage I bury in my
worm bins, I weigh the garbage. As I record the weight, I also
check my record sheet to see where I buried garbage the last
time. I rotate around the box, placing garbage in different
areas in sequence like this:
The 2x2 Box I use has about nine locations where I can bury
the garbage before I have to repeat. Since I bury garbage about
twice a week, four and a half weeks pass before I have to dig into
a region with garbage. By then, much of it is no longer recognizable,
having been consumed by the worms, or having been
broken down by the other natural decomposition processes
__________What kinds of garbage, and what do I do with it? 43
caused by worm associates in the box.
I cover the newly deposited waste with an inch or so of
bedding, and replace the sheet of plastic I have lying loosely
on top to retain moisture. With that, I'm through! The whole
process takes maybe two minutes, if I take the time to poke
around looking for cocoons or baby worms.
The worms will tend to follow the waste, but not necessarily
when it is fresh. Garbage will undergo many changes
as different kinds of microorganisms invade tissues, breaking
them down, and creating an environment for other kinds of
organisms to feed and reproduce. The worms undoubtedly
consume some of the cells from which these tissues are made,
but the worms feed also on the bacteria, protozoa, and fungi
that thrive in this moist, warm, food-rich environment. Although
this book is titled Worms Eat My Garbage, I must
acknowledge that worms and microorganisms eat my garbage.
The worms are there because they help keep conditions aerobic
and therefore odor-free, reduce the mass of material
to be processed, and produce castings far
richer than mere compost. Worms don't do the
job alone.
Other techniques for adding garbage
Techniques vary. One vegetarian who
uses worms to process her kitchen waste has
large quantities of peelings, wheat grass roots,
and pulp from juicing carrots, celery, and
other vegetables. Her container is a galvanized garbage can
with aeration holes drilled in the lid and top half of the sides.
She adds waste daily, merely lifting the lid and dropping the
waste onto the surface of the bedding. Occasionally, a doublehandful
of peat is thrown on top of the mass. When the lid is
lifted, masses of worms can be seen feeding on the recently
deposited waste. Odor has not been a problem in this system,
the worms have reproduced greatly, and the end product
appears to be well-converted vermicompost.
Should you grind the garbage?
No. Eventually, any soft food waste will break down
to become vermicompost, even citrus and melon rinds. I have
mentioned that I do pulverize egg shells with a rolling pin to
44 Worms eat my garbage
reduce their size. There is no question that worms can eat
ground food waste more readily than large particles of food. A
worm's mouth is tiny, and it has no teeth to break down food
particles. However, part of my rationale for using worms
inside the home to process food waste is to reduce dependence
upon technology. The energy required to grind garbage, dilute
it with water, and flush it down the drain, as well as for
processing it at the wastewater treatment plant can be better
used elsewhere. For me, to regularly grind garbage before feeding
it to worms is inconsistent with why I use worms in the
first place.
Overloading the system
A common, and appropriate question is, "Can I put
too much garbage in the worm bin?" Yes. You may have a
greater than normal quantity of food waste during holidays,
or during canning season. If you deposit all of it in your worm
bin, you may find that you have overloaded the system.
When this happens, it is more likely that anaerobic conditions
will develop, causing odor. If you can leave it long enough
without adding any fresh waste, the problem will usually
correct itself. This does present you with the problem of how
to dispose of your normal quantity of food waste during the
interim.
A possible approach to the "overload" times is to set up a
separate container with fresh bedding and use a half-bucket
of vermicompost from your original bin to inoculate this
new container with worms and microorganisms. This bin
could be maintained minimally, feeding the worms only on the
occasions when your week's garbage far exceeds the amount
for which your main bin was constructed.
I have used for a "worm bin annex" an old leaky galvanized
washtub, kept outside near the garage. During canning
season the grape pulp, corn cobs, corn husks, bean cuttings,
and other fall harvest residues went into this container. It
got soggy when it rained, and the worms got huge from all the
food and moisture. We brought it inside at about the time of
the first frost. The worms kept working the material until
there was no food left. After six to eight months, the only
identifiable remains were a few corn cobs, squash seeds,
___________What kinds of garbage and what do I do with it? 45
tomato skins, and some undecomposed corn husks. The rest
was an excellent batch of worm castings and a very few hardy,
undernourished worms.
In other words, given enough time, practically any
amount of organic material will eventually break down and
decompose in a worm culture. When you want to add fresh
material every week, as you do in a system being used to
dispose of kitchen waste, there are limits to what is reasonable
to add at one time. Your nose is probably the best guide as to
when that limit has been exceeded.
Do I have to stay home and take care of my worms?
One favorable aspect of having "worms as pets" is
that you can go away without having to make arrangements
with the vet or a neighbor. You can go away for a weekend,
a week, even two weeks, and not worry about your worms.
However, if you plan to go for a month or more, or plan to
turn off the heat during a winter vacation, you should
probably board them out while you are gone.
How do I take care of my worms? 47
10.
How do I
take care of my worms?
Tender loving care for worms means basically to
provide them with the proper environment/ check them occasionally,
and leave them alone. The less you disturb them,
the better off the worms are, although you will want to make
some observations of what goes on in the box.
Once your worm bin is set up with bedding of the proper
moisture content and a sheet of plastic lying loosely on top to
retain that moisture, daily care is unnecessary. Burial of garbage,
whether it is done weekly or more often, consists merely
of pushing bedding aside to create a large enough pocket to
contain the garbage, depositing the garbage, and covering it
with an inch or so of bedding. Train yourself to make a few
observations at these times. Does the bedding seem to be
drying around the edges? Where are the worms congregating?
To find out, you will have to push bedding aside in areas where
you have deposited garbage. You can use your hands to do
this, or you may prefer to use a trowel or a small hand tool
similar to what I call my "worm fork." The worm fork is less
likely to injure worms than a trowel.
Sometimes you will see masses of worms feeding around
something that especially appeals to them. For curiosity's sake,
you might want to note their preference. My worms, for example,
love watermelon rind. I place the rind, flesh side down,
on the surface of the bedding. Within the next two days, I will
find masses of worms of all ages underneath the rind. Within
three weeks, all that remains is the very outer part of the rind,
looking a lot like a sheet of paper. The same is true for cantaloupe,
pumpkin, and squash.
There are many other things you can observe. Do older
worms prefer different food than younger worms? When do
you first find cocoons? Are they deposited on top or throughout
the bedding? Are any worms mating? Do you see differences
in the degree to which the clitellum is swollen?
The preceeding questions give you an idea of the rich
learning experience a home vermicomposting system can provide.
Children are fascinated by worms. Many will find the
system is an ideal science project. Even a three-year-old was
able to understand the concept of feeding garbage to worms.
She asked her mother, "Mommy, do I throw this in the garbage
can, or do I feed it to the worms?"
Record keeping
I mentioned previously that I keep records of my
worm bin. In fact, my records from the past ten years have
provided much of the information in this book. Some of you
will find that you want to keep records also, although for
others, this would be a distasteful chore. If you decide to keep
records, it will help if you have a utility scale to weigh the
garbage, and a thermometer to determine bedding temperature.
I currently use a data sheet similar to that appearing in
the appendix.
Harvesting worms and changing the bedding
It may take about six weeks before you begin to see
noticeable changes in the bedding. It will get darker, and you
will be able to identify individual castings. Although food
waste is being added regularly, the bedding volume will slowly
decrease. As more of the bedding and garbage is converted to
earthworm castings, extensive decomposition and composting
by other organisms in the bin takes place. As mentioned
48 Worms eat my garbage
earlier, as the proportion of castings increases, the quality of
environment for the worms decreases. There will come a time
when so much of the bedding in the box becomes castings that
the worm population will suffer. Because each system is different
—depending upon bedding used, quantity of worms,
types of garbage fed to them, and temperature and moisture
conditions—it is not possible to predict precisely when you
must deal with changing the environment of your worms by
getting them away from their castings and preparing fresh
bedding.
Your particular goals, described in Chap. 1 in terms of
whether they required high, low, or medium levels of maintenance,
will help decide this. That is, to harvest extra worms
for fishing, you will have to change bedding more frequently.
Plan on doing this every two to three months, and figure that
it is a high maintenance system.
If you don't want to harvest worms from partially decomposed
garbage and bedding, but do want high quality vermicompost
almost fully converted to worm castings, you will
have to accept the trade-off of losing your worm population.
In Northern systems, for example, you might bury garbage in
your bin for the four winter months, and then let it sit unattended
for another three to four months. By July, you will find
a bin full of fine, black worm castings, but there will be very
few worms remaining—perhaps not more than a dozen. These
fine castings can be used as top dressing on your house plants
and in your garden for a late shot of nutrients. This was
referred to earlier as the "lazy person's" technique for maintaining
a worm bin. I've done it, and it does work. When I'm
using this system though, I have to compost food waste in
outdoor compost piles during spring, summer, and fall.
High and medium maintenance systems require that you
harvest the worms, or at least give them the opportunity to
move into fresh bedding. For the high maintenance system,
plan to do this every two to three months while medium
maintenance can go to about four months. It will take two to
three hours the first time you do this, but goes faster when you
have some experience. If you have curious friends or family to
help, it may go even faster. The illustrator of this book finds it
How do I take care of my worms? 49
therapeutic to sort worms. Her illustrations come from years
of first-hand experience.
Dump and hand sort.
