Homemade Fertilizer

Not every person is happy to say, "I've got worms."  Gardeners, on the other hand, will shout it joyously to every corner of the universe if you'd let them.  And why shouldn't we?  Worms do so many things for us, for our plants, and for the soil.

Worms are Nature's fast-track garbage disposals, daily ingesting their body weight in plant waste and depositing the waste (politely called casts or castings) in a form that plants can use.  Unlike the wastes of many other animals, worm castings are actually more nutritious coming out than they were going in.  Excellent fertilizer, in other words.  Cultivated worm waste, also called vermicompost, can contain 8 times more nitrogen than compost alone.

Feeling squeamish?  That's a perfectly normal reaction, but there's really nothing to worry about.  Worms' digestive tracts contain no bacteria, so we don't have to worry about nasty things like salmonella or E. coli in worm castings.  Worms are vegans, consuming absolutely no animal products or oils of any kind, so there are no smelly by-products released during their waste production...meaning that you can keep them in your garage or basement, and they'll happily make all the fertilizer you could ever need.

Really, it's easy.  All you need is a 10 gallon tote with a small hole drilled in the side, some moistened shredded paper, a bowl of chopped (meatless) kitchen scraps, and a handful of red worms.

The variety of worms is very important.  Red worms, also known as red wrigglers, are the best species of worm to start making vermicompost.  In the wild, they occupy the top 6 inches of soil, ingesting organic matter and leaving their castings behind them.  Most of the worms you see on the sidewalk after a big rain are actually nightcrawlers, not red worms.  The difference between them and red worms is that nightcrawlers are HUGE.  They require more space than red worms, often digging up to 6 feet beneath the soil surface!  So obviously not a good choice for a 10 gallon tote, or even a 30 gallon one.  Red worms can be purchased from bait shops, the internet, or donated from a friend who also has a worm bin.


It doesn't take much to get a worm bin going.  Just moisten the shredded paper to very-wrung-out sponge level, put the worms in, and give them a bowl of kitchen scraps.  If you're just starting out, a bit of sand or garden soil would also be helpful; worms don't have teeth, and need to ingest small rocks to help the food move through their digestive tract.  They'll eat just about anything; just be careful about hot peppers, onions, potato skins, garlic, and high-citrus fruits like tomatoes.  They don't like those too much, and you'll eventually have to pick them out later.  But anything else is fair game:  celery, carrot, apple, banana, bell pepper, moldy bread, zucchini, eggplant, cooked pasta or rice, lettuce, cabbage, spinach...the list goes on forever.


Worms like places that are moist and dark, so I like to bury the food in a corner, kind of sandwiched in on top of some paper, and then bury it under a layer of newspaper to discourage fruit flies.  You'll have to add more shredded newspaper eventually, but don't stress about it.  Just add more as you need it.  I use my shredded bills and credit card offers for their bedding.  By the time our shredder is full again, it's just about time to give the worms fresh bedding.


Then, you wait.  I usually don't feed my worms more than twice a month.  They don't need much attention, really.  Just keep them in a place where the temperature is between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and they're happy.  And they reproduce like crazy, doubling their population every six weeks; so even though the start-up is slow, they'll soon eat you out of house and home!

The best way to use the vermicompost once it's done is in a compost tea.  Tea is created when you dissolve the castings in water for about 24 hours, then strain it to remove any debris.  I like to use vermicompost tea in a 1:6 solution to prevent fertilizer burn on my plants.  And the plants love it!  Truly, my home-made vermicompost puts Miracle-Gro to shame...and it's free, which is another added bonus.