A "how-to" for worm composting at home or in the classroom. It's easy and fun!

1. Worm Composting
Ms. Amy Donovan
Program Director
Franklin County Solid Waste Management District

2. Compost
Fruits
and vegetables
turn into
soil.

3. Compost is GREAT for plants.
Compost = “Garden Gold”
• adds nutrients and minerals
to soil
• replaces chemical fertilizers
• reduces watering
• improves soil structure

4. Composting saves space in
the landfill (dump.)
Northampton landfill
June 2009

5. Composting helps slow
Climate Change
Climate Change is caused by greenhouse gases
in our atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases:
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide

6. The Climate Change
Connection
When food waste (and paper) decay in a landfill, methane is
released.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than
carbon dioxide.
Methane pipe at
a landfill

7. Why doesn’t composting release methane?
Because oxygen is part of the composting
process. There is no oxygen in a landfill.
Window turner at Martin’s Compost Farm,
Greenfield MA, adds oxygen to pile by
turning with a windrow turner.

8. 3 “sizes” of composting:
• Small: An indoor
worm bin uses red
wiggler worms to
compost food waste
(vermicomposting)
• Raw vegs, fruits only
• Medium: Backyard /
on-site composting
• Veggies, fruit, bread
• Yard waste, leaves
• No meat, bones,
dairy, oils

9. Large: Commercial Composting at a compost farm accepts:
All food: meat, bones, dairy, fats, oils, bread, vegs, fruit
Paper: napkins, straw wrappers, paper plates, cups, fiber lunch trays
(sometimes: milk cartons, other paper, cardboard)
Compostable plastic, wood
No: plastic, metal glass
Windrows at
Bear Path Farm,
Whately, MA

10. Why WORMS?
Worms eat leftover food from
the kitchen.

11. Red Worms
________________________________
NOT:
Earthworm/ Nightcrawler
Earthmovers:
live in soil, and eat soil
Redworms
Composters: live in leaves, and eat leaves

12. Worm Bin
• Holes in the sides and lid for air
• Holes in the bottom for drainage
• Temp. between 55 and 77 F
• Keep it indoors
• Keep in a visible place
Hey! Don’t
forget about us
worms!
Hey! Don’t
forget about us
worms!

13. A worm’s bed: newspaper
• Keep the bedding moist as damp sponge: spray water
every 2-3 days
• Fluff up/ stir gently, add more bedding every 4-6
weeks
• Use Greenfield Recorder, Hampshire Gazette, or black
and white newspaper (soy-based inks)

14. Worm sandwich!
Make layers:
1. Shredded newspaper
2. Food and WORMS
3. Shredded newspaper
• When feeding, peel
back top layer of
newspaper and place
food in middle layer.
• Always cover food
waste with bedding.

15. Worms eat:
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Coffee grounds, filters (< 1x/ week)
• Tea bags
• Eggshells
• Corn meal/clean sand
Try not to feed:
• Tomatoes, onions (acidic)
• Banana (fruit flies) and orange peels (acidic)
• Bread, crackers, etc. (can get moldy)

16. Do not feed worms:
• Meat
• Fish, chicken
• Cheese, yogurt, butter
• Salad dressing
• Pet wastes or pet bedding
• PINEAPPLE!

17. Eggshells:
• Gives worms “teeth” to chew food
• A MUST: Provides necessary calcium for
worm reproduction
• Rinse with hot water and air dry: brittle
• Crush, leave some whole

18. Feed worms
• Don’t overfeed! Start with small amounts
• Cut hard foods up small
• Sprinkle eggshells, corn meal, or sand on top
of food
• Feed small amount 2-3x /wk
• Rotate feeding spots
Use a numbered grid, or mark
last feeding spot with plastic
spoon or pencil.

19. Worm cocoons (eggs)
• Small, shiny, sometimes translucent
• Color: yellow, worm-colored (red), to black
• 2-4 worms in each egg
• Cocoons hatch after 14-21 days.
• In 60-90 days, the young worms are mature.

20. After 3-6 months:
Get the compost out.
Compost must be
removed 2-3 x/ year.
1. Stop feeding for 1-2
weeks.
2. Push finished compost
to one side.
3. Put fresh food and
bedding only in empty
side; worms will move
to food and bedding.
4. After 2 weeks, remove
finished castings.

21. Remove worms from compost.
If you still have worms in the
finished compost, here’s
how to sort them out:
1. Under a bright light, make
cones with finished compost
(about 6” high.)
2. Worms will move to bottom.
3. Remove top of each cone,
reform cone, continue.
4. As you get to the bottom of
each cone, you will have to
separate worms.
5. You’ll have some old castings
in new bin w/ worms.

22. Plants love worm compost!
Pictured, L-R:
carrot grown in average soil,
carrot grown with compost,
carrot grown with worm compost.
Finished worm compost,
or “Earthworm Castings”=
A valuable product!

23. Questions? Need more info?
See THE worm bible:
Worms Eat Our Garbage, by Mary Appelhoff,
available on Amazon, or check local libraries.
This educational presentation by:
Amy Donovan
FC Solid Waste District
(413) 772-2438
amy@franklincountywastedistrict.org
www.franklincountywastedistrict.org