Needed:
• Very large sheet of heavy plastic to lay on the floor,
table, or outside on the ground
• Goose-neck or similar lamp with 100 watt bulb, if
you work inside
• Plastic dish pan or other container for worms
• Plastic or metal garbage can, corrugated carton,
or heavy-duty plastic bag for vermicompost
• Fresh bedding
Spread the plastic sheet on the ground or table, and dump
the entire contents of the worm bin on the plastic. Make about
nine cone-shaped piles. You should see worms all over the
place. If the light is bright enough, they quickly move away
from it towards the center of each pile of vermicompost. If you
are impatient, you can start hand-picking worms from this
point on, gently scraping compost from the top of each pile,
putting worms into the worm container as you find them.
You may prefer to leave the piles alone five to ten minutes.
When you return you won't see any worms. Gently remove
the outer surface of each pile. As you do so, worms on the
newly exposed surface will again react to the light and retreat
towards the interior. By following this procedure one pile at a
time, you will find that when you return to the first pile, the
worms will have disappeared again, and you can repeat the
procedure.
Eventually, the worms will have aggregated in a mass at
the bottom of each pile. Place these in your container, and remove
vermicompost that collects on top of the worms. You
will be amazed at how you are able to get a mass of "pure
worms" using this technique. You need to remove all vermicompost
from this batch only if you are going to weigh the
worms. During this process, you or someone else should be
making up fresh bedding and restocking the worm bin. When
the bedding is ready and the worms are sorted and weighed,
add them to the top of the bin as you did originally and you
are ready for another cycle.
50 Worms eat my garbage How do I take care of my worms? 51
52 Worms eat my garbage
Vermicompost from this sorting process will vary in consistency,
depending upon how long the bin has been going,
how much and what kind of garbage was buried, and how
much decomposition has occurred. Some of the most recently
buried food waste can be put right back in the fresh bedding.
The rest will continue to compost in a plastic bag, garbage
can, or corrugated carton. Eventually, as it dries, it can be
used for the garden or your house plants, as described more
fully in Chap. 13.
A large number of cocoons and baby worms will be present
in this vermicompost. If you wish, you can save many of
them by letting the vermicompost sit for about three weeks.
Then attract them to a long, narrow strip of food. (This may
be one occasion where use of a blender is appropriate.) Make a
slurry of garbage, perhaps with some oatmeal, cornmeal, or
other grain mash in it. With your fingers or a trowel, make a
groove down the center of the vermicompost, and fill this
groove with the slurry. In a couple of days, you should be able
to remove concentrated batches of young worms from underneath
this narrow strip. Repeat two or three times to obtain
new hatchlings as they come along. You can add these new
worms to your regular bin.
Let the worms do the sorting. If you don't want to deal
with the "Dump and Sort" method described above, there are
some ways to avoid that process if you don't care to know the
weight of your worms. When the bedding has diminished to
the extent that it is not deep enough to make a hole to bury
fresh garbage, it is time to add fresh bedding. Prepare about
one-half the original quantity of fresh bedding. Pull all of the
vermicompost in your bin over to one side, and add the new
bedding on the other side. Bury your garbage in the new
bedding and let the worms find their way to it. It is helpful to
replace the plastic sheet only on the side with -the fresh bedding
to permit the other side to dry out more rapidly.
Every two to three months, you can remove the vermicompost,
replace it with more fresh bedding, and keep going
back and forth from one side to the other in this manner. The
vermicompost you remove will still have some worms in it, but
enough should have migrated to the new bedding so that you
How do I take care of my worms? 53
54 Worms eat my garbage
needn't worry about harvesting the few that remain.
Divide and dump. Still another method for harvesting
worms is the "Divide and Dump" technique. You can simply
remove about two-thirds of your vermicompost and dump it
directly on your garden. Add fresh bedding to the vermicompost
that is still in the box. Enough worms and cocoons usually
remain to populate the system for another cycle.
The maintenance system you use will depend upon your
preference, your lifestyle, and perhaps your schedule at the
time. You may find yourself using all of these systems at
various times. At any rate, maintaining your home vermicomposting
system can be a flexible process and is really very
simple. '
What are the most commonly asked
questions about worms?
Are you one of the thousands of people who have
mixed reactions towards worms? Do you feel revulsion towards
these moist, wriggly creatures at the same time that
you are fascinated by them? Are you somewhat curious, but
don't want to learn too much about them? Then this chapter
is for you. If reading this far has merely whetted your
appetite to learn more about earthworms, however, refer to
the publications listed under selected references for books with
more detailed information.
Can a worm see?
Contrary to the popular cartoon image of worms,
they have no eyes so they cannot see. They are, however,
sensitive to light, particularly at their front end. If a worm
has been in the dark and is then exposed to bright light, it will
quickly try to move away from the light. A nightcrawler, for
example, will immediately retract into its burrow if you shine
a flashlight on it some wet spring night.
The sensory cells in a worm's skin are less sensitive to
red light than to light of mixed wavelengths. If you want to
observe worms, you can use this fact to your advantage by
placing red cellophane or an amber bread wrapper over your
light source. You can make more observations of earthworm
behavior in a photographic darkroom using a red safelight.
Your eyes will adapt to the low light levels, and the worm
will move more naturally than it does under bright light.
Where is the worm's mouth!
A worm's front and back ends are more technically
known as anterior and posterior. The mouth is in the first
anterior segment. A small, sensitive pad of flesh, called the
56 Worms eat my garbage
prostomium, protrudes above the mouth. When the anterior
end of the worm contracts, the prostomium is likely to plug
the entrance to the mouth. When the worm is foraging for
food, the prostomium stretches out, sensing suitable particles
for the worm to ingest.
Does a worm have teeth?
No. The mouth and pharynx are highly muscular, but
they do not contain teeth.
How does a worm grind its food?
Because worms have no teeth, they have little capacity
to grind their food. They are limited to food that is small
enough to draw into their mouth. Usually this food is softened
by moisture or by bacterial action. Much of it undoubtedly
is bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, which break down the organic
material ingested. Worms do have a muscular gizzard, which
functions similarly to that of birds. Small grains of sand and
mineral particles lodge in this gizzard. The muscular contractions
compress these hard materials against each other and the
food, mix it with some fluid, and grind it into smaller particles.
One reason for mixing a handful of topsoil or lime into worm
bedding is to provide worms with small, hard particles for
their gizzard.
What happens to food once it leaves the gizzard?
The ground up food enters the worm's intestine,
which secretes digestive enzymes. The enzymes chemically
break down the molecules, which then pass through the intestinal
wall to be absorbed into the bloodstream and carried
where needed. Undigested material, including soil, bacteria,
What are the most commonly asked questions about worms? 57
and plant residues, is passed out of the worm through the
anus as a worm casting.
If a worm is cut in half, will both parts grow back?
Worms do have a remarkable capacity to regenerate
lost or injured parts, but this capacity is limited. Depending
upon where the worm was cut, the anterior end can grow a
new tail. The tail, however, cannot regenerate a new head. The
capacity to regenerate new tissue is a form of reproduction
among some animal forms, but not among earthworms. On
rare occasions, you may find a worm with two tails. This
condition can be caused by injury to the worm in the posterior
end, which results in growth of a new tail adjacent to the
original tail.
Do worms die in the box?
Worms undoubtedly die in any home worm bin, but
if your box is properly maintained, you will rarely see a dead
worm. Their bodies quickly decompose and are cleaned up by
the other organisms in the box, leaving few dead worms you
can recognize.
If large quantities of worms seem to be dying, you should
attempt to determine the cause and correct the problem. Is it
too hot? Are toxic gases building up in the bedding, which
cause the worms to surface to get away? Did you stress the
worms by adding too much salty food or acid-producing food?
You'll need to make some educated guesses about what the
problem is, and try to correct it. Sometimes, adding fresh
bedding to a portion of the box is enough to correct the situation
by providing a safe environment towards which the
58 Worms eat my garbage
worms can crawl.
How long does a worm live?
Most worms probably live and die within the same
year. Especially in the field, most species are exposed to hazards
such as dryness, too cold or hot weather, lack of food,
or predators. In culture, the individuals of Eisenia foetida have
been kept as long as four and a half years, and some Lumbricus
terrestris have lived even longer.
Do worms need air?
Worms require gaseous oxygen from the air. The
oxygen diffuses across the moist tissue of their skin, from the
region of greater concentration of oxygen (the air) to that of
lower concentration (inside the worm). When water has been
sufficiently aerated, worms have been known to live under
water for a considerable length of time.
Carbon dioxide produced by the bodily processes of the
worm also diffuses through its moist skin. Also moving from
higher concentration to lesser concentration, carbon dioxide
moves from inside the worm's body out into the surrounding
bedding. A constant supply of fresh air throughout the bedding
helps this desirable exchange of gases to take place.
12.
What are some
other critters in my worm bin?
Once your home vermicomposting system has been
established for awhile, you will begin to find creatures other
than earthworms present. This is a normal situation, but could
be alarming if you were brought up to think that "all bugs are
bad bugs." Most of them are, in fact, good bugs. They play
important roles in breaking down organic materials to simpler
forms that can then be reassembled into other kinds of living
tissue. This whole array of decomposer organisms constitute
the true recyclers. You could spend a lifetime studying the
various creatures in a worm bin trying to determine who eats
whom, and under what conditions.
A scientist who has spent years studying the complex
interrelationships among organisms found in compost piles
and decaying litter is Dr. Dan Dindal. It was he who suggested,
in Chap. 9, grinding meat, and mixing it with a carbon
source. Dr. Dindal developed the drawing in Figure 3 to
illustrate what many of these organisms look like and how
they relate to each other.
