Let Worms Eat Your Garbage,and Improve Your Soil!!

Rhianna Simes Master Recycler Coordinator

• During 2007 Oregonians sent an estimated

3 million tons of waste to landfills

6 pounds of garbage everyday!

• This is 2,200 pounds of waste a year

For every Oregonian!!

• Visualize a line of garbage trucks, end to end,

from Portland to New Orleans.

Organic waste 8% +18% + 34% = 60% could be composted

(1,320 pounds a year could be composted)

Metro's Solid Waste Compositon

Paper22%

Food16%

Plastic12%

C&D10%

Wood8%

Textiles/carpet6%

Metals6%

Organics5%

Rubble5%

Yard debris4%

Appliances3%

Glass2%

Medical/hazardous1%

Paper

Food

Plastic

C&D

Wood

Textiles/carpet

Metals

Organics

Rubble

Yard debris

Appliances

Glass

Medical/hazardous

16+8+5+4+15= 48% compostable 10+6+3+2+7= 28% recycled 48+28= 76% diverted

Keep organic waste out of the landfill

Composting is the aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter.

Composting is the process of encouraging the decomposition of organic matter by providing air, moisture, material, and a hospitable environment for decomposers and worms

Materials

• Nitrogen rich

• Green materials– Grass clippings– Food scraps

• Immature plants• Rot easily & smells bad

• 1/3 of pile

• Carbon rich

• Brown materials– Dry leaves– Stalks, & husks

• Mature plants• Full of fiber & dries

• 2/3 of pile

Layering

• Begin with larger diameter pieces

• 1 layer ‘green’, then thicker layer ‘brown’

• 1 green + 2 browns (repeat)

• Repeat until at least 3’x3’x3’

• End with ‘brown’ layer to reduce pests

• Last minute additions, sneak into middle

Common Composting issues

*Problem *Cause *Solution

Bad smell •Too much nitrogen•Anaerobic

•Add carbon•Turn pile

Not cooking down

•Anaerobic•Too dry

•Turn the pile•Check moisture•Add more Nitrogen

Weedy •Not hot enough style compost

Don’t include weed seeds or roots in pile

Rodents / pests in the pile

•Food scraps in pile Put kitchen waste in worm bin

The Chinese character for worm translates to ‘Earth Angel’

“Feliz como un lumbris”

Earthworms are also called ‘nature’s plough’

“It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these lowly organized creatures” (Charles Darwin 1881)

Earth worms are amazingly strong, and can easily shift stones 60 times there own weight.

Vermi-culture- is the artificial rearing or cultivation of earthworms

Worm bin- is any container that holds earthworms, their bedding and food (used in vermicomposting)

Vermicompost- is the excreta of earthworm, which is rich in nutrients, necessary for healthy plant growth (aka castings)

Vermicomposting

• 4400 named species of earthworms

on this planet

• Broken into three categories, largely descriptive of their habits in the soil,

endogeic, anecic and epigeic.

Worm species and categories

Endogeic-• Lateral burrows• Rarely surface• Eat soil• Medium sized

• Epigeic-• Live in top soil• Prefer loose organic litter• Feed on surface debris• Do well in dense populations• Ex: Eisenia fetida

Anecic- (night crawlers, Lumbricus terrestris)

Permanent lateral burrows 6ft+ (personalized)

Build midden mounds near burrow entrance

Have little retractable hairs (setae)

Very large with less pigmentation

Worm species for vermicomposting

• Two species of red earthworms are used for commercial composting or worm farming, due to their relatively high tolerance of environmental variations:

• a) Eisenia foetida The Red Wiggler >

• b) Lumbricus rebellus The Red Worm

Anatomy of the Earthworm

Interesting Worm facts:

-Both male & female organs

-Have 5 hearts

-Breathe through their skin

-Baby worms are hatched from a worm egg called a cocoon

-Use their pharynx to make their food small enough to eat

Adults will be banded

Worm eggs are called cocoons

Under perfect conditions a mature breeder will produce an egg capsule every 7 to 10 days, each containing over 1 dozen hatchlings.

