What Is Worm Composting?


Not surprisingly, worm composting is composting using worms. So what does that mean? It is using worms to do the composting for you. The worm composting transforms the usual compost materials into the form of worm compost. After the materials make their way through the worm's body then it is usable as compost. This process can produce a rich, fertile form of compost.

All Natural

Worm composting happens in nature all the time. There is no simulation to the actual process. You are only creating and monitoring the environment and everything in it to let worms do what they would do in nature. It is all natural. You get to choose what materials they make into compost.

Ideally, you would want to restrict these materials to raw fruit and vegetable pieces. Many different materials will work, but some are more or less conducive to the worm composting process. For example, citrus fruits may be highly acidic and interfere with the worm composting process. It all depends on what the worms can handle.

Basic Worm Needs

When you are creating a worm bin, you need only to provide for the worms' most basic needs, and you will be all set. Once they have an environment in which they can thrive, they will get to work on the materials that you provide for them. The things that they need are moisture, air, darkness, and, of course, food. They also require warm temperatures to thrive. A commonly recommended type of worm to use is red worms. They can be obtained online or from a local worm seller.

Harvest Time

When you create this ideal environment for worm composting, the worms will work continuously to transform all the food scraps you provide into compost. Once a sufficient amount of the material has been made into compost then you can collect it for actual use as compost.

This collection can be achieved by separating the worms from the compost. You can encourage them to all move to one side by only placing new scraps on one side of the bin. When they move to that side, it will be easier to differentiate where the worms are from what is pure compost. This migration of all the worms to the fresh side of the bin may take several weeks so planning your collection of the compost in advance is a must.

Worm composting is a method for composting fruit and vegetable scraps the same way it is done in nature. As scraps pass through the worms' bodies, you are left with a rich form of compost that will certainly help you fertilize whatever you need.