Living off the grid – whether by choice or by chance – is all about efficiency. You need to learn to make the most of your land,your water, and evenyour food waste. That’s where worm composting comes in. Worm composting makes use of mealworms and earthworms to create a valuable soil additive calledvermicompost. This “worm tea” is made up of the worm’s waste as your compost exits the worms’ “tail”, called a “worm casting”. The worm tea that worm compositing generates is a very effective fertilizer, and is perfect forgreenhousesand potted plants.
Before we get too far with this:don’t drink the worm tea.
That said, let’s go over a basic list of the materials you’ll need to make your own, DIY worm composting solution:
- 4x 5 gal. “Homer” bucket
- 1x 5 gal. “Homer” lid
- 1x water valveYou’ll also need some tools, like a drill, screwdrivers, glue, etc. Those aren’t included in the materials bill, obviously, since they’re things you probably have – or should have! – if you’re a serious DIY enthusiast/survival enthusiast/crafter/etc.
Worm Composting
Worm Composting | Step 1
Install the faucet/water valve into the bottom of one of the buckets. This is where the worm tea will come out, so you want it fairly low to make the job of extracting the tea easier.
Worm Composting | Step 2
Remove the handles, then drill a number of holes into the bottom of the 3x buckets that do NOT have a water valve. Once the worm composting is actually happening, the tea will drop down from layer to layer through these holes, so they should be relatively small. Smaller holes are better for the tea, but take longer to make and are a bit more high maintenance, since they can clog.
Worm Composting | Step 3
Draw a line 8″ from the bottom of the 3 buckets you drilled into. That’s the fill line, and approximates the same 1:3 proportions of the “minimum cavities” left in pre-manufactured worm composting kits.
Worm Composting | Step 4
To make the lid for your DIY worm composting rig, drill two holes into the “Homer” lid about an inch “in” on either side of the lid. The diameter of these should be just large enough to fit the crimped ends of one of the bucket handles you pried of in step 3. Next, drill (or cut) two more holes on the outer edge of the “Homer” lid. You should now have a lid the slides down most of the way into the bucket, covering the food while still allowing some air flow.
Worm Composting | Step 5
Cover the bucket’s holes with enough crumpled newsprint to cover every hole, then spray the paper with water. You should get a “coffee-filter” effect from this one-time process, which is meant to keep the worms from falling down into the bottom “tea bucket” while the colony is establishing itself.
Worm Composting | Step 6
在桶里装满一小层撕碎的纸作为垫料,然后加一层表土和(当然!)虫子。这种纸有助于使土壤通气,使蚯蚓保持有氧状态(与厌氧相反,厌氧不仅气味难闻,而且对蚯蚓有害)。接下来,再加一层纸条,开始往桶里加入食物残渣,比如香蕉皮、苹果核等。康奈尔大学(Cornell University)关于这一主题的帖子说,你应该“只使用生的水果和蔬菜残渣”。远离肉类、油脂和奶制品,这些都是比水果和蔬菜更复杂的材料。”此外,他们建议不要使用柑橘类水果,因为它们会吸引果蝇。在食物垃圾之间再放一层切碎的新闻纸。
有了足够的蚯蚓和撕碎的纸,你的DIY蚯蚓堆肥包闻起来应该更丰富和泥土味,而不是腐烂和恶心。如果你像许多城市自耕农一样,在炎热的日子里住得离花园很近,那就特别好了。
Notes
I would love to give proper credit to the photographer in this post, but they’re listed as “Guest” on a three-year-old post. That said, there a number of more detailed, high-resolution images where I found them, and you should definitely check them out if my instructions are too vague. If you want to skip the DIY worm composting angle and pick up a ready-made worm composting kit,the Worm Factory kits are all-inclusive, and can usually be found for about $100 and up.
Related Post:Compost vs Landfill: Does it Really Make a Difference?
Sources And Photos
Cornell University, Pittsburgh Permaculture, the Worm Factory.
Samsays
We have a bigger version of this system in our basement; it’s our only pet, and rather than name each worm, collectively we call it Phyllis. I can attest that the worm tea is some of the best fertilizer out there–it has near-magical powers of resurrection, especially when it comes to African violets. On the other hand, the constant presence of over a thousand writhing worms in a black bucket in the basement . . . some day a therapist is going to have a field day with that one.
Chrissays
Love your sense of humor Sam. Why Phyllis?
Morgansays
I’ve never seen such a comprehensive post as this that actually explains everything in clear plain English! Thank you!