A couple of years ago we put together some worm bins in our back yard with my daughter and her cousins. I had followed the instructions on
The Germinatrix's website, and bought two Rubbermaid bins for each worm "house", some window screen scraps, and a few containers of red wiggler worms from my local fishing store. The project was super easy for kids, and here we are a few years later still pulling tons of worm castings out of them and making worm tea.
Here in Sacramento we're able to keep our bins outside year round in a nice shady location. My daughter loves "feeding" them our fruit and vegetable scraps and grossing out her friends with her pet worms.
"It's the biggest brownie ever!" Sadly, no, that's just worm poop. Last weekend it was time to give them fresh new bedding and split up our single winter bin into two bins. During the winter time we don't produce enough food for them to support two bins, so I usually consolidate into one bin late Fall. For you backyard gardeners, worm composting is a much easier and faster way to produce compost than your standard compost bins.
At four years old (ahem, okay, she says "almost five"), she has a much bigger appreciation for earthworms than most adults I know do. You should see the heart ache she has when she finds a dried up one on the sidewalk. And yes, I have found several in the pockets of her laundry. But her little fingers are useful for separating them from the castings, and putting them into their fresh new digs. Although, she does sneak a few into the planter beds, especially the ones that look "pregnant" to her ("Run mommy worm! Go have your babies! Be free!").
This is what we use for bedding. Finally there is a positive use for junk mail! We shred most of the mail we receive (just not the glossy kind) to add to the bins. We also add napkins from dinner time, newspaper, egg cartons, grocery shopping bags, even pizza boxes. The bedding is added to the bins and sprayed with water to make a nice moist environment for them (but not too wet, or they will drown). In addition to bedding they get fed regularly with fruits and vegetable scraps. Banana peels are always popular for them, as are coffee grounds. Avoid onions, too much citrus, meats, and dairy.
Separating the worm castings is kind of like a treasure hunt. We come across a lot of stuff that simply won't break down since a worm bin lacks the heat that your standard compost bins has. Items like food labels (as shown above), staples, tape, and seeds won't break down. Pick these out if you can. Although, last year we had a fantastic cantaloupe plant grow in our garden that was started from worm castings that had cantaloupe seeds in it.
Another item that won't break down is egg shells. These also seem to attract Black Soldier Fly Larvae more, which is actually not a bad thing.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) is that disgusting looking grub thing pictured above. It used to creep me out when I'd find them in the bins, but now I've learned that they are also beneficial composters. They do put off heat, which helps keep the worms happy and warm during the winter time, but you'll want to keep the population down in the summer time so that you don't cook the worms. Lots of extra bedding during summer will also help the worms and BSFL live happily together in the bins. The larvae is great to use for fishing (instead of worms), and are a yummy snack for chickens if you have them on your property.
Above is a mature Black Soldier Fly. They are rather clumsy and creepy looking, but they are suppose to help control housefly populations, so they can't be all that bad.
The end result of the worm castings (aka vermicast)and worm tea that you will produce in your bins will lead to happy plants (and a happy kid). A tablespoon of worm castings can feed a plant for up to two months. I use worm castings every time I put a new plant in the ground to get it off to a healthy start. Since worm castings don't burn your plants (like manure can), it can be used all year long in the garden. Consider adding a bin to your garden this summer and start reaping the benefits!
A couple of years ago we put together some worm bins in our back yard with my daughter and her cousins. I had followed the instructions on The Germinatrix's website, and bought two Rubbermaid bins for each worm "house", some window screen scraps, and a few containers of red wiggler worms from my local fishing store. The project was super easy for kids, and here we are a few years later still pulling tons of worm castings out of them and making worm tea. 
Here in Sacramento we're able to keep our bins outside year round in a nice shady location. My daughter loves "feeding" them our fruit and vegetable scraps and grossing out her friends with her pet worms. 
"It's the biggest brownie ever!" Sadly, no, that's just worm poop. Last weekend it was time to give them fresh new bedding and split up our single winter bin into two bins. During the winter time we don't produce enough food for them to support two bins, so I usually consolidate into one bin late Fall. For you backyard gardeners, worm composting is a much easier and faster way to produce compost than your standard compost bins.
At four years old (ahem, okay, she says "almost five"), she has a much bigger appreciation for earthworms than most adults I know do. You should see the heart ache she has when she finds a dried up one on the sidewalk. And yes, I have found several in the pockets of her laundry. But her little fingers are useful for separating them from the castings, and putting them into their fresh new digs. Although, she does sneak a few into the planter beds, especially the ones that look "pregnant" to her ("Run mommy worm! Go have your babies! Be free!").
This is what we use for bedding. Finally there is a positive use for junk mail! We shred most of the mail we receive (just not the glossy kind) to add to the bins. We also add napkins from dinner time, newspaper, egg cartons, grocery shopping bags, even pizza boxes. The bedding is added to the bins and sprayed with water to make a nice moist environment for them (but not too wet, or they will drown). In addition to bedding they get fed regularly with fruits and vegetable scraps. Banana peels are always popular for them, as are coffee grounds. Avoid onions, too much citrus, meats, and dairy. 
Separating the worm castings is kind of like a treasure hunt. We come across a lot of stuff that simply won't break down since a worm bin lacks the heat that your standard compost bins has. Items like food labels (as shown above), staples, tape, and seeds won't break down. Pick these out if you can. Although, last year we had a fantastic cantaloupe plant grow in our garden that was started from worm castings that had cantaloupe seeds in it. 
Another item that won't break down is egg shells. These also seem to attract Black Soldier Fly Larvae more, which is actually not a bad thing. 
Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) is that disgusting looking grub thing pictured above. It used to creep me out when I'd find them in the bins, but now I've learned that they are also beneficial composters. They do put off heat, which helps keep the worms happy and warm during the winter time, but you'll want to keep the population down in the summer time so that you don't cook the worms. Lots of extra bedding during summer will also help the worms and BSFL live happily together in the bins. The larvae is great to use for fishing (instead of worms), and are a yummy snack for chickens if you have them on your property. 
Above is a mature Black Soldier Fly. They are rather clumsy and creepy looking, but they are suppose to help control housefly populations, so they can't be all that bad. 
The end result of the worm castings (aka vermicast)and worm tea that you will produce in your bins will lead to happy plants (and a happy kid). A tablespoon of worm castings can feed a plant for up to two months. I use worm castings every time I put a new plant in the ground to get it off to a healthy start. Since worm castings don't burn your plants (like manure can), it can be used all year long in the garden. Consider adding a bin to your garden this summer and start reaping the benefits!
Black Soldier fly! Thank you! One flew out of the yard waste bin and freaked me out yesterday. I thought it was a mutant wasp :Z
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