Referring to Fig. 3 you can see that organic residue
is eaten by first level (1°) consumers, such as molds and
bacteria. Earthworms, beetle mites, sowbugs, enchytraeids
and flies also consume waste directly. First level consumers
are eaten by second level (2°) consumers, such as springtails,
mold mites, feather-winged beetles, protozoa and rotifers.
Third level consumers are flesh-eaters, or predators, which eat
1° and 2° consumers. Predators in a compost pile, or in your
worm bin, might include centipedes, rove beetles, ants, and
predatory mites.
You won't be able to see many of the organisms pictured
because they are microscopic (bacteria, protozoa, nematodes,
60 Worms eat my garbage ____________What are some other critters in my worm bin? 61
and rotifers). Others, such as the springtails and mites, are
so small that you will probably need a hand lens to get a
better look. Brief descriptions of the more common "critters"
follow.
Enchytraeids
Known commonly as white worms, or pot worms,
enchytraeids are small (1/4 to 1 inch long), white, segmented
worms. They are so tiny they look as if they might be newly
hatched redworms. However, redworms have red blood; even
newly hatched redworms are reddish. Although related to the
larger earthworms, enchytraeids do not have a hemoglobinbased
blood, and remain white throughout their lifetime.
Some worm growers incorrectly call enchytraeids,
"nematodes," and feel that they should try to get rid of them.
Nematodes are undoubtedly present in large quantities in
worm bins, but you would not be likely to see them without
a microscope. Some commercial worm growers are concerned
that enchytraeids will compete with redworms for feed, and
may attempt to control their numbers. Since the purpose of
having a home vermicomposting system is to get rid of food
waste, the presence of an organism that helps to do the job is
an asset, not a detriment. My position concerning enchytraeids
is, "if they be, let them be."
Springtails
In your worm bin, you may see a sprinkling of
hundreds of tiny (1/16 inch) white creatures against the dark
background of the decomposing bedding. When you reach
your finger toward them, some spring away in all directions.
Springtails are primitive insects with a pointed prong extending
forward underneath their abdomen from the rear. By
quickly extending this "spring," they jump all over the place.
Other members of this group, which scientists call Collembola,
do not have the springing tail. Collembola feed on molds
and decaying matter and are important producers of humus.
Springtails are not only numerous, they are diverse, with
over 1200 species described. They live in all layers and types
of soils, and are considered to be among the most important
soil organisms.
62 Worms eat my garbage
Isopods (sowbugs and pill bugs)
Isopods are easy to identify because the series of flattened
plates on their bodies makes them look like tiny
armadillos. If one of these grey, or brown, half-inch long
creatures rolls up in a ball, it is commonly called a pill bug.
Its scientific name is Armadillidium vulgare. Sowbugs are
related to pill bugs, but don't roll up in a ball.
If you have used manure as a part of the bedding in your
worm bin, you are almost certain to have a few isopods grazing
over the surface. They won't do the worms any harm since
they are vegetation and leaf litter eaters.
Centipedes
Centipedes are just about the only critters that I kill
on sight in a worm bin. You'll probably never have very many
of them, but they are predators, and they do occasionally kill
worms. Centipedes move quickly on their many legs. You can
tell a centipede from a millipede (thousand-legged) by looking
carefully at the attachment of its legs to its body. If it has only
one pair of legs per segment, it is a centipede. Millipedes
have two pairs of legs on each segment.
Millipedes
You may find a few millipedes in your worm bin,
especially if you used manure, leaf mold, or compost as part
of your bedding. They are vegetarians and won't kill your
worms. In fact, they are very helpful and contribute more to
breaking down organic matter than generally realized. After
leaves have been softened by water and bacteria, millipedes
eat holes in them, helping springtails, mites, and other litter
dwellers skeletonize them so that only the ribs remain. I
wouldn't even consider killing a millipede.
Mites
You will undoubtedly have many, many mites in
your worm bin. Like the springtails, mites are so small it is
difficult to see them, except as minute dots moving across the
surface of the bedding. Mites have eight legs and a round body.
Some eat plant materials, such as mold, decaying wood, and
soft tissues of leaves. Others consume the excrement of other
organisms. Beetle mites don't travel very far on their own,
but they travel as stowaways on dung beetles, which transport
____________What are some other critters in my worm bin? 63
them from one dung heap to another.
One kind of mite, known as the earthworm mite, can be a
problem in worm beds. This mite is brown to reddish, and
can achieve such high numbers that the worms may refuse to
feed. They are more likely to be present in very wet beds,
and may concentrate on one or another kind of food, completely
covering the surface. If this happens, remove and burn
the mite infested food, or put it out in the sun to kill the
mites. Bait others in the same way, or by placing a piece of
bread on the bedding and removing it when the mites concentrate
on its underside.
To create conditions that aren't so favorable for earthworm
mites, leave the cover off your bed for a few days to
reduce bedding moisture. I have seen only one or two bad
infestations of red mites in ten years of using worms to eat my
garbage, so I don't consider them a serious problem.
Fruit flies
If someone were to ask me, "What is the most
annoying problem you have encountered in having a worm
bin in your home?", I would have to answer, "Fruit flies—not
odor, not maintenance, not worm crawls, but fruit flies." Not
every box has them, and not every box that has them has them
all the time, but when they are present, they are a nuisance.
Fruit flies are not dangerous. They don't bite, itch, or
buzz. When they land in your orange juice, beer or champagne,
however, it's a bit much. Even the most tolerant guests
figure that maybe you've gone too far in this "ecology thing."
To date, I have found no sure-fire method to get rid of fruit
flies. I prefer not to contaminate my home, the air I breathe,
my worms, and my garden with toxic pesticides, so I am not
willing to use products that leave harmful residues to eliminate
fruit flies. There are some things you can do, however,
to try to control them.
Traps. Usually, fruit flies are most numerous in and
around the worm bin. They undoubtedly come in on fruit
peels and rinds, or are attracted by them in late summer or
early fall. Bin conditions are favorable for their reproduction,
and they are very prolific. A simple trap will attract large
numbers of them. It doesn't totally get rid of them, but it does
keep them somewhat under control.
64 Worms eat my garbage
Materials required:
jar plastic bag beer rubber band
To make the trap, pour a half-cup or so of beer into the jar.
Place the plastic bag over the mouth of the jar with one corner
reaching down into the jar. Poke a small (no more than 1/4
inch diameter) hole in the corner of the bag with a pencil.
Secure the bag around the rim with the rubber band. Fruit flies
will be attracted by the fermenting beer, find their way through
the tiny hole in the bottom of the funnel, and not be able to
find their way out. Voila! You'll catch hundreds of them. They
seem to die when beer is used as the attractant.
Other foods, such as orange juice, overripe banana with
water, grapefruit, and sourdough, attract them too. When you
use these, however, the flies lay eggs that hatch. The larvae
form pupae, which then hatch to become adults and you end
up with more fruit flies, even if they are trapped in the jar. One
way to curtail this unwanted population explosion is to change
the culture medium (banana, etc.) every week or so. I have run
hot water into the jar to kill the adults and larvae, then set it up
again.* With beer, I avoid that weekly chore.
Vacuum. Although this method deserves a minus from
the standpoint of environmental soundness because it requires
electricity, if you get desperate, suck them up with a vacuum
cleaner. When I lift the plastic cover on my box, lots of fruit
*Many gardening books suggest that you flip potato beetles, tomato hornworms,
slugs and other hand-collectable pests into a container of kerosene
to kill them. I don't bother with kerosene because hot water does just as
well. It rapidly coagulates the protein in the insects, killing them immediately.
If the water isn't very hot, add some detergent to the water, and
that also kills the pests. These carcasses can go into your worm bin.
____________What are some other critters in my worm bin? 65
flies fly up and land on the basement ceiling. Then I just inhale
them with the vacuum cleaner. Although not a complete control,
this method does help to cut down the numbers.
Other suggestions. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled on the
surface of the bedding hasn't worked. Yellow plastic discs
covered with mineral oil or honey to attract and hold fruit
flies haven't worked either, although use of a stickier adhesive
might work.
Suggestions from friends who have compost toilets have
included getting a cow patty from a field and putting it into the
box. Beetles in the cow manure are said to feed on the fruit fly
larvae and serve as an effective biological control. Another
method described by the compost toilet people is to incorporate
a solar cooking phase to treat all garbage before it is placed
in the compost unit. They suggest heating it to the point where
fruit flies, eggs, larvae, and pupae will be killed before putting
garbage into the bin. Such preventive maintenance might
work.
Ants
I have never had a problem with ants in my vermicomposting
bin, but then I don't have a problem with ants in ,
my home, either. In milder climates, though, ants could be
a problem for which controls must be sought.
Some worm growers report that certain baits and insecticidal
sprays are effective, but I would try physical barriers
first. For example, I would set the legs of my worm bin in coffee
cans with mineral oil in the bottom. The ants would get trapped
in the oil and would not be able to enter the bin. Or, I
might try dabbing Vaseline on a piece of cotton and making a
continuous one-inch swath around the top of my worm bin. I
don't know if it would work, but I would try it before I would
resort to a commercial ant bait that might use arsenic as its
primary killing agent.