Development takes 14-21 days and, once hatched, worms reach maturity in approximately four to six weeks.

Building a worm bin is

a lot like building a compost pile

You need similar ingredients:

1. A container with air holes

2. Kitchen Scraps or yard debris

-Fruit peels, veggie scraps, old flowers, grains, or cereal

3. ‘Bedding’ or dry, organic material

-Newspaper, coco fiber, straw, or leaves

4. A bit of native soil

5. A protected place to keep them

Worm bins

• Don’t have to be fancy or expensive• Any container with air holes will work• Avoid temperature extremes & predators• Examples of common bin styles:

What do I feed my worms?

• Fresh or decaying organic material – anything found in natural world (with exceptions)

• The smaller the pieces the better

• Examples: fruits, old food, leaves, veggies, grains, pasta, grass, & other plant matter

Avoid:

-Overloading your bin with citrus or fruits with a lot of seeds

Seeds will often re-sprout

Worms do not want to eat

» Dairy Products like Cheese and milk» Synthetic fibers or plastic» Sugary foods like cake and cookies» Animal meat» Manure from carnivorous animals

( like dogs, & cats)

What ‘bedding’ should I use?• Shredded newspaper

• Old documents (no colored inks)• Dry leaves• Coco fiber

• Straw

Avoid magazine or glossy pages, lots of colored inks, & synthetic fibers

Layering your worm bin• Start with bedding• Then add organic material / veggie scraps• Add your worms and a little native soil• Then more bedding• Repeat layers

Note: Always end withbedding to preventflies and bad smells

Other creatures in the worm bin

• Spring tails (look like little grey mites)• Pot worms (tiny, transparent worms)• Soldier Fly larva (segmented, tan)

Avoid letting flies, gnats, earwigs, centipedes, or beetles in your worm bin

Precautions

• Protect against temperature extremes

• Maintain damp moisture level– Spray water in the bin when materials are too dry.

• Do not drown your worms, – They like it moist, not soggy (think: damp sponge)

• Protect the worms from predators – Ants, rats, raccoons, skunks, and birds

Harvesting worm castings

Worms go towards food and away from the light

Utilizing your Worm Castings

• Use an old spoon or cup to scoop out castings

• Put in your watering can = tea• Top dress potted plants• Add to vegetable garden• Create tea bag and soak in water• Amend old potting soil

Advantages of Vermicomposting• Vermicompost is an eco-friendly natural fertilizer

– Prepared from organic waste– Free to produce– 100% natural and organic

•  It improves soil aeration, texture and soil tilth

•  It increases the water retention capacity of soil

• Keeps food scraps out of the landfill

• Does not take much space

• Great way to get rid of sensitive documents

• Nutrients are available immediately

• It is fun!

 

Gardeners Love worms

Worm castings Promote better root growth & nutrient absorption

7 times the available phosphorous 6 times the available nitrogen 3 time the available magnesium 2 times the available carbon 1.5 times the available calcium

“Without the work of this humble creature, who knows nothing of the benefits he confers upon mankind, agriculture, as we know it, would be very difficult, if not wholly impossible” Charles Darwin

Other Questions?

• Can I put kitty litter in my worm bin?

• Can magazine pages go in the worm bin?

• Should I put paper napkins in my bin?

• Can I dig up worms from my yard and put them in a worm bin?

• How can I easily trouble shoot my worm bin?

• More questions?

Resources

• Worms Eat My Garbage– Mary Appelhof

• The Worm Book– Loren Nancarrow

• www.worms.com• www.compostguy.com• www.vermiculture.ca

May the Worms be with you!

• For more information or additional questions

Please call or email the

Master Recycler Coordinator

rhianna.simes@oregonstate.edu

*541-776-7371