Babysitting my Sister’s Worms

My sister called me up and asked if I could feed her worms and take care of them. Since it’s so easy to do, I had no problem helping her out.

I’m excited to blog this because she uses the method that I used when I got started worm composting many many years ago.  I would rarely filled up my top container, so I would plant flowers on the top bin- this is where my idea for the 2 pot method began. 

I opened her box and she didn’t have anything in the top box either.  I opened the middle bin and in the calmness of the coconut coir, I could see the wigglers. The light bothers them, so they quickly began burrowing down.  

With these bins, my feeding method is “right-left”- so I move all the soil to the left and I place the food in a thin layer on the right and then I cover it. Next time I feed them, I move all the souls to the right and feed on the left.  This helps if I want to remove worm castings, they’ll be worms on the food side.

I also like freezing the food scraps before feeding them.  This insured the food will decompose quickly and ants don’t like frozen food so they avoid it.  I place food scraps in a galón size freezer bag and store it in the freezer. I add food scraps or things that are almost going bad to the bag. It takes about a week or two to fill up a bag.  If I’m leaving town or haven’t collected veggie scraps, I’ll buy zucchini’s and cut them up and place a few of them in the bin.  

Food scraps- I don’t mean left over fried chicken or anything cooked in oil.  I’m talking about that middle part of cauliflower no one eats or the ends of strawberries with the leaves, or soggy grapes.  I usually have a bowl to collect leaves, unwanted veggie nibs, or overripe fruits. I also included egg shells and banana peels.  Then I place all that stuff in my ziplock freeze bag and store it in the freeze until I fill up the bag and have time to go out there and feed them.  For more food items worms can eat, check out the resource links below.

  I cover the food well so that I don’t get fruit flies and other funky creatures.  If I had cardboard, I would have place some on there too. Super easy and it only takes a few minutes- like taking out the trash- but instead, putting food scraps in the worm bin to give you amazing worm castings.

Resources:

https://arizonawormfarm.com/

https://www.lacompost.org/

https://cleanla.lacounty.gov/2023/10/24/unlock-your-gardens-potential-with-worm-composting/

Worm Composting in Green Stalk

 

Many years ago I began my worm composting journey.  I continue modifying it to fit the needs of the environment I’m gardening in.  In my giant metal containers, I do (what I call) the double pot method: I place 2 pots, the bottom pot had the compost food and the top pot holds a plant. The worms live in the giant metal container and travel freely into the composting pot to get food. I know when to refill the container when the two pots almost touch.  Pretty easy and very low maintenance.  

Above are some photos of my double pot method.  I removed the pots to show how moist and full of worms the soil is, but they quickly burrowed down.

I wanted to try something similar with my green stalk towers, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t find pots that could easily fit in there.  I needed to try a completely different approach. After different ideas, I found this one worked for me.

So when I began to use my green stalk towers, I knew I wanted composting worms living there and I would need to find a way to feed them.  I created a small composting “bin” by buying flexible cutting boards and making holes in it.  I cut a small piece off the bottom so than it could fit snuggly in a pocket.  The holes were big enough for worms to get through yet small enough to keep food from getting into the rest of the soil.

I like to freeze my worms’ meals. This helps to decompose food faster as it thaws and ants avoid the cold temperatures.  

Once I filled the pocket with food, I cover it with coconut coir/garden soil and cover it with cardboard.  The coconut coir/soil helps to keep flys and other pests away. I also add a little sand to it- the worms don’t have teeth, so I feel the sand helps the grind the food as it passes through their stomachs.  I have no scientific finds- it’s just my opinion- and the sand also help keep the soil loose.  The card placed on top of the soil is to also help keep the soil moist and hopefully added protection against other bugs. There’s a small gap that I try and fill in with soil as well. 

I usually feed my worms once every month or so- sometimes I notice they eat more during spring and not as much in summer or winter. So I don’t have exact dates, I just keep frozen veggies and fruits in bags until I see they need it.

I place a greenhouse lid on it to protect it against birds or other pests that might want to dig in it. And that’s it- it’s as easy as talking out the trash (but in this cast it’s fruit/veggie scraps into a pocket bin).