Disease organisms
A question sometimes asked is, "Can you get viruses,
germs, or diseases from your worm bin?" That's not a simple
question to answer. I have already discussed the potential for
transmitting toxoplasmosis if cats are allowed to use a worm
bin as a litter box. The organism for this disease is known to
66 Worms eat my garbage
pass intact through the digestive tract of an earthworm. If your
cat is harboring the organism, it can pass into the cat's feces.
The more you are exposed to the places the feces are deposited,
the more likely the organism could enter your body. Of course,
this could happen without a worm bin by merely changing the
cat litter box.
For similar reasons I discourage people from even considering
using a worm bin similar to that described in this book
to handle human manure. Pathogens (disease producing organisms)
can be transmitted in human manure. Our complex
and increasingly expensive wastewater treatment facilities are
designed to reduce or eliminate the possibility that these organisms
will reach our soils and water supply. Although hightemperature
composting has been shown to be effective in
killing pathogens, home vermicomposting systems do not
generate the high temperatures characteristic of well-constructed,
large-mass compost heaps.
Some research has been done that suggests that passage
through an earthworm's gut can reduce the number of pathogents
present in sewage sludges. This is preliminary work, and
more research needs to be done in this area. Until solid data
are available, caution against using human waste is in order.
One further caution—if you are overly sensitive, or allergic
to fungi and mold spores, you probably won't be able to
have a worm bin in your home. Molds can and do develop
as a natural sequence in the composting process. You may have
to carry out your vermicomposting activities outdoors, perhaps
with someone else doing the maintenance required.
Another possibility would be to keep the acidity of the bin
within a pH range of six to eight which is outside the optimal
range of fungi (pH 4 to 6).
In summary, you are likely to find many organisms other
than earthworms in your worm bin. In truth, the system
won't work if they aren't present. Your worm culture is not a
monoculture, but a diverse community of micro and macroorganisms
that are interdependent. No one species can possibly
overtake all the other species present. They serve as food
for each other, they clean up each other's debris, they convert
materials to forms that others can utilize, and they control
each other's populations.
What are some other critters in my worm bin? 67
For us to arbitrarily decide who should live and who
should die in this complex system is a bit presumptuous.
Although some controls are suggested, this chapter's major
purpose is to provide a better idea of what you can expect
to find. That way you won't be alarmed, and you may even
decide that you want to learn more about those critters that
you always used to squash when you found them.
13.
How do plants benefit
from a worm bin?
Completing the circle
From the beginning I have tried to relate having
worms eat your garbage to having healthier plants. This happens
when you use the vermicompost from your worm bin on
your house plants and gardens. What is the nature of this
rich humus, and how should you use it?
It helps to remember the distinction between vermicompost
and worm castings. Worm castings have moved through
the digestive tract of a worm; vermicompost is a mixture of
worm castings, organic material, and bedding in varying
stages of decomposition, plus the living earthworms, cocoons,
and other organisms present.
If you choose a low maintenance system, a large proportion
of your vermicompost will be worm castings. A worm
casting (also known as worm cast or vermicast) is a biologically
active mound containing thousands of bacteria, enzymes,
and remnants of plant materials and animal manures that were
not digested by the earthworm. The composting process continues
after a worm casting has been deposited. In fact, the
bacterial population of a cast is much greater than the bacterial
population of either ingested soil, or the earthworm's gut.
An important component of this dark mass is humus.
Humus is a complicated material formed during the breakdown
of organic matter. One of its components, humic acid,
provides many binding sites for plant nutrients, such as calcium,
iron, potassium, sulfur and phosphorus. These nutrients
are stored in the humic acid molecule in a form readily available
to plants, and are released when the plants require them.
Humus increases the aggregation of soil particles which, in
turn, enhances permeability of the soil to water and air. It also
How do plants benefit from a worm bin? Completing the circle 69
buffers the soil, reducing the detrimental effects of excessively
acid or aklaline soils. Humus has also been shown to stimulate
plant growth and to exert a beneficial control on plant pathogens,
harmful fungi, nematodes, and harmful bacteria. One of
the basic tenets of gardening organically is to carry out procedures
that increase the humus component of the soil;
earthworm activity certainly does this.
How to use vermicompost
You will have several buckets full of vermicompost
from your worm bin. Use it selectively and sparingly. Vermicompost
is loaded with humus, worm castings, and decomposing
matter. Plant nutrients will be present both in stored
and immediately available forms. Vermicompost also helps to
hold moisture in the soil, which is an added advantage during
dry periods.
Seed beds. Vermicompost will not burn your plants as
some commercial fertilizers do, but since your supply will be
limited, use it where it will do the most good. One method
is to prepare your seed row with a hoe, making a shallow,
narrow trench. Sprinkle vermicompost into the seed row. In
this way, the new seeds will have the vermicompost as a rich
source of nutrients soon after they germinate and during early
stages of their growth.
Transplants. For transplanting such favorites as cabbage,
broccoli and tomatoes, which are usually set out in the garden
as young plants, throw a handful of vermicompost in the
bottom of each hole you dig for a plant. Don't worry if
worms or cocoons are present in the vermicompost. While the
worms are alive, they will work and aerate the soil, produce
70 Worms eat my garbage
castings, add nitrogen from their mucus, and do all the other
good things that worms do for the soil. But don't expect
your redworms to thrive in your garden. They are not normally
a soil dwelling worm, and require large amounts of
organic material to live. If you were to add large quantities
of manure, leaves, or other organic material, you might get a
few Eisenia foetida to live, but most will probably die. When
they do, their bodies will add needed nitrogen to the soil, so all
is not lost! Hopefully, your gardening techniques will improve
the organic matter concentrations in your graden so that the
soil dwelling species of earthworms will be fruitful and
multiply.
Top dressing. Most of your supply of vermicompost from
your winter's production will be used during spring planting.
Any remaining can be used later in the season as top or side
dressing. At this time you won't want to disturb the root systems,
but it is a simple matter to sprinkle vermicompost
around the base and drip line of your plants, giving them an
additional supply of nutrients, providing organic matter, and
enabling the mid-season plants to benefit from vermicompost's
water-holding capacity.
How to use worm castings
After several months of low maintenance technique,
the contents of the worm bin will be a dark, earthy-smelling,
crumbly material. Since little food is left in this material for
earthworms, very few will be present. Populations of active
microorganisms will also have dwindled; those present will be
in a dormant state awaiting reactivation in a suitable environment
of new food and moisture.
Except for some large chunks, most of this material is
How do plants benefit from a worm bin? Completing the circle 71
worm castings. Worm castings differ from vermicompost in
being more homogeneous, with few chunks of recognizable
bedding or food waste. When dried and screened, castings
look so much like plain, black topsoil that you may be surprised
to recall that little or no soil went into the original
bedding.
While some drying of worm castings is desirable, it is best
not to let them dry to the point where they become powdery,
for it then becomes difficult to wet them down. Worm castings
with about a 25 to 35% moisture content have a good, crumbly
texture and earthy smell, and are just about right to use on
your plants.
Although pure worm castings provide many nutrients for
plants in a form the plants can use as needed, some precautions
should be taken in their use. The organic material present in
food waste is likely to have been broken down to a greater
extent in worm castings than in vermicompost. More carbon
will have been oxidized and given off as carbon dioxide,
leaving phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and
other elements to combine to form salts. High concentrations
of salts can inhibit plant growth. Worm castings, which may
have high concentrations of salts, should be diluted with
other potting materials so that plants gain the advantage
of the nutrients present without suffering from the possible
high concentration of salts.
An intriguing experiment, which seemed to verify the
need to dilute pure castings, was conducted by a horticulturist
at the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Nature Center. Three sets of
African violet plants were potted, each set in a different
medium. (See Fig. 4) The plants on the left, labeled PS, had
100% potting soil, C (right) had 100% worm castings, and
C-P-MP (center) contained equal amounts of worm castings,
perlite, and Michigan peat. Although difficult to see in this
black and white photograph, a comparison of the plants
grown in potting soil with those grown in pure worm castings
shows the castings-grown plants to be healthier looking. Those
grown in the potting soil were beginning to show chlorosis,
or yellowing of some leaves, a sign of possible nutrient
deficiency.
The center row of plants, grown with worm castings
72 Worms eat my garbage plants benefit from a worm bin? Completing the circle 73
diluted with perlite and peat, are distinctly more vigorous
than either of the other two sets of plants. Leaves are larger,
greener, and more robust. A likely interpretation of this
experiment is that, although the 100% castings provided more
nutrients for the young plants than the potting soil, salt
concentrations in the castings may have been great enough to
inhibit their growth. The center row of plants had the benefit
of nutrients from the castings, but was not inhibited by too
high a concentration of salts, since the concentration had been
reduced by dilution with the perlite and peat.
Of course, other interpretations are possible. For example,
the center row of plants may have had an advantage contributed
by the water-holding capacity of the peat, plus the
increased lightness of the potting mixture due to the perlite.
Further experiments could discriminate between these possibilities,
but from this preliminary work, it seems safe to say
that some castings are better than no castings, and pure castings
may not be as good as other possible mixes.
Much more research needs to be done to determine the
true effects of worm castings on plant growth. Because the
nutrient content of worm castings is directly dependent upon
the types of organic materials the worms ate to produce those
castings, castings themselves are highly variable. Plants also
vary in their need for nutrients and many kinds of plants
should be tested under many kinds of growing conditions.
