From london@mercury.interpath.comWed Jul 3 23:34:24 1996 Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 23:31:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Lawrence London - Personal Account To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: wormworking (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 4 Jul 1996 11:24:02 PDT From: duncan cross Subject: Re: wormworking CALLING ALL WORMWORKERS-RESULTS OF SURVEY....2nd July 1996. I ran the following survey in UK Gardening and Environment Newsgroups for a couple of weeks up to June 21st 1996: >I've been 'worm working' my household organic wastes for a few >years now and am pretty pleased with the results and implications >in respect of reduced landfill. >It strikes me as a good idea to mutually share my experience >with others in order to build up a picture of 'who's composting >what' with which worms and to what degree of success. >If you have experience of composting with worms and would like >to participate I will compile the findings in a report and make >them available ...... Please inform me of your method, type of >container,species of worm if known, degree of success (or failure) > and any comments which may be relevant. =========================================== The survey brought 12 responses of which 9 were directly relevant. The response was smaller than anticipated, I would have predicted that more Newsgroupers would by now have been involved in worm composting their organic wastes. 8 0f the 9 directly relevant responses were from worm worker's using worm bins, that is a modified dustbin or commercially provided dustbin-type container. All of these set-up's seem to have met with partial or complete failure. I didn't locate any worm worker's with sound experience accumulated over a number of years so am providing details of my own experience and thoughts. I have included information gathered from participants in the survey but on the whole my recommendations are based on my own experience over four years of successful Vermicomposting, and talks with others. I do not wish to provide full instructions on setting up and maintaining a successful wormery as these can be found elsewhere and happily are now available on The World Wide Web (try keyword search-Vermicomposting, worm,earthworms etc.) I do wish here to exemplify common problems which are easily avoided. =========================================== Worm composting in plastic bins can work well and therefore has its place along with traditional composting methods in terms of re-cycling and the reduction of organic wastes needlessly going to landfill. It can also have advantages over traditional composting, one of which is the portability of the bin and the fact it can be placed in near proximity to the kitchen thereby minimising the 'bother' of transporting materials, often undertaken daily. Those who compost their organic waste also benefit in that the kitchen waste bin fills far more slowly with less bulk going in and is far less odorous. ========================================== Worm composting in worm bins is however a slow process. Considering the volume of material added weekly it seems remarkable that, contrary to claims made by commercial providers of worm bins, in fact I find it takes about a year for the worms to process the kitchen scraps from an average family to produce a dustbin sized container of compost. This compost is however very rich, and use as a potting compound needs to be diluted with sharp sand and well rotted leaf litter in equal parts, giving three times the original volume. Where the main aim of composting is to produce compost for growing, then it is a good idea to add organic compost every so often which will help balance the medium, and will be improved by the worm activity and mixed in, and further broken down by the worms. ============================================ My experience is with Eisenia fetida, which may also be variously known as Tiger Worms, Brandlings, American Wrigglers and mistakenly as Redworms. It is a shame that (in my experience) the majority of people who start off with commercially provided worm bins meet with little success. Worm bins do work if they get off to the right start and are treated respectfully for the ecosystems which they are. As with all ecosystems balance is all important. Those whose worm bins have proved unsuccessful have variously attributed the problems to be associated with temperature, moisture etc. In my opinion the main problem is simply inadequate worm numbers (and bedding) to do the job required. =========================================== A typical commercially provided unit consists of a plastic container of 70-80 litre capacity, 1-2 Kg of bedding and normally 2-300 worms. This set-up would be successful if given time and started in the spring-time and adequate patience was exercised to allow the worm population to increase sufficiently to process the family kitchen waste. In practise however too much waste is added too quickly leading to putrification if the worms cannot handle the mass of organic material before anaerobic decomposition sets in. A typical modified plastic dustbin or commercially provided worm bin requires an optimum of something like 1000 or so worms. The worm population will not increase above its optimum carrying capacity which is based (presuming no shortage of food) on the surface area of the bedding material. 