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Back in April I started a vermicomposting bin (worm composting). I’d been wanting to do it for a while and finally bit the bullet. Six months later, and I’ve been really enjoying it!
Since I moved in the fall of 2020 to a new city and finally started living on my own, I wanted to start composting. My city has street compost pick-up with the trash and recycling, but it was on hold during COVID, so I couldn’t use that. I don’t have any outdoor space here I could use for a normal outdoor bin either. I was curious about vermicomposting, since you’re supposed to be able to have one indoors/in an apartment setting.
I bought a bin (I felt kind of badly about this, since in the true spirit of low-waste living I should make my own), which comes with some starter stuff: coconut coir, which I believe is the outer shell of coconuts? It comes in a brick that you rehydrate. The only other time I’ve used it was in these amaryllis growing kits that my mom gives me for Christmas. They also sent shredded newspaper to mix in with the coco coir.
For a month or so leading up to starting, I weighed the amount of worm-digestible waste that I generated every day/week, since the amount of worms you should get depends on that. I ended up buying 1000 worms (which sounded like a huge number, but they’re pretty small). Most vermicompost setups use red wiggler worms, although I think some people use nightcrawlers…but maybe nightcrawlers don’t eat as much or something? Nightcrawlers are your typical American garden worms so I think most people are more familiar with them. I used red wigglers…they are super cute.
There was an initial learning period where I figured out what the worms liked best in terms of their environment, but really it was super easy all the way through. Basically you put a bunch of dirt (in this case coco coir) and shredded paper/cardboard in a bin, then dump the worms in and let them settle. Then every couple days (though I’m doing it more like once a week tbh) I dump in all the worm friendly scraps I’ve generated, plus a similar amount of shredded paper from my recycling. Then put the lid back on and that’s about it…I also give them pulverized eggshells which I believe they eat and put in their “stomach” to help digest food.
They basically eat any plant-based scraps. They don’t like spicy food (peppers, onions) or acidic things like citrus fruit. They won’t eat any animal matter either. They do eat coffee grounds—through this experience I learned that coffee grounds after brewing actually lose all their acidity—how interesting! I think they might use the coffee grounds as grit, like the ground eggshells. I put tea leaves in there…lint from the dryer…they don’t like oils or spices so I don’t put in any cooked food. Also, life tip, I keep all my food scraps in the freezer while not using it to stop bugs from getting into it. I don’t know how anyone lives without doing that. I was laughing at the vermicomposting Reddit because there were people who had a whole separate freezer only for their food scraps for their worms. See me doing that in about seven years.
After weeks of munching, they leave behind this super dense, dark compost that is (supposedly) really good for your plants. I don’t have a ton of plants, but I have been planting more herbs with the compost to see how it works. I think the main draw for me is more of a “hobbyist” perspective. It’s really fun to use the food scraps and paper scraps that I generate to feed this little ecosystem. Plus the worms are cute…and it’s fun to have something to take care of.
(Also, my city’s composting program is back so I can compost all those other fiddly things! Woo!)
Since I moved in the fall of 2020 to a new city and finally started living on my own, I wanted to start composting. My city has street compost pick-up with the trash and recycling, but it was on hold during COVID, so I couldn’t use that. I don’t have any outdoor space here I could use for a normal outdoor bin either. I was curious about vermicomposting, since you’re supposed to be able to have one indoors/in an apartment setting.
I bought a bin (I felt kind of badly about this, since in the true spirit of low-waste living I should make my own), which comes with some starter stuff: coconut coir, which I believe is the outer shell of coconuts? It comes in a brick that you rehydrate. The only other time I’ve used it was in these amaryllis growing kits that my mom gives me for Christmas. They also sent shredded newspaper to mix in with the coco coir.
For a month or so leading up to starting, I weighed the amount of worm-digestible waste that I generated every day/week, since the amount of worms you should get depends on that. I ended up buying 1000 worms (which sounded like a huge number, but they’re pretty small). Most vermicompost setups use red wiggler worms, although I think some people use nightcrawlers…but maybe nightcrawlers don’t eat as much or something? Nightcrawlers are your typical American garden worms so I think most people are more familiar with them. I used red wigglers…they are super cute.
There was an initial learning period where I figured out what the worms liked best in terms of their environment, but really it was super easy all the way through. Basically you put a bunch of dirt (in this case coco coir) and shredded paper/cardboard in a bin, then dump the worms in and let them settle. Then every couple days (though I’m doing it more like once a week tbh) I dump in all the worm friendly scraps I’ve generated, plus a similar amount of shredded paper from my recycling. Then put the lid back on and that’s about it…I also give them pulverized eggshells which I believe they eat and put in their “stomach” to help digest food.
They basically eat any plant-based scraps. They don’t like spicy food (peppers, onions) or acidic things like citrus fruit. They won’t eat any animal matter either. They do eat coffee grounds—through this experience I learned that coffee grounds after brewing actually lose all their acidity—how interesting! I think they might use the coffee grounds as grit, like the ground eggshells. I put tea leaves in there…lint from the dryer…they don’t like oils or spices so I don’t put in any cooked food. Also, life tip, I keep all my food scraps in the freezer while not using it to stop bugs from getting into it. I don’t know how anyone lives without doing that. I was laughing at the vermicomposting Reddit because there were people who had a whole separate freezer only for their food scraps for their worms. See me doing that in about seven years.
After weeks of munching, they leave behind this super dense, dark compost that is (supposedly) really good for your plants. I don’t have a ton of plants, but I have been planting more herbs with the compost to see how it works. I think the main draw for me is more of a “hobbyist” perspective. It’s really fun to use the food scraps and paper scraps that I generate to feed this little ecosystem. Plus the worms are cute…and it’s fun to have something to take care of.
(Also, my city’s composting program is back so I can compost all those other fiddly things! Woo!)