Other sources of worm castings may eventually become
available. Some work has been done using worms to process
sewage sludge. There is a strong possibility that castings from
municipal sewage sludge will contain higher concentrations of
heavy metals than should be placed on soils in unlimited
quantities. Will the presence of these heavy metals affect
plant growth, or, if they are taken up by the plants, will they
be a problem to us when we eat the plants? Although preliminary
data are available on some of these important questions,
there are many more questions than answers to date.
To sterilize or not to sterilize castings. Some people suggest
"sterilizing" potting mixes and/or worm castings, prior to use
in house plants and greenhouses, to kill organisms that could
cause the plants trouble in a confined environment. The term
"sterilizing" is being used loosely here, since sterilization
74 Worms eat my garbage
literally means "the destruction of all living microorganisms,
as pathogenic or saprophytic bacteria, vegetative forms, and
spores."* Surgical instruments, for example, are sterilized in an
autoclave under high temperature and pressure for a specified
period of time. For our purposes, it would be more correct
to say that potting soil is pasteurized; that is, it is exposed
to a high temperature or poisonous gas for a long enough
period of time to kill certain microorganisms, but not all.
In any case, whether you prefer to call it sterilize or pasteurize,
I don't recommend that you do either to worm castings.
Soil is a dynamic, living entity, and much of its value
comes from the millions of microorganisms present. Chemical
tests of worm castings often show fairly low amounts of
nutrients present, yet plants grown in the "low testing"
material still have higher yields than those grown with high
concentrations of commercial fertilizers. Worm castings are
reportedly being used in Japan on a very large scale in conjunction
with commercial fertilizers in order to use lesser
amounts of this increasingly expensive commodity.
One concern many people have about using worm castings
directly on their house plants is, "Won't those little white
worms and all those bugs I can see crawling around hurt my
plants?" Probably not. The enchytraeids eat dead and decaying
material, not living plants, and so do the mites and
springtails that are likely to still be present when your vermicompost
is almost all worm castings. The organisms that
thrived in your worm box are not likely to be the kind that
also attack living plants. If there are just a few, don't worry
about them.
If there are a lot, and you have a true aversion to having
visible critters in the worm castings you want to sprinkle
under your plants, place your worm castings on a sheet of
plastic outdoors in the sun, put another sheet of plastic on top,
and let this "solar heater" warm things up a bit. Most of the
white worms will move onto the plastic, and most of the mites
and springtails will be killed from the heat. Collect your
castings in a few hours and they will be ready to use in potting
mixes, as top dressing, or in your garden.
*Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition,
1969.
How do plants benefit from a worm bin? Completing the circle 75
Potting mixes. Worm castings may be mixed with various
concentrations of potting materials, such as peat moss, sand,
top soil, perlite, vermiculite, or leaf mold. One satisfactory
mix is:
1/4 worm castings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for nutrients
1/4 peat moss. . . . . . . . . . . . for moisture retention
1/4 p e r l i t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for aeration
1/4 sand or garden soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for body
Experiment with different mixes, and find the ones that suit
you for your favorite plants.
Top dressing. Sprinkle worm castings about one-fourth
inch deep on the surface of your potted plants and water as
usual. Repeat every 45 to 60 days. If necessary, remove some
of the soil above the roots so that you have room for the worm
castings. Let an excess of water move through the soil occasionally
to flush out accumulations of salts, particularly if
you have hard water. And remember, don't use softened water
on your plants; it will contain salts that could harm them.
In your garden. Sprinkle worm castings in the bottom of
your seed row, or throw a handful of castings in the hole at the
time you are transplanting. The adjacent soil will dilute
excessive salt concentrations in the castings. It is perfectly
natural for vegetable seeds present in the vermicompost to
sprout. Simply pull these sprouts as you would pull weeds.
76 Worms eat my garbage
An added bonus: avocado plants!
Have you ever tried to germinate an avocado pit?
Have you tried the tnck with the three toothpicks, inserting
them around the diameter of the pit, placing it on top of a jar of
water, and keeping it watered for . . . well, months? Until you
either got tired of it, or it finally did sprout?
Well, have we got a deal for you. Throw your pits in
your worm bin, cover, and forget about them. That's all. In
time—it may take months, but it'll happen—you will find a tap
root coming out of the bottom, and a sprout coming out of the
top. When this happens, transfer it to a pot. One winter nine
out of ten avocado pits I tried this way germinated. I now
have more avocado plants than I know what to do with—in
the living room, on the front porch, on the side porch, in my
office . . . . You, too, can be the first on your block to be a
success with your avocado pits.
14.
What other ways
can I recycle?
Once you have a home vermicomposting system,
you will begin to see how recycling materials on location is
extremely effective. I hope you'll even ask questions, such as,
"Why am I continuing to spend good money for garbage pickup?
Where does all that trash go, and why? Can't some of it
be recycled, too? Aren't we going to run out of raw materials
if we just keep throwing things away after using them?"
If you begin to ask yourself those questions, I hope you
will spend some time and effort finding answers. Specific
answers vary depending upon where you live, how progressive
your community is, how responsible your public officials
are, how environmentally conscious your businesses are, and
how aware you and your fellow citizens are. It's hopeful that
we seem to be in a time when individuals are trying to recover
some control over their own destiny. Finding out how kitchen
waste can be processed by worms is a good start, but there
are other things you can do to take more control over the
materials in your life. (A much more comprehensive discussion
can be found in Jerome Goldstein's book Recycling.}
Reduce
Reduce the amount of materials that flow into and
out of your home. Buy for quality and longevity when possible.
Repair when you can, and, through your buying habits,
encourage production of products that can be repaired. Refuse
excess packaging by buying items that have less packaging.
Encourage production of packaging that can be reused and
recycled, rather than mixtures of plastics and paper, which are
good for neither reuse nor recycling.
78 Worms eat my garbage
What other ways can I recycle? 79
Reuse
Reuse what you can—plastic bags, jars, boxes. Plastic
milk jugs can be used to store soft, non-chlorinated rainwater
for watering your house plants. Nails can be pulled from
scrap lumber, which can then be reused for building projects.
Save your charcoal by pouring water over the coals when you
have taken the food off your grill. Develop a conservation
(some people might say "depression") mentality about the use
of materials.
Recycle
Recycle newspapers, cans, glass, and aluminum
whenever you can. The number of communities offering
effective recycling programs is increasing every year. As the
cost of obtaining virgin materials increases, incentives for
recycling already-processed materials also increase, creating
larger and more reliable markets for recycled materials.
During the next decade, it should become easier to establish
recycling programs. Since not only economic, but political
forces, influence the direction these programs will take, you
can help. Become involved in environmentally sound programs,
not only in your own home, but in your community.
While the preceeding ideas are extremely general, they
provide some basic priorities for environmentally conscious
people. They are appropriate suggestions for moving away
from our consumer orientation towards one of living gently
on the earth. There are some other specific actions you can
take to help keep waste disposal costs down and acknowledge
your role as caretaker.
Recycle newspapers, junkmail, and paperboard packaging.
It's not unusual to generate 20 to 30 shopping bags of
newspapers, junkmail and paperboard packaging every three
to four months. Eliminating contaminants, such as carbon
paper, plastic, glassine envelope fractions, filament tape, and
staples, I combine papers with friends and neighbors, and take
them to our local recycling center where I am paid about a
penny a pound. That pays for gas, with a few dollars to spare.
This requires storage capacity (garage) and some effort, but
saves recyclable paper from going to the dump and helps
eliminate the necessity for weekly trash pickup. It also saves
trees.
Flatten cans and reuse jars. I avoid paying the amount it
would cost for trash pickup by reducing my volume of trash
to manageable levels. The few cans I use are flattened before
disposal, and jars are reused when possible. Plastic containers,
mixed paper and plastic packaging still contribute more to the
volume than I like. We need to develop local sources for
efficiently recycling plastic.
Feed garbage to worms. Because worms eat my garbage
(thereby eliminating the materials that make the odor from
mixed trash unbearable), the plastic bags in which I store
trash are neither unpleasant, nor an attraction for varmints. I
stockpile these in the garage, and combine a friend's trash with
mine to make a dump run only three to four times a year. This
costs less than $10 a year for both households involved.
The key to this system is the worms. Organic waste isn't
mixed with the trash. The compactor-transfer station I use
does not accept food waste from residents who haul their own ^
trash, anyway. If I didn't have worms processing my garbage,
I would have to pay extra for residential pickup by private
haulers. (It also helps that I have a suitable vehicle for hauling
trash, and space to stockpile it.)
The economic advantage of using worms to process
kitchen waste can also be calculated in other ways.
Purchasing tagged bags. In some communities, residents
pay for color-coded trash bags that are set out as necessary
for weekly pickup. This method provides an incentive for
lower volume, since the fewer bags put out, the fewer you have
to pay for. One woman who installed a home vermicomposting
system found that she only had to put out a trash bag
about every third week, instead of weekly as she had been
doing. It wasn't the volume that made the difference, but the
fact that without the organic waste in the bag, she could stand
the odor when opening it to deposit waste over a longer
period of time.
One-can, two-can, three-can pickup. Differential rates for
trash pickup are becoming more common among private
haulers. If a three-garbage can family can install a home
vermicomposting system, recycle all recyclables, and cutback
to being a one-can family, they will save money. And, the
landfill will last longer. And, it will be less likely to develop
80 Worms eat my garbage
toxic leachates as organic acids from the garbage react with
metals and other materials in the dump. And, the household
will save money. And, the household pays less for fertilizer
for its garden, and it spends less to purchase bait to go fishing,
and . . . and . . . and. Why isn't everybody doing it?
