🎍 Maintaining An Indoor Worm Bin 🪱
Vermicomposting is a highly effective method for minimizing household waste and enhancing garden productivity. This process involves worms consuming food scraps quickly due to their voracious appetites, subsequently producing a nutrient-dense, virtually odorless fertilizer.
The minimal smell of worm castings makes indoor vermicomposting appealing, allowing many enthusiasts to comfortably place their worm bins in various indoor settings such as garages, kitchens, attics, closets, and laundry rooms. Before purchasing a worm bin and setting it up indoors, here are a few important factors to consider!
Location
As long as your worms are healthy, you're not going to have to worry about smell so go ahead and select a location that's dark and out of the way. If your house has an ant problem, you'll want keep your bin somewhere visible so you can see an ant trail forming before the whole colony arrives. Worm bins are typically well sealed, especially the ones you can find here on our website so you shouldn't have to worry too much about pests, but humans are famously forgetful and pests are famously opportunistic.
Feel free to maintain an outdoor worm bin but note that your considerations and your pest control will be vastly different. Your worms will thrive between 15°C and 25°C so a dark spot indoors will be perfect for them year-round. You'll also want to make sure not to cramp the bin with boxes or furniture since the worms will need access to oxygen to survive.
Bedding
Worm bedding is important for maintaining a smell-free and healthy worm population. Worm bedding is typically a high-carbon organic substance which just means it's probably something that used to be a tree; shredded paper and cardboard, wood chips, peat moss, lawn clipping, garden bedding and coco coir are the most frequently used bedding choices. Use about 7 inches of bedding for each 1,000 pounds of worms and add bedding regularly, especially with new feedings.
Need bedding for your worm bin? Get some here!
Food
Feeding your worms the right kind of food is crucial for maintaining a healthy and self-sustaining worm colony. Worms thrive on high-nitrogen organic materials, which include decomposing, entirely organic substances such as food scraps, animal manure (like cows, rabbits and pigs not dogs, cats or humans), and even coffee grounds or tea bags.
In their natural habitat, worms ingest small particles like rocks, sand, and shell fragments. These particles act as a digestive aid—think of it as cutlery for worms—helping them to grind and process their food. This "grit" is vital for the worms’ digestion and for their ability to navigate through wet soil.
When choosing what to feed your worms, consider the following:
- How quickly will your worms eat through the food? Food like dairy and oily sauces will start to smell way before the worms can eat through it. Meat and bones also take a very long time to work through and can cause an unhealthy environment for your worms. A bad smell from your worm bin will be the first sign of very acidic soil which means anaerobic bacteria have moved in to speed up the decomposition process and release this foul smell.
- How balanced is the diet? While certain foods might meet the worms' basic nutritional needs, a varied diet helps worms select what best meets their needs at any given time. For example, citrus peels are useful because they contain enzymes that help worms break down food more quickly, but they are also highly acidic. To maintain a healthy balance, offset acidic foods with neutral or alkaline materials like crushed eggshells or additional bedding.
- How much bedding is available? For every pound of food you add to your worm bin you want to make sure there's at least 2 pounds of aerated bedding. This ensures a balanced environment where worms can move, breed, and lay eggs. Bedding not only serves as a neutral substrate but can also provide a source of grit.
- What kind of worms are in the bin and how many? A large colony of red wigglers is famously difficult to keep up with, especially in the summer when their appetites are voracious. Nightcrawlers are slower eaters so you may need to slow down feeding if food is building up to avoid a smell.
By paying attention to these factors, you can keep your worm colony healthy and productive, minimizing any unpleasant smells and creating a more effective composting system.
Want to buy pre-mixed worm food? Click here
Harvest
The process of harvesting from your worm bin depends on the type and design of the bin. Generally, you can collect worm castings from the bottom by either removing a tray or emptying out the contents from the bottom of an inverted bag. Additionally, you may need to collect worm tea, which gathers at the bottom of the bin.
Harvesting castings regularly is crucial for keeping an indoor worm bin healthy and free from odors. The castings at the bottom of the bin have limited exposure to oxygen and fresh microbes, making them a target for anaerobic microbes and bacteria. The frequency of harvesting can vary based on the size of your bin and the type of food you provide. For larger bins, a monthly harvest might suffice, whereas smaller bins might require weekly attention.
The collection of worm tea should be adjusted based on the moisture levels at the top of your bin, typically influenced by the amount of water or wet food added. A useful guideline is to harvest the tea whenever you water your plants, diluting one part worm tea with three parts water. Alternatively, store the tea in an aerated container and harvest it weekly. Since worm tea can accumulate anaerobic bacteria, which cause foul odors, consider using an air bubbler in the storage container or vigorously shaking the tea before use. This introduces air and oxygen, aiding aerobic bacteria in thriving and maintaining the balance of microbes.