I Guess I'll Go Eat Worms...

Okay, I will not be eating actual worms.  I will be eating the delicious food, that grows from the soil, that comes from the worms, that ate my garbage!  I know, compost is not something that usually gets one all riled up, but for me it is pretty darn fascinating.  Every time I'm out in the yard and I see the robins digging for wiggly little worms I get excited thinking about my garden and the nutrient rich soil they will soon have the pleasure of growing in.

After watching the birds make a meal of these creepy-crawlers, I get out my bucket, flip my already massive compost pile and snatch up a few of those slimy little fellows for myself, setting them to work eating my food scraps.  You see, I'm trying my hand at catch-and-release-vermi-composting or, in layman's terms, I'm catching a bunch of worms, putting them in a bucket and waiting for miracles.

I have two books, Garden Anywhere and The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, that sing the praises of using worms to quickly break down compostable materials (coffee grounds, banana peels, etc).  Both books use slightly different approaches so after scanning the pages of each and using some tools around the house I have created a lovely little bucket of worms!

To make your own worm bucket you will need:

A five gallon (or larger) container with a lid
A Shovel-full of Garden Soil or Finished Compost
Enough Newspaper Ripped into strips to fill your bucket half-full
Rubber Gloves (strongly encouraged, I did NOT use gloves which was a mistake)
Drill
corn meal
water
worms
veggie scraps

• Drill some holes along the sides of your bucket so that your worms have room to breathe.
• Rip your newspaper into strips no longer than 3 inches long and wide.  Moisten the newspaper pieces and add them to your bucket until it is half full.
• Add your soil and a sprinkling of corn meal and toss everything together.  Don't bury the newspaper in soil but use enough to coat the newspaper so that it feels gritty and looks a bit muddy.
• Place the earthworms that you've caught from your yard into the bin.  Take veggie and fruit scraps, cut them into small pieces, and bury them under the bedding for your worms.  The food for your worms must be buried for easy worm access.  Check on your worms' progress every few days by stirring through the bedding and mixing things up (rubber gloves are strongly recommended for this task).  Also, make sure that the bin is kept moist but not soggy so that your critters can stay properly hydrated.  A sprinkle from a watering can does the trick, as does a spray bottle.  When your bucket is teaming with worms, release some of them into your outdoor compost pile or start a second bucket!  
• For more info check out: Treehugger.com, Vermicompost.net, and HowStuffWorks.com

So far my worms are eating fairly slowly, but I've only caught about 50-75.  These books suggest 200+ worms for a 12 gallon bucket.  The more worms, the more quickly your food scraps turn into magnificent soil for the garden.