Urban Worm Composting: In Simple Terms

Sustainability has been a very large topic as of late. This may be due to the turmoil of the past few years, our dwindling natural resources, a growing social awareness or a number of other reasons.

Regardless of the reason it is good that people want to play a larger role in protecting this planet, by making their own compost, growing their own food/spices and recycling this planets resources. What can you do to help? The answer is simple: Urban Worm Composting.

Food Waste

40% of the worlds food is wasted. Roughly 150 million tons of it ending it’s life in a landfill where it decomposes creating methane which negatively impacts the planets climate. This mind blowing figure is just the United States! Not only is the food wasted, but the effort that went into growing it/raising it is as well. On top of that the water that was used to sustain it’s life also goes down a drain of permanence. This is not only wasteful but assures that it cannot be properly reabsorbed by the planet.

These figures may not seem substantial to some, but even if they didn’t increase year after year over a decade the waste would be staggering. Almost 2 billon tons of food putrefying while many in the world remain hungry.

What Can be Done?

You came to the right place. Urban worm composting is an easy way to play your in part in prevent that excess food time and resources from going into the landfill. You do this from anywhere especially the city and the best part is you don’t even have to leave your house but we will get more into that later.

What is Urban Worm Composting In Simple Terms

This is the act of turning organic waste into plant fertilizer using worms as the catalyst/main star of the show. This compost can be used as an addition to soil for fantastic plant growth. The best part about this is it can be done in practically any urban environment. You don’t need a farm or backyard to get it done. I know you may be wondering, but where will I get worms? I live in the city and concrete is everywhere. That isn’t a concern either as long as you have a mailing address you can easily start urban worm composting.

What Supplies and Where to Find Them

Absolutely everything can be sent to your house, so you don’t have to worry about going on an expedition to search for worms or anything like that.

You will need a few things

1. Worms: Red Wrigglers are best but I personally like Night Crawlers Night Crawlers although they are typically seen as less effective
2. A plastic bin with lid or 2 depending on how you want to set up (I like Rubbermaid Rugged Tote, the ones Im using actually fell from 25 feet (top of my roof and have been outside for 5 years and albeit they have sustained damage still function well enough)
3. A way to make holes you can use a drill, a soldering iron, a large nail and hammer, the choice is yours (I like this kit if you don’t have a drill and won’t need it for much as it comes with all the essentials and is low price with a warranty).
4. Organic matter: Typically in the form of food scraps or things that went bad (clean out those fridges and freezers.
5. Mulch if you have access or cardboard/paper scraps. (Read: How to Shred cardboard for compost)

How to Set Up

After either ordering your items or going to pick them the process is simple.

1. Drill holes into the bottom of 1 of the bins at the lowest point, the hole size is up to you but 3/8″ is perfect for me. These holes are to allow moisture to escape so the compost doesn’t get too wet
2. Drill holes around the top edge. This is to allow proper air flow and ventilation for efficient and quick decomposition.
3. Add a layer of mulch, shredded cardboard or both to the bottom of the bin. Depending on the bin size I would say about 6-10 inches but 1/3 of the bin is a good rule of thumb.
4. Add your food waste (scraps, expired foods etc) You will want to treat the bin as a Vegan, NO dairy, meat, bones or anything else a vegan wouldn’t it. These things can be composted but not for this type of set up and not quickly so avoid it. Also be weary of a lot of citrus unless you add wood ash to neutralize it like I do.
5. Add the star of the show, the worms. Follow whatever instructions come with the ones you purchased but you will typically just be able to toss them in.                               
6. Once this is accomplished you put a few holes in the top. I start with about 10 and will add more depending on if things get too humid/moist inside of the bin.                   
7. Place this tote on top of the 2nd one you purchased. This will allow escaping moisture from the 1st bin to be caught so you don’t make a mess at your place.                           

The Details

Now that basics are out of the way the finer details need to be discussed. You don’t want to overfeed your worms. One to two pounds of them is good for a bin this size. That’s roughly 1000 to 2000 red wrigglers or 600 to 1200 night crawlers. Be sure to check to make sure they are actively breaking down the organic matter before adding more.

You want to keep the bins contents damp but not wet. Similar to a sponge after being squeezed. You also want to maintain temperatures between 50 and 80 if possible although 70 is where they thrive. Make sure the bin says out of direct sunlight or direct cool air from an a/c or similar system. The worms will heat themselves eating for the most part.

When you want to acquire some of the finished product to use take a handful of it out and spread it thinly into a container, Use more to make a mound in the middle of the container. Place on a power lamp and the worms will gravitate towards the dark mound in the middle as they dislike overwhelming heat and light. Once they take refuge in the center mound take the surrounding areas and collect the compost you need. Rinse and repeat this method whenever you need more

Troubleshooting

1. Mold forming in bin-add wood ash or ag lime
2. Rotten Scent- stop feeding the worms add more cardboard or mulch on top of the food scraps or add more worms
3. Bin Dry- Spray with water lightly mix contents
4. Strong fly presence- Stop feeding, add more cardboard or mulch and mix contents daily. May need to add screen around holes to prevent further incursions
5. Worms dying- This depends but you will either have to move bin to a cooler area or warmer area and or spray with water if the bin is dry or add cardboard and or mulch to the bin if it is too wet.
6. Drain the bottom bin anytime it gets too wet.

If you have any questions or plan on using this method comment below and let me know what you think.