On September 29th, Jamie Ramsey led our children in the fine points of setting up a worm bin so we can add vermicomposting to our green practices at CUCC. Jamie has been vermicomposting with red wigglers for over 20 years and gave us some from her home to get us started. Bill Lamb made the worm bin from two 18-gallon, plastic bins. Worms can turn vegetable and paper products into incredibly rich compost the children can spread on our garden plot.
Red wiggler worms are practically vegans. Their diet consists mostly of vegetables and fruits, no meat, dairy or anything greasy. Healthy human foods are generally healthy for red wigglers too, but there are some important differences. Here’s an infographic from The Squirm Firm with some do’s and don’ts:
Jamie worked with the children to create their own poster of good and bad foods for worms.
Our worm bin is situated right next to the recycling bin outside the kitchen window. Worms can eat up to half their weight in food scraps a day, but for the time being the children and their families are being asked to feed them. We need for them to get established before inviting grown ups to add their food scraps to the bin. Stay tuned.
If you would like to find out more about vermiculture, here are some useful resources:
Worms Eat My Garbage, a book by Mary Appelhof
A Step-by-Step Guide to Vermicomposting, an article by Mary Appelhof
How to Build a Worm Composting Bin, a video by GreenShortz DIY
Possible CUCC Build Your Own Worm Bin Workshop: If you have an interest in setting up a worm bin of your own, let Bill Lamb know. If there is sufficient interest we can have a weekend project to build a few. Contact Bill at william.e.lamb@gmail.com.
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| Click here for more photos of our children setting up a worm bin |
Jamie worked with the children to create their own poster of good and bad foods for worms.
Our worm bin is situated right next to the recycling bin outside the kitchen window. Worms can eat up to half their weight in food scraps a day, but for the time being the children and their families are being asked to feed them. We need for them to get established before inviting grown ups to add their food scraps to the bin. Stay tuned.
If you would like to find out more about vermiculture, here are some useful resources:
Worms Eat My Garbage, a book by Mary Appelhof
A Step-by-Step Guide to Vermicomposting, an article by Mary Appelhof
How to Build a Worm Composting Bin, a video by GreenShortz DIY
Possible CUCC Build Your Own Worm Bin Workshop: If you have an interest in setting up a worm bin of your own, let Bill Lamb know. If there is sufficient interest we can have a weekend project to build a few. Contact Bill at william.e.lamb@gmail.com.