The Magic Of Worm Farms
Vermicomposting is an up and coming recycling and compost idea with a little help from creepy crawly earthworms. Worm farms can help you minimize the amount of items you send to the landfill, thus helping our environment. Worms for vermicomposting are usually sold by the pound and an average of 4,000 worms consists in each pound! Studies have found that a farm of worms can eat about a half a pound of organic recyclable material in as little as 24 hours! This material consists of vegetable waste, cardboard, newspaper, eggshells and coffee grinds. These little worms are amazing!
Vermicomposting is very affordable. A starter kit usually starts around $50 with additional worms on top of what is in the original kit is usually around $20 or so. Since worms do not sleep, they will spend their entire life span eating through your garbage, only stopping to reproduce and then back to the old grindstone! I’m sure your wondering how to the worms “get rid of the waste”? Well, the answer would be the old fashioned way! Yes, worms poop, just like everything else. The incredible part of their excrement, however, is that because of their ph neutral discharge, their waste is almost water-like making it one of the safest fertilizers around!
There are a couple of rules that must be followed to ensure that worm farms are kept functioning properly and have a healthy maintenance. The first rule to consider is that worms can eat through anything that is plant based recyclable. Paper products, cardboard (including egg cartons) as well as fruit and vegetable peelings all fall into this category. The only exception that should be made regarding your vermicomposting are pineapples which contains an enzyme that actually dissolves the worms, highly acidic fruits and vegetables (such as citrus and onions), although small amounts are acceptable, and only a small amount of green grass clippings should be given at one time to keep down the heat as well as the ammonia that grass produces which can kill worms.
Worm farms are available at most home and garden stores as well as on several websites online. Making your own vermicompost is simple. All you will need is a large tub with a lid with small holes drilled all over (including the bottom) to allow good air circulation as well as proper drainage. You will never have to worry about the farm becoming too overpopulated as the worms adjust their reproduction schedule according to population. Amazing, isn’t it?
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