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Global Worming Composting With Worms. The Metropolitan Environmental Trust Shelley Umezawa. What is Vermicomposting? . The process of using red wigglers and microorganism to convert food scraps into dark earthy smelling, nutrient humus. Why Vermicoposting ? .
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Global WormingComposting With Worms The Metropolitan Environmental Trust Shelley Umezawa
What is Vermicomposting? The process of using red wigglers and microorganism to convert food scraps into dark earthy smelling, nutrient humus.
Why Vermicoposting? • Red Wigglers can consume their own weight in organic matter each day. • Reduces household waste • Provides a year round composting activity for home and/or school. • Great option for apartment dweller. • Amazing Fertilizer – (Black Gold) • Fun
Your Worms Expect: • Moderate Temperatures • 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit • Moisture • Breathe through their skin • Ventilation • Oxygen • Darkness • To keep them focused on eating and reproducing
Feeding Your Worms • Organic Matter / Non processed food • Fruits & Vegetables, Breads & Grains, Leaves and Bedding, Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells, Tea Bags • Food to Avoid • Meats, Dairy, Oils, Salty Food, Sauces, Garlic, Tomatoes, Onions, Fruit pits,
Using Your Castings • Enrich Potting Soil • Transplanting Seedlings • Worm Tea • Fertilize Mature Shrubs and Trees • Lawn Fertilizer
Harvesting Worms • Dump and Sort • Newspaper or plastic • Light • Container for castings • Migration • Feeding on different sides of your worm bin • Divide and Dump • Remove about 2/3 of your worm bin
Reproduction • Hermaphrodites • They reach maturity in 2 to 3 months • They produce 3 or 4 Cocoons a week • Cocoons take up to 11 weeks hatch • Cocoons average 3 hatchlings each
What else lives in my bin? isopod (sowbug) fruit fly mite centipede white or pot worms mold spores springtail millipede