Composition: 30% to 50% recycled materials - Practice what you preach. Why use virgin
plastics or new wood if you are teaching recycling? Some of the soft, pliable virgin plastics
will leach out chemicals which will retard the worm's growth and reproduction in this type of
bin. Ideally, the plastic will be constructed from recycled HDPE materials. HDPE is more durable
and is very rigidly constructed.
Aeration: Air vents on the sides and bottom of the bin - Earthworms require a
lot of oxygen to be healthy. This is accomplished by allowing the air to pass from
the very bottom of the bin through the bedding.
Moisture Content: 60% to 80% - Earthworms breath through their skin, but
they do not have gills. Saturated (100% moisture) bins will cut off the
oxygen and the weight of the water will pack all of the small air spaces
in the bedding. The worms will start bailing out over the sides or
staying in and dying. One point that I would like to make is, redworms
are mainly surface feeders and it is the top three or four inches of your
bin that needs to be at about 80% moisture. At 80%, you can squeeze out a
couple of drops of water just like a damp sponge.
NOTE:Whether doing a large commercial bin or a
small home/classroom bin, you must try to duplicate the
native environment as closely as possible.
Critters : Those little gray or white
things (mites) or those critters in the corners
that are jumping in the air (springtails) are
normal inhabitants and are NOT like bedbugs, head
lice, etc.. But the ants can be a problem. The
solution is to put feet on your bin and place a
tray with water in it. This will keep out any
critter that crawls, but then you have to deal
with the fruit fly. At school, place a saucer of
vinegar in the bin to attract and drown the fruit
fly. At home, use flat beer or get one of the Bud
frogs to do the job for you.
Our Worm Friendly Habitat is a
simple, easy to use vermi-composting system
that turns your kitchen waste into organic
fertilizer/soil conditioner (castings) with
the help of redworms. Setting up is as easy
as shredding newspaper (or computer paper),
adding a bit of water, and introducing the
worms. After burying the kitchen waste in the
newspaper, the redworms will eat the food,
newspaper (called "bedding") and bacteria,
turning everything into nutrient rich humus
for use in gardens, lawns, orchards &
house plants. Since vermicomposting can be
done virtually anywhere, it has the added
benefit of allowing you to create compost
indoors during the winter and outdoors during
the summer.
Now you can
turn your household waste
into "Black
Gold" as worm
castings, which is one of the
best fertilizers on the
planet!. Turn your kitchen
scraps, yard waste and even
newspapers into valuable
fertilizer with the help of
worms. Did you know that 1
pound of worms can eat and
convert ½ pound of waste into
valuable worm castings EVERY
DAY?
Worm
castings and
vermicompost are
more valuable
than conventional
compost in that
the worms convert
nitrogen and
other elements
into a form more
usable by the
plant. Also, the
worm castings
have a coating
around the grains
which allows the
nutrients to
"time release"
into the soil.
Visit your local
nursery and see
what they charge
for this "Black
Gold".
Q.
What
do
worms
do to
improve
soil?
Answer
#1
.
Worms
make
burrows
and
tunnels
which
enable
water
to
penetrate
to
your
plants'
root
system.
Answer
#2
.
Worms
consume
and
digest
their
body
weight
every
day,
producing
castings
which
are
100%
natural,
organic
fertilizer.
I
refer
to
it
as
Black
Gold.
Answer
#3.
Worms
castings
(manure)
are:
-
5
times
richer
in
nitrogen
-
7
times
richer
in
phosphates
-
11
times
richer
in
potash
more
than
the
average
yard's
topsoil!!!!!
