Vermacompost (Worm farm)

I've been gardening for a few years now and up to this year I've gotten quite a bit of produce to bring in. The one thing that disturbs me, however, is the level of flavor in everything.   It's sorely lacking.  I'm proud to have an organic garden, but at the same time, I wonder why is it veggies from the store seem to have a better taste.  I've always heard if you grow your own they will taste better.  Not so in my case.  I'm narrowing down the culprit to the soil.  Adding in bags of organic composted manure does help.  But what could make it even better?

Well, one day I'm sitting, feet up, watching a show on television and I hear of a man with the same problem. The solution?  Worms!  What goes in one end of the worm, comes out the other as castings and your soil ends up with 5-11 times more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  You know what that means?  Fabulous tasting veggies and herbs!  So I started doing some research and while I could simply buy some worms and throw them in my garden, I've decided to go beyond that.  I could just picture buying some, throwing them in and coming back a week later only to realize they have all scampered off.  So I'm starting a worm farm. 

I just needed a little preparation before getting the worms.  I live right near a farm, so I was able to collect some cow manure.  Worms need some type of bedding, or a first layer in your bin.  But cow manure needs to sit at least a year.  You can't go straight from cow to worm since there is a lot of heat coming from manure when it's composting.  I had already left mine out in the sun to use in the garden, so I didn't have to wait for it to mature.  When I was ready, I got out my bin.  I'm using a tall plastic trash can.  At the bottom, I put the pile of manure.  The next layer was paper from the shredder, you could also use leaves.  The paper gives the worms a place to go wiggle around in and it holds the moisture.  Then came the worms. So I went to the sporting good section of my local department store.  I had the choice of red wigglers (which I bought) or Canadian earthworms.  I figured I would start with one type and try the other at a later date.  So the next layer in my bin was the red wigglers mixed in with about six inches of dirt.  On top of them I placed veggie and fruit scraps from the kitchen.  The worms are usually in shock for the first 3 days of being moved, so I kept their food limited.  They can eat their weight in food each day which is something to keep in mind.  But the options for their meals are almost endless.  The only things that I do not give them is meat, garlic, onions or pineapple.  The pineapple has an enzyme in it that can kill your little friends. The same is true of the garlic and onions.

I started out with two boxes of worms for a total of 60.  Within one to three months that amount should double.  What I plan to do is use the castings for planting new plants in my garden, while allowing my little friends to keep multiplying.  By spring of next year I can start adding some of the worms to the garden and retaining the rest as my own compost bin.  These little guys have about five to six months of work before I'm ready for a fabulous garden.

It's been a couple of weeks since I put my bin together.  I add food everyday and make certain their soil has moisture to it.  The worms like a nice dark spot to live, so I put a cover on them which can block out the light but not cut off their air supply.  I think they are happy in their new home.  When I purchased them, they were skinny little guys, now they are nice and plump and properly breaking down my kitchen scraps for me each day.  I love the cycle this creates.  I make meals and give them my peelings, they break them down and give me nutritious castings to add to my soil, the soil gives me delicious veggies which I cook.  What a great relationship we are going to have if we all take care of each other!