Simply put, vermicomposting is the process of using certain species of earthworms, such as Red Wigglers, to break down organic matter into vermicompost and worm castings.
There's a lot to say about it, so buckle in!
Why Start a Worm Farm?
Ever needed a go to topic for when a dinner conversation has gone silent, or wanted a solid icebreaker when meeting someone new? Or perhaps wanted to impress a passenger in your taxi cab?
"I Got Worms" is always a great option.
But to be serious, there are 3 main reasons to start a worm farm.
1. To live more sustainably by redirecting your organic waste from a landfill.
2. To produce "Worm Castings," which is the rich fertilizer worms produce.
3. To raise worms for fishing, for feed for other pets such as axolotls, or just for fun.
Sustainable Living
Food waste is a problem. It is estimated that annually, the amount of food wasted in America is the equivalent of 130 billion meals. That's 1 full meal per person per day in the entire country.
It's a bit sobering.
This particular problem is best handled by the "reduce" strategy, but when you can't reduce, or re-use, you should recycle.
Rather than going to a landfill to lose nutrients in the atmosphere, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, worms can take the inedible waste and reform it into something that can become new and edible again.
Worm Castings
Worm Castings, vermicompost, and vermicast, are all names for worm poop.
It might sound gross to you, but its quite a delicacy for plants.
This section gets a blog post all of its own, but it should be known that what worms poop, plants love.
Who would've guessed?
Worms for Fishing or Animal Feed
They say not to name an animal you're going to kill.
Luckily, if you're raising worms to use as bait or feed, you won't be able to keep track of which worm has which name, so the blow is softened a bit.
Earthworms can be raised in a worm bin, and plumped up enough, to be useful bait for fishing, or even used as feed for reptiles.
I have spoken to axolotl breeders who have especially appreciated raising their own worms as they can choose what size the worm is before feeding it.
How realistic is starting a worm farm?
One of the best things about worm farming is that it can be done on any scale.
Do you live in a house, or even an apartment, and only have a few handfuls of food waste, such as banana peels, to compost weekly? Use worms!
Do you have a farm and have loads of manure to compost? Use more worms!
I imagine most readers fall under the first category of home composters, so I will focus on that. For worm composting on large scale vermicomposting for agricultural waste, read here.
This instagram video shows a possible at home set up:
You don't need a fancy worm bin like our Worm Farm Kit used in the above post, you could make a DIY worm bin with something as small as a plastic shoebox even.
Just keep in mind, more space means more worms, and more worm-power.
How do I get started Worm Farming?
Step 1: Study Up.
This is our Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Worm Composting. I'm pretty proud of it and it'll teach the foundational principles as to why things are done a certain way so you can begin to troubleshoot for yourself sooner.
Step 2: Get Worms.
Worms can be sent through the mail surprisingly reliably. You can get our "Just Add Water" Worm Farm Kit, or provide your own bin and bedding and just get our worms here.
Thank you for reading! Happy worming!