Summary
Earthworms play an important role in recycling
organic nutrients from dead tissues back to living organisms.
They do this without fanfare; rarely does anyone see them
perform their tasks.
If you decide to use worms to process your own organic
kitchen waste, you will see them at work. You will see
mounds of disagreeable material converted noiselessly, with
almost no odor, to materials you can use directly on your
houseplants and in your garden. You will enjoy healthier
looking plants, better tasting vegetables, and will spend less
on fertilizers and trash-disposal. Some of you will have fish on
the table, attracted by the worms you have for bait. Hopefully,
you'll also gain a better appreciation of the intricate balance
and interdependencies in nature. You will be treading more
gently upon the earth.
As your gardens are enriched, so is your life and mine.
You will have joined the adventurers who say, "Worms eat
my garbage," and isn't that a grand beginning on a task that
needs to start somewhere? You, personally, can make it
happen.
Afterword:
How many worms in an acre?
One year I counted and weighed all the earthworms
I could handsort from the top seven inches of a square foot of
my garden. I counted 62 worms of all sizes, and at least two
species. If I had had an acre under cultivation and if this was,
in fact, a representative sample, the total population would
have exceeded 2.7 million worms per acre!
These 62 worms weighed two ounces. Extended to one
acre, this would give a total weight of 5445 pounds, or over
two and one-half tons of worms in the top seven inches of one
acre (43,560 sq. ft.) of soil!
Earthworms of these soil dwelling types eat soil in their
search for organic nutrients. This soil is mixed with the organic
materials and bacteria in their intestines and is deposited as
castings. The weight of these castings per worm per day could
easily equal the weight of the worm. To take a conservative
figure, let's estimate that the weight of castings deposited per
day from one worm is one-eighth the weight of the worm. The
total weight of castings produced per acre per day would be
680 pounds. Think of the value to the plants of those castings,
and the activity of the worms in producing those castings.
To get an estimate of annual casting production, let's
assume that the worms are active only 150 days of the year,
giving you 102,093 pounds per year, or over 51 tons of castings
per year. (If you have ever tossed a ton of manure onto, and
off, a pickup, you can begin to appreciate the work worms
perform for you in your garden.)
These calculations compare favorably with estimates
from scientists around the world. In 1881, Darwin estimated
that earthworms deposited from 7-1/2 to 18 tons of casts per
acre in pasture. Stockli's work in 1928 comes closer to the
figure of 51 tons per acre per year. He estimated that worms
produced from 33 to 44 tons per acre in Switzerland.
Estimates from the rich Nile Valley are almost unbelievable.
Beaugh estimated that earthworms deposit over 1000
tons of casts per acre per year. No other area in the world
could be expected to exceed the casting production achieved
by earthworms in the unusually favorable conditions of the
Nile Valley.
The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has not only
reduced soil earthworm and microbial populations, but also
the amounts of organic matter present in the soil. These energy-
intensive practices have led us to the point where applying
greater quantities of fertilizers and pesticides at great expense
does less good than the smaller quantities previously did.
North temperate climatic regions, especially, could benefit
from increased earthworm populations in soils. It is vital to
help people understand the advantages of encouraging agricultural
practices that increase native earthworm populations
in our soils, and to discourage practices that kill them.
Glossary
acid Normal product of decomposition. Redworms do best in a slightly
acid (pH just less than 7) environment. Below pH 5 can be toxic. Addition
of pulverized egg shells and/or lime helps to neutralize acids in a worm bin.
See pH.
aggregation Clustering, as of soil particles to form granules that aid in
aeration and water penetration.
aeration Exposure of a medium to air to allow exchange of gases.
aerobic Pertaining to the presence of free oxygen. Organisms that utilize
oxygen to carry out life functions.
albumin A protein in cocoons that serves as a food source for embryonic
worms.
alkaline Containing bases (hydroxides, carbonates) which neutralize acids
to form salts. See pH.
anaerobic Pertaining to the absence of free oxygen. Organisms that can
grow without oxygen present.
anaerobiosis Life in an environment without oxygen or air.
anterior Toward the front.
ardox nails Nails with a spiral shape designed to increase holding power.
bedding Moisture retaining medium used to house worms.
bio-degradable Capable of being broken down into simpler components
by living organisms.
biological control Management of pests within reasonable limits by encouraging
natural predator/prey relationships and avoiding use of toxic
chemicals.
biomass That part of a given habitat consisting of living matter, expressed
as weight of organisms per unit area. Recommended biomass of worms for
vermicomposting is about 1/4 to 1/2 Ib per square foot surface area of
bedding.
breeders Sexually mature worms as identified by a clitellum.
buffer A substance which renders a system less sensitive to fluctuations
between acidity and alkalinity. Humus serves as a buffer in soil.
calcium carbonate Used to reduce acidity in worm bins and agricultural
soils. See lime.
Canadian peat moss. See peat moss.
castings See worm castings.
CDX plywood CD plywood has knotholes and small splits present, as
contrasted with a higher grade such as AB which has one side smooth and
free from defects. Exterior (X) plywood is bonded with waterproof glue and
suitable for use outside.
84 Worms eat my garbage
cellulose An inert compound containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
and a component of worm beddings. Wood, cotton, hemp and paper fibers
are primarily cellulose.
chlorosis Abnormal yellowing of plant tissues caused by nutrient deficiency
or activities of a pathogen.
clitellum A swollen region containing gland cells which secrete the cocoon
material.
cocoon Structure formed by the clitellum which houses embryonic worms
until they hatch.
compactor-transfer station A facility which accepts solid waste and compacts
it prior to transfer to a landfill or other refuse disposal facility.
compost Biological reduction of organic waste to humus. Used to refer
to both the process and the end product. One composts leaves, manure,
garden residues to obtain compost which enhances soil texture and fertility
when used in gardens.
consumer An organism that feeds on other plants or animals.
culture To grow organisms under defined conditions. Also, the product of
such activity, as a bacterial culture.
cyst A sac, usually spherical, surrounding an animal in a dormant state.
decomposer An organism that breaks down cells of dead plants and
animals into simpler substances.
decomposition The process of breaking down complex materials into
simpler substances. End products of much biological decomposition are
carbon dioxide and water.
diatomaceous earth Finely pulverized shells of diatoms used for insect
control.
earthworm A segmented worm of the Phylum Annelida, most of whose
3000 species are terrestrial.
egg A female sex cell capable of developing into an organism when fertilized
by a sperm.
egg case See cocoon.
Eisenia foetida Scientific name for most common redworm used for vermicomposting.
enchytraeids Small, white, segmented worms common in vermicomposting
systems.
enzyme Complex protein which provides a site for specific chemical
reactions.
excrete To separate and to discharge waste.
feces Waste discharged from the intestine through the anus. Manure.
fertilize To supply nutrients to plants, or, to impregnate an egg.
genus A category of classification grouping organisms with a set of characteristics
more generalized than species characteristics.
girdle See clitellum.
Glossary 85
gizzard Region in anterior portion of digestive tract whose muscular contractions
help grind food.
hatchlings Worms as they emerge from a cocoon.
heavy metal Dense metal such as cadmium, lead, copper, and zinc which
can be toxic in small concentrations. Build up of heavy metals in garden
soil should be avoided.
hemoglobin Iron-containing compound in blood responsible for its oxygen-
carrying capacity.
humus Complex, highly stable material formed during breakdown of
organic matter.
hydrated lime Calcium hydroxide. Do not use in worm bins. See lime.
inoculate To provide an initial set of organisms for a new culture.
leach To run water through a medium, causing soluble materials to dissolve
and drain off.
leaf mold Leaves in an advanced stage of decomposition.
lime A calcium compound which helps reduce acidity in worm bins. Use
calcium carbonate, ground limestone, egg shells, or oyster shells. Avoid
caustic, slaked, and hydrated lime.
limestone Rock containing calcium carbonate.
litter (leaf) Organic material on forest floor containing leaves, twigs,
decaying plants, and associated organisms.
Lumbricus rubellus Scientific name for a redworm species found in compost
piles and soils rich in organic matter.
Lumbricus terrestris Scientific name for large burrow-dwelling nightcrawler.
macroorganism Organism large enough to see by naked eye.
microorganism Organism requiring magnification for observation.
monoculture Cultivation of a single species.
nematodes Small (usually microscopic) roundworms with both free-living
and parasitic forms. Not all nematodes are pests.
nightcrawler A common name for Lumbricus terrestris,, a large, burrowinhabiting
earthworm.
optimal Most favorable conditions, such as for growth or for reproduction.
organic Pertaining to or derived from living organisms.
overload To deposit more garbage in a worm bin than can be processed
aerobically.
pasteurize To expose to heat long enough to destroy certain types of
organisms.
pathogen Disease producing organism.
peat moss Sphagnum moss which is mined from bogs, dried, ground, and
used as an organic mulch. Although acidic, its light, fluffy texture and excellent
moisture retention characteristics make it a good component for
worm bedding.
86 Worms eat my garbage
perlite A lightweight volcanic glass used to increase aeration in potting
mixtures.
pH An expression for degree of acidity and alkalinity based upon the
hydrogen ion concentration. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, pH of 7
being neutral, less than 7 acid, greater than 7, alkaline.
pharynx Muscular region of the digestive tract immediately posterior to a
worm's mouth.
pit-run Worms of all sizes, as contrasted with selected breeders.
population density Number of specific organisms per unit area, e.g. 1000
worms per square foot.
posterior Toward the rear, back or tail.
potting soil A medium for potting plants.
pot worms See enchytraeids.
prostomium Fleshy lobe protruding above the mouth.
protein Complex molecule containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen; a major constituent of meat. Worms are approximately 60%
protein.
putrefaction Anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, especially protein,
characterized by disagreeable odors.
redworms A common name for Eisenia foetida and also Lumbricus rubellus.
