Red Wiggler Worm Basics
Worm websites often cover issues such as:
What to feed your worms?
What types of beddings to use?
How to resolve problems?
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Most writers assume that anyone buying worms has done some research, and has a basic knowledge of vermiculture. I’m guilty of this too, no doubt about it.
After working with local governments, and people in the community being taught how to compost their food scraps with worms, it hit me like an epiphany…DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING!
Let me get some composting basics cleared up:
Yard waste: Use Outdoor Compost Pile (Such as an Earth Machine).
Kitchen Scraps: Worm Bin (Such as a Wriggly Wranch)…
You can put your kitchen scraps in your compost pile, but you miss the fun of watchings your worms swarm on their food, plus you miss harvesting loads of “Black Gold” worm castings (There I go again with the assumptions….worm castings are actually, the “Poop” from a worm). Worm castings are high in microorganisms, and beneficial bacteria needed for healthy soil.
Because castings do such a great job making your soil healthy, they have been nicknamed “Black Gold”.
Just because you can put your kitchen scraps in a compost pile, doesn’t mean you can put your yard waste in a worm bin. In fact, yard waste in a worm bin (In large amounts), is usually discouraged. This is because most yard waste is high in nitrogen, and if the yard waste goes through a heat cycle, you can end up “Cooking” your worms.
But, I digress. The picture on the top left is called an “Earth Machine”. It is a large plastic shell, made for yard waste composting.
The picture on the right is a “Wriggly Wranch”. It is a type of worm bin.
Although both bins are made of black plastic, the similarity stops there.
To some reading this, what I just wrote seems silly and redundant. The reality is, if I was given a dollar for every person that bought an “Earth Machine” when they meant to buy a “Wriggly Wranch” (Or another style worm bin)….let’s just say I would be retired, sipping Mai-Tai’s on the beach.
Hope this helps.
Tags: Black Gold, Compost Piles, Worm Bins, Worm Castings, Wriggly Wranch