1000 Tiger Worms (Eisenia fetida) in various stages of growth will weigh about 0.5 Kg and research has shown that these worms, in optimum conditions, can process their own body weight in 24 hours.The average house in the UK produces about 3.5 Kg of organic waste from the kitchen therefore theoretically in a week the worms can process this total. Leeway must be given because, both worm activity and volume and type of waste is variable and so one needs to be alert to the dangers of overfeeding. Also the type of material and its subsequent 'digestibility' is variable and to be sure of coping with the total of the kitchen scraps it is really much better for a family to run two Worm bins. Although the Tiger Worm is a prolific breeder if one starts with only 2-300 worms, given the seasonal temperature variation in the UK (Tiger Worms do not feed, breed or grow as quickly in cooler conditions) it is likely to be a year before a 0.5 Kg mass of Tiger Worms is accumulated. Worm composters would therefore in my opinion be much better recommended to start production with the full complement of 1,000 worms in a good volume, say at least 5, ideally 10 Kg (about a bucketful of bedding. It should be noted that Tiger Worms breed fastest at about 10 weeks old and cocoon production then gradually declines. Putrification is not disastrous if occurring in a small area within a good sized mass of 'buffer' material as the worms can escape the hostile acidic pH of the putrefying material, which they will not devour. If putrification begins, which can be recognised by foul odours and excess liquid, feeding should be postponed and I would favour adding some organic soil-conditioner or compost to the middle area of the bedding, where the worms can take refuge until conditions improve. =========================================== On first introducing the worms, it is common for them to attempt to exit their new home, especially if the first night is a humid one. This is especially important if there is no seal between bin and lid as worms will be lost. Worms must avoid exposure to light and will not crawl up the sides of a bin towards daylight or artificial light. The answer is to introduce the worms in the morning, leave the lid off and expose the worms to daylight through the first day, artificial light through the night in a garage or shed, and daylight again through the following day. The worms will by then be settled in to their new home and will not try and leave unless conditions become hostile. This is especially important if there is no seal between bin and lid. ============================================ Favourite worm foods are: Carrots and peelings, soft fruits except citrus (especially banana skins),salads (not onions), baked beans, sweet corn (maize). Other worm foods are: All green vegetables, cooked vegetables are softer and more easily digested and the smaller they are chopped the quicker they will be eaten. Coffee grounds (avoid excess moisture), tea leaves, paper and cardboard (avoid coloured inks), potato pieces (of which the skins are left uneaten), feathers, well rotted grass clippings (left until the individual blades are barely distinguishable). =========================================== I have found my worm bins survive the heaviest frosts and do not believe they need to be brought in the winter. Worm activity does slow down but they still carry on feeding. =========================================== Claims are made that the 'liquor' which collects at the bottom of the container is a usefull by-product which can be utilized as plant feed: I am sceptical: A well balanced worm bin does not accumulate liquid,any excess liquid is most likely to be a by-product of putrification (this is obvious by its smell) ========================================== Likewise a well balanced worm bin does not smell foul. Any foul smells are normally the first sign that putrification has begun and corrective action should be taken. ========================================== I have included the following interesting response which may give 'food for thought': >............... I also use snails >type of container: covered home-made bin from pallet wood >................ snails are edible, believe imported from Italy >in 1850s, spread all over the area in California where I live >degree of success (or failure): snails compost quickly but soil >must be sieved to remove snail eggs before use; snails can be >sold also.................Hope you don't think snail composting is > too far away from worm composting; seems they both work well. What do you know? =========================================== A handy leaflet entitled Making Worm Compost, including names and addresses of suppliers of worms and worm bins in the UK, is available from: The Henry Doubleday Research Association Ryton Organic Gardens Ryton-On Dunsmore Coventry CV8 3LG =========================================== I cannot answer 'operational' questions re. worm workingbut am intending widening this survey over the coming year to update this report in July 1997. If you are an experienced worm worker and would like to participate please let me know. I would also be pleased to hear of any large scale or commercial or municipal projects involving worms, in any capacity, and I will spread the good word. D.M.Cross@exeter.ac.uk 2nd July 1996