Starting any kind of project is always challenging but not always easy especially if you are not so familiar with the project you have in mind. However, there are other ventures that require only sheer determination and patience to succeed and one of these is vermicomposting. Though this project is quite simple, there are four ingredients that you must consider and failing to put any of these four into the composting venture would greatly affect the outcome of your project. Below are the discussion points regarding these four essentials for a successful vermicomposting activity.
1. The first basic of the four components is the worm composter and this is the container where to put your worms which must have a lid and if possible opaque since worms like it best and work efficiently in the dark and are sensitive to bright environment. You can buy these containers in any hardware stores or if you have an available used container with lid that unit can be turned into a composter without any cost involved. Drill some holes around the container near the top and bottom portion as ventilation for the worms and drainage holes for excess water. Do not forget to drill the holes as it would suffocate your worms and some would try to come out of the containers to survive if they will or drown if the excess water could not exit from the containers.
2. Now that you have the composters, the next component is the bedding materials for your worms which could be pre-soaked old newspapers, cardboard boxes, rotten leaves, coconut coir or some loose soil. The bedding must be dampened first and avoid over watering before putting in your worms. Remember that over watering would kill your worms or they would try to escape out of the composters.
3. Having the composters and the bedding prepared, you are now ready to put in your worms which you could source from your local organic farmer traders who are usually into this kind of composting business. There are varieties of night crawlers, one is the European night crawlers or super red worms and the other are the African night crawlers, both of which are claimed to be prolific worms that can multiply faster than the ordinary worms in your garden or farm. These are cultured and the best producer of organic fertilizer out the trash in your kitchen and garden. There is no exact computation for the required number of worms you need on a per square foot container as it depends on your calculation and investigation from worm traders as they would advise you on this aspect.
4. Having secured your night crawlers already in place in their new found man-made habitat, collect some of your kitchen trash like food leftovers and some vegetables excesses and start to feed your worms by putting it on top of their bedding then close the composter to shield your worms from predators, sunlight and other disturbances.
Visit your composter after a week and you will be amazed by the vermicast atop of the worms' bedding ready for your plants' fertilizer needs.
