A bunch of 3- to 6-year-olds taught me how to compost. Specifically: red worm composting. I had wanted to try this “wonder worm” method before – in which nature’s little recyclers eat through garbage – but I was a little intimidated by the concept. Then my daughter’s classroom started a worm bin of its own, and I figured, hey, if 3- to 6-year-olds can do it, I should be able to build a worm bin and take care of it, too.
Welcome home, red worms!
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
Remember, worms need air, so drill some holes into the top of your tub.
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
Tape some screen over the holes to keep flies and other bugs out of your worm bin.
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
Rip up some newspaper for good worm bedding – and use water-filled spray bottles to wet it all down.
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
We can’t forget good worm food – coffee grounds, banana peels and eggshells are all great for getting a compost bin off to a good start!
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
Room 101 knows how to care for their worms properly.
Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho
The classroom’s worm bin is part of a larger garden project at the school that I’m pretty excited about. And when I found out a mom – who’s also a Master Gardener – was volunteering to start up these worm bins for the kids to take care of, I had to see how it’s done.
First came the worm talk. Sherry (Master Gardener mom) explained the four main things worms need to be healthy and happy: darkness, moisture, food and air. She also talked about what kinds of foods are good for the wigglers and what can hurt them or create a stinky bin:
Good: Eggshells, coffee grounds, fruits, vegetables and the like. Bad: Meat, dairy and fats.
Then Sherry brought out the would-be worm bin – a dark-colored plastic tub with a lid to keep out the light. The drill was next – the kids (obviously with great supervision and guidance) drilled about a dozen holes into the lid to allow air in. Next, they taped some screening over the holes so little flies and other bugs that are naturally attracted to decomposing foods can’t make their way in.
Even wonder worms need a place to rest their hungry heads. In fact, bedding is an all-important part of a successful red worm bin. So the kids tore up long strips of newspaper for the worms to eat and relax in. And yes, we learned that paper choice does matter. Newspaper, computer paper, colored paper – that’s all okay. But shiny paper is a no-no, because the chemicals on glossy inserts or magazine pages are harmful to the worms. Also, a good rule to follow is try to keep an extra layer of fresh bedding on top of the worms for good measure.
It turns out spray bottles are pretty important, too. Sherry said the paper bedding needs to be sprayed with enough water so it feels like you’re touching a damp sponge – but you have to be careful not to spray too much or the worms will drown!
So we had the bin and bedding…next we needed the residents. The classroom’s worms came from Sherry’s own home bin – she just harvested her compost and brought a bunch of wigglers in for the kids to “adopt.” Sherry originally picked her worms up at a bait shop, but you can also order them over the Internet. The great thing about these worms is that it doesn’t take long for them to become established in their new home and start making their own babies to chow their way through even more castoff food.
And last, but not least, the worms need to eat! Sherry explained that worms have gizzards (like birds), so it’s important to have something crunchy to help them digest the food. Eggshells, coffee grounds – even a little sand – will help the worms make plenty of compost for a garden.
Upkeep isn’t difficult – just keep the worms in a cool, preferably dark spot. Check the bin regularly to make sure your little compost crusaders are moist. And, of course, feed them. Until the bin gets established, they can’t eat too much food – about a pound of garbage a week. (And remember, only feed them the “good” food.) The key is to keep an eye on how much food the wigglers go through. Once the bins are established, the worms will multiply, and you can add more food to the bin.
According to Sherry, the worms should create plenty of compost in just a few months. You don’t have to harvest it right away, but when you do, you’ll need to separate as many worms as you can – along with any uneaten food and bedding – from the actual compost. One way to harvest is to push all the contents to one side of the bin and add fresh bedding and food only to the other side. Within a week or two, the red worms should migrate to the fresh side to eat. Once they’ve moved, just scoop out the compost and keep the bed going. Use the worm compost (or castings) for fertilizer in your garden, or mix some into potting soil for your container plants.
And that’s all there is to it! Now that I’ve seen a bunch of youngsters build their own worm bin, I’ve got the confidence that our family can build our own, too. With the help of my thoroughly trained daughter, I’m sure we’ll be able to raise our own little colony of worm recyclers in no time.
