Composting With Worms

Part 2: Worm box management

Introduction

Part 1:
Worm box basics

Part 2:
Worm box management

Part 3:
Commonly asked questions

More worm composting information

Composting coffee grounds

Stewardship gardening links
outside WSU

Burying The Kitchen Waste

It is a good practice to take a different spot to bury the kitchen wastes in the worm box. A worm box 2' by 2' has approximately nine locations where you can bury kitchen wastes. So that gives you nine feedings before you have to repeat to bury at the first location.

Should Food Wastes Be Ground?

Grinding is not necessary because kitchen wastes break down in a very short time. Egg shells should be pulverized.

What If You Are Going On Vacation?

Just feed the worms a little extra and leave them undisturbed. They can go for longer than three weeks or a month. If you go for a longer time arrangements should be made with a worm loving person. We need 2 lbs. of worms for each lb. of kitchen waste.

Changing The Bedding

After many weeks you will notice that the bedding is going down. This is a combination from the worms and the microorganisms activities. Decomposition and composting takes place. The color of the bedding becomes darker. The favorable environment for the worms decreases. The larger amounts of castings might become harmful to the worms. The castings of one worm is toxic to another worm. The time for changing the bedding depends on condition of the bedding, the quantity of the worms in the box.

Population Control

Worms multiply very fast. An overpopulation should be avoided. The extra worms could be used to start a new worm box. Many people are starting a worm composting box and need worms to get started.

Odor and Pest Control

Odors can be controlled by removing excess or inappropriate waste and providing adequate fresh bedding. Adding fresh bedding to worm bins will reduce odors. In a worm bin, do not overload the bin with too much food waste until the worm population is established. Never add cheese or other animal products in any type of compost systems.

Fruit flies are more of a nuisance than a serious problem. Minimize fruit flies in a worm bin by fully covering fresh food waste with several inches of bedding, and by covering the bedding with a sheet of newspaper, cardboard or plastic tucked in around the edges.

Rodents can be a problem. The easiest way to keep animals from entering a worm bin is to keep the lid shut and meat wastes out. If there are signs of animals around the worm bin, place a sheet of wire mesh over the bottom of the bin or raise the bin off the ground 12 to 18 inches. Keep the worm bin lid latched or well secured if opposums or racoons are a problem.

Part 3: Commonly asked questions

Odor and pest control source: James A. Kropf, Extension Faculty, Horticulture, Small Farms and Farm Marketing. (1998)