Eisenia foetida is the primary worm used for vermicomposting.
regenerate To replace lost parts.
run-of-pit See pit-run.
salt Salts are formed in worm bins as acids and bases combine, having
been released from decomposition of complex compounds.
secrete To release a substance that fulfills some function within the organism.
segment One of numerous disc-shaped portions of an earthworm's body
bounded anteriorally and posteriorally by membranes.
seminal fluid Fluid which contains sperm that are transferred to an earthworm's
mate during copulation.
setae Bristles on each segment used in locomotion.
sexually mature Possessing a clitellum.
shredded corrugated By-product of carton manufacture processed to
make worm bedding.
side dressing Application of nutrients on soil surface away from stem of
plants.
slaked lime Calcium hydroxide. Do not use in worm bins.
species Basic category of biological classification, characterized by individuals
which can breed together.
sperm Male sex cells.
sperm-storage sacs Pouches which hold sperm received during mating.
Glossary 87
subsoil Mineral bearing soil located beneath humus-containing topsoil.
taxonomist A scientist who specializes in classifying and naming organisms.
top dressing Nutrient-containing materials placed on the soil surface
around the base of plants.
toxic Poisonous, life-threatening.
toxoplasmosis Disease caued by the protozoan Toxoplasmosis gondii.
vermicompost Mixture of partially decomposed organic waste, bedding,
worm castings, cocoons, worms and associated organisms, or, to carry
out composting with worms.
vermiculite Lightweight potting material produced through expansion
of mica by means of heat.
vermiculture The raising of earthworms under controlled conditions.
white worms See enchytraeids.
worm bin Container designed to accommodate a vermicomposting system.
worm casting Undigested material, soil, and bacteria deposited through
the anus. Worm manure.
worm:garbage ratio Relationship between weight of worms set up in a
bin to process a given amount of garbage.
Record sheet
Date set up
Description of set-up:
Initial weight of worms _______
D Breeders or D mixed sizes
Type of bedding ___________
Size of bin_____________
Number in household _______
Garbage burying locations:
= Day 0
Date Day #oz.
Total
#oz.
to date Temp.
Water
#of
pints
Burying
location
#
Comments
Date harvested _ No. of Days.
Total wgt. garbage buried
Wgt. uneaten garbage _____
Ave. oz. buried per day _____
Ave temp. _____ Temp, range.
- oz. =
- Worm wgt.
.Ib.
Suggested References
Earthworms
Lauber, Patricia. Earthworms, Underground Farmers. Champaign,
IL: Garrard Publishing Co. 1976. 64p
This colorful, informative, technically accurate book presents earthworm
structure, ecology and physiology in language a third-grader
could understand. It's generous use of color photographs of worms
and their natural enemies surpasses that found in any other publication
known to this author.
Hopp, Henry. What Every Gardener Should Know About Earthworms.
Charlotte, VT: Garden Way Publishing Co. 1973. 39p
Although much of the information in this meaty little booklet was
adapted from a 1954 publication entitled Let An Earthworm Be
Your Garbage Man, the presentation on effects of earthworms on
soil moisture, aeration, and soil fertility is still pertinent.
Sroda, George. No Angle Left Unturned: Facts About Nightcrawlers.
Amherst Junction, WI: George Sroda. 1975. lllp
Written by a man who has studied nightcrawlers for years, this
practical manual tells how to harvest, hold, feed, water, and condition
them for fishing.
Minnich, Jerry. The Earthworm Book. Emmaus, PA: Rodale
Press. 1977. 372p
Written for the lay-person, this readable book traces the earthworm
through history, its environment, and its use as a soil builder,
composter, and income-producer. The final chapter reprints case histories
of people who have raised earthworms for profit or soilbuilding
purposes.
Edwards, C.A., and J.R. Lofty. Biology of Earthworms. 2nd ed.
London: Chapman and Hall. Available in U.S. from Methuen,
Inc., New York, NY. 1977. 333p
More technical than the preceeding books, this newly revised text
covers morphology, taxonomy, biology, physiology, ecology, the
role of earthworms in organic matter cycles, and other subjects
related to earthworms. Written by scientists currently conducting
earthworm research, this book is a must for serious students of
earthworms.
92 Worms eat my garbage
Appelhof, Mary (compiler). Workshop on the Role of Earthworms
in the Stabilization of Organic Residues. Vol. I: Proceedings.
Kalamazoo, MI: Beech Leaf Press of the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
1981. 340p
World's leading investigators of earthworms review pertinent information,
present current data, and project future research needed
to develop the potential for organic waste conversion by means of
earthworms in twenty-eight papers presented at a major researchneeds
workshop supported by the National Science Foundation.
Provides the most up-to-date information available from academic,
commercial, and governmental viewpoints. Accompanied by a companion,
Vol. II: Bibliography, compiled and edited by Diane D.
Worden in 1981, 492p, which provides access to journal articles,
books, patents, dissertations, and federally supported research. 3036
citations are fully indexed.
Earthworm Farming
Shields, Earl B. Raising Earthworms for Profit. Eagle River, WI:
Shields Publications, P.O. Box 669, Eagle River, WI. Original copyright,
1959, 17th edition, 1978. 128p.
This manual has been the standard training device for hundreds if
not thousands, of worm growers. It discusses markets, propagation
boxes, indoor and outdoor pits, feeds, packing and shipping, and
advertising. The basic text was written in the 1950's. Although minor
revisions since then help to keep the content up-to-date, the 1978
edition says, "A fast worker, on a 'piece-work' basis, may earn as
much as $1.25 per hour." Hardly minimum wage for these times.
Barrett, Thomas J. Harnessing the Earthworm. Wedgwood Press.
Available from Shields Publications. 1947,1959. 166p
Frustrating because it lacks a bibliography, this important document
synthesizes much of the early literature on the effects of earthworms
on soil fertility. Discusses humus, topsoil, subsoil, earthworm tillage,
and chemical composition of earthworm castings. Excellent information
for earthworm culture is provided.
Gaddie, Ronald E., Sr., and Donald E. Douglas. Earthworms for
Ecology and Profit. Vol. I: Scientific Earthworm Farming. 1975.
180p. Vol. II: Earthworms and the Ecology. 1977. 263p Ontario,
CA: Bookworm Publishing Co.
Full of information, and with some misinformation, these books are
best used by someone able to wade through the poor editing and
discriminate between what is really true, and what is only partially
true. They do present more up-to-date information on commercial
earthworm growing than previous works mentioned.
Suggested References 93
Composting
Dindal, Daniel L. Ecology of Compost: A Public Involvement
Project. Syracuse, NY: State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry. 1972. 12p (25<t)
A soil ecologist presents a primer on outdoor composting; discussing
energy sources, decomposition rates, the carbon-nitrogen ratio,
moisture, aeration, and heat production. He described the relationships
between the organisms found in "Food Web of the Compost
Pile" which is used in this book. A bargain for the price!
Minnich, Jerry, and Marjorie Hunt. The Rodale Guide to Composting.
Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, Inc. 1979. 405p
A comprehensive, readable book which gives history, benefits, techniques,
materials, and machines related to composting. Individuals
who want to know everything about compost should read this book.
Soil Animals
Schaller, Friedrich. Soil Animals. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press. 1968. 144p
If you were enticed by the chapter on "other critters," but are not
yet ready for a zoology text, look at this well-illustrated little book
describing collection methods, characteristics, importance, habits,
and behavior of animals that live in the soil.
Recycling and the environment
Goldstein, Jerome. Recycling. New York: Schocken Books. 1979.
238p
Taking the position that recycling begins at home, Goldstein
describes what individuals have done to recycle their waste, then
extends his discussion to community, municipal, and industrial
recycling programs. He discusses "bottle bills," public policies,
large-scale composting, and looks for a future without dumps.
Geller, E. Scott, Richard A. Winett, and Peter B. Everett.
Preserving the Environment: New Strategies for Behavior Change.
Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press. 1982. 338p
Recognizing that most individuals think physical technology will
alleviate our problems, three psychologists describe over 150 studies
carried out over the past decade which demonstrate many cases
where changes in behavior will do more than technology to enhance
the quality of our lives. In academic terms they say of
vermicomposting: "The response-maintenance reinforcers have included
the convenient availability of plant fertilizer and fishing
worms, and special social attention (everyone wants to see the
'innovative' worm bin!)."
Sources
Appelhof, Mary. "Basement worm bins produce potting soil and
reduce garbage." Kalamazoo, MI: Flowerfield Enterprises, 1973. 2p
Appelhof, Mary. "Composting your garbage with worms," Kalamazoo,
MI: Kalamazoo Nature Center, 1979. Revised 1981. 4p
Appelhof, Mary. "Household scale vermicomposting," in Workshop
on the Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization of Organic
Residues. Vol. I: Proceedings, compiled by Mary Appelhof. Kalamazoo,
Michigan: Kalamazoo Nature Center Beech Leaf Press, 1981.
p232-240
Appelhof, Mary. "Vermicomposting on a household scale," in Soil
Biology as Related to Land Use Practices, Proceedings of the International
Colloquium on Soil Zoology, edited by Daniel Dindal.
U.S. EPA, 1980. p!57-160
Appelhof, Mary. "Winter composting with worms," Final report
to National Center for Appropriate Technology. Kalamazoo, MI:
Kalamazoo Nature Center, 1979. 13p
Appelhof, Mary. "Worms—a safe, effective garbage disposal,"
Organic Gardening and Farming, 21:8 (1974) p65-69
Appelhof, Mary. "Worms vs. high technology," Creative Woman,
4:1 (1980) p23-28
Appelhof, Mary, Michael Tenenbaum, and Randy Mock. "Energy
considerations: Resource recycling and energy recovery," Presentation
before the Resource Recovery Advisory Committee, South
Central Michigan Planning Council, July 1980.
Appelhof, Mary, Michael Tenenbaum, Randy Mock, Cheryl
Poche, and Scott Geller. Biodegradable Solid Waste Conversion
into Earthworm Castings, Final report to National Science Foundation
ISP-8009755. Kalamazoo, MI: Flowerfield Enterprises, 1981
78p
Barrett, Thomas J. Harnessing the Earthworm. Boston, MA:
Wedgwood Press, 1959, original edition 1947. 166p
Beauge, A. "Les vers de terre et la fertilite' du sol," /. Agric. prat
Paris 23 (1912) 506-507, Use of this material is from C.A. Edwards,
Biology of Earthworms, 2nd ed, p!44
_____________________________________Sources 95
Darwin, Charles, The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through
the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits. New York:
D. Appleton and Company, 1898 from 1881 edition, 326p
Dindal, Daniel L. "Ecology of Compost: A Public Involvement
Project." Syracuse, New York: NY State Council of Environmental
Advisors and the State University of New York College of Environmental
Science and Forestry, 1972. 12p
Edwards, C.A. and J. R. Lofty. Biology of Earthworms, 2nd
edition. London, United Kingdom: Chapman and Hall, 1977. 333p
Geller, E. Scott, Richard A. Winett, and Peter B. Everett. Preserving
the Environment. Elmsford, New York: Pergamon, 1982.
338p
Goldstein, Jerome. Recycling. New York: Schocken Books, 1979.
238p
Handreck, Kevin Arthur. "Earthworms for Gardeners and Fishermen."
Adelaide, Australia: CSIRO Division of Soils, 1978.15p
Hartenstein, R., E.F. Neuhauser and J. Collier. "Accumulation of
heavy metals in the earthworm Eisenia foetida," Journal of Environmental
Quality, 9 (1980) 23-26
Hartenstein, R., E.F. Neuhauser, and D.L. Kaplan. "Reproductive
potential of the earthworm Eisenia foetida," Oecologia 43 (1979)
329-340
Home, Farm and Garden Research Associates. Let an Earthworm
Be Your Garbage Man, Eagle River, WI: Shields, 1954. 46p
Kaplan, D.L., R. Hartenstein, E.F. Neuhauser. "Coprophagic
relations among the earthworms Eisenia foetida, Eudrilus eugeniae
and Amynthas spp," Pedobiologia, 20 (1980), p74-84
Kaplan, D.L., E.F. Neuhauser, R. Hartenstein and M.R. Malecki.
"Physicochemical requirements in the environment of the earthworm
Eisenia foetida," Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 12 (1980),
347-352
Martin, J.P., J.H. Black, and R.M. Hawthorne. "Earthworm
Biology and Production." University of California Cooperative
Extension leaflet tt 2828,1976. lOp
McCormack, Jeffrey H. "A review of whitefly traps," The 1PM
Practitioner, 3:10 (1981) p3
Minnich, Jerry and Marjorie Hunt. The Rodale Guide to Composting.
Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1979. 405p
96 Worms eat my garbage
Mitchell, Myron }., Robert M. Mulligan, Roy Hartenstein, and
Edward F. Neuhauser. "Conversion of sludges into 'topsoils' by
earthworms," Compost Science, Jul/Aug (1977) 28-32
Morgan, Charlie. Earthworm Feeds and Feeding, 6th edition.
Eagle River, WI: Shields, 1972. 90p
Munday, Vivian, and J. Benton Jones, Jr. "Worm castings: How
good are they as a potting medium?" Southern Florist and Nurseryman
94:2 (1981), 21-23
Neuhauser, Edward F., Roy Hartenstein and David L. Kaplan.
"Second progress report on potential use of earthworms in sludge
management," in Proceedings of Eighth National Conference on
Sludge Composting. Silver Springs, MD: Information Transfer, Inc.,
1979. p238-241
Neuhauser, E.F., D.L. Kaplan, M.R. Malecki and R. Hartenstein.
"Materials supporting weight gain by the earthworm Eisenia foetida
in waste conversion systems," Agricultural Wastes 2 (1980), 43-60
Myers, Ruth. A Worming We Did Go!Elgin, IL: Shields, 1968.71p
Reynolds, John W. The Earthworms (Lumbricidae and Sparganophilidae)
of Ontario. Toronto, Canada: Royal Ontario Museum,
1977. 141p
Satchell, John E. "Earthworm evolution: Pangaea to production
prototype," in Workshop on the Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization
of Organic Residues. Vol. I: Proceedings, compiled by Mary
Appelhof. Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Nature Center Beech Leaf
Press, 1981. p3-35
Satchell, John E. "Lumbricidae," in Soil Biology, edited by A.
Burges and F. Raw. London and New York: Academic Press, 1967.
p259-322
Schaller, Friedrich. Soil Animals. Ann Arbor, MI: University of
Michigan Press, 1968. 144p
Stockli, A. "Studien uber den Einfluss der Regenwurner auf die
Beschaffenheit des Bodens," Landw. ]b. Schweiz. 42 (1928):!,
Use of this material is from C.A. Edwards, Biology of Earthworms,
2nd ed. p!44
Vick, Nicholas A. "Toxoplasmosis," in Grinker's Neurology, 7th
edition.
Worden, Diane D., editor, Workshop on the Role of Earthworms
in the Stabilization of Organic Residues, Vol. II: Bibliography.
Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Nature Center Beech Leaf Press, 1981.
492p
Index
aerobic conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11, 15, 43
anaerobic conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11, 15, 43
ants
control in worm b i n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Armadillidium vulgare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
bedding, w o r m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-20
additions to. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-20
animal manure a s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 36
changing o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-52
leaf mold as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19
moisture content o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-37
peat moss as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
preparation o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-36
shredded corrugated as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
shredded newsprint a s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
b i o m a s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
bones as worm f o o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41
breeders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,31-32
cat litter box, worm bin as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 65-66
centipedes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 62
clitellum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Collembola. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
c o n s u m e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
disease organisms: see pathogens
earthworms
a n a t o m y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55-56
common questions about. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55-58
death in worm b i n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 57
digestion of food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
gizzard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 56
life s p a n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
mouth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 55-56
number per acre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-82
oxygen, need for. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
regeneration o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
sensitivity to light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Eisenia foetida................................. 22, 58, 70
enchytraeids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 74
fruit flies
control o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63-65
fungi in worm b i n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
98 Worms eat my garbage
garbage: see wastes
garden worms
identification o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24
harvesting worms, techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47-54
divide and d u m p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
dump and hand sort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-52
worms do the sorting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53
humus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-69
isopods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
limestone
added to worm bedding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lumbricus rubellus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lumbricus terrestris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23, 58
maintenance levels
h i g h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 48
m e d i u m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 48
low. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 48,68, 70
manure, disposal o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65-66
meat wastes as worm f o o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-41
millipedes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
m i t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 62-63, 74
moisture
need f o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
mold spores in worm b i n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
organic wastes as worm f o o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-45
overloading the system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45
pathogens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65-66
plant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
pill bugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
population controls in w o r m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29
p r e d a t o r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 62
putrefaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
record k e e p i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42, 47
recycling of other materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-80
waste cost reduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-79
reduction of wastes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-79
role of earthworms in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
redworms
albumin secretion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
as litter d w e l l e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
body moisture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 37
cocoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
common names o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
egg c a s e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
fertilization in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
hatchlings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Index 99
(redworms, continued)
mucus secretion in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
natural habitat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 33
physical needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
population c o n t r o l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29
reproduction in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-29
scientific names o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
sexual maturity in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
shipping o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33
s p e r m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
worm:garbage ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
run-of-pit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
shipping, packaging of worms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
soil fertility from castings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-82
solar heater
for fruit fly c o n t r o l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
to treat c a s t i n g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
sorting worms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-54
sowbugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-62
springtails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 74
temperature
acceptable r a n g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
protection against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Toxoplasma gondii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
toxoplasmosis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 65
vegetable wastes as worm food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-45
v e n t i l a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
vermicompost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 68-70
as top d r e s s i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
collection o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-54
in seed b e d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
in transplanting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-70
vermicomposting, home system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii, viii, 1-2
benefits o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-75
system components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
system overload. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45
vermiculture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
wastes
addition to worm bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-45
as worm food
bones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41
meat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-41
organic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-45
vegetable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
not used form worm food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
100 Worms eat my garbage
worm bins
fungi and mold spores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
material for. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14
mite infestations in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
other organisms in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59-67
shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13, 30-31
use for manure disposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
worm castings
as potting mixes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
as top d r e s s i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
deleterious effects on worms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 29, 48
dilution o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-72
effect on soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-82
moisture content o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-73
precautions in use o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-73
production per acre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-82
sterilization o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73-74
toxic effects on w o r m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 29