Creative Composting:
The Vitality of Worm Farms
A
fter the first spring rain, earth- worms can be found everywhere, in gardens, lawns and flowerbeds.
While many gardening enthusiasts are starting their own compost bins to help organically sustain their piece of the environment, others are unaware of the vital role earthworms play in organic composting, and how beneficial their by-products can be. Many of the soil enrichment prod-
ucts sold in the grocery and garden stores contain fillers, and provide little nourishment to plants. In addition, some contain high levels of chemicals that can contaminate surface and ground water sources. Worm castings are completely natural and contain powerful nutrients that enrich the soil. Worm castings contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus and eleven times more potassium than ordinary soil. In addition, they contain a high level of beneficial bacteria and microbes. Instead of being squeamish about earthworms, take a closer look - earthworms are vital in recycling and composting organic materials.
recycling starts in Your own Backyard
Composting worms live near the surface and thrive in a nutrient-rich environment where they create vertical burrows throughout and just below the topsoil. The Red Worm (Tiger Worm) is a species of the earthworm that has adapted to conditions of organic and decaying material. The Red Worm flour- ishes in rotting vegetation, compost and manure. Another common composting worm is the African Nightcrawler (Super Red Worm), which improves the soil by increasing the amount of air and water that gets into the earth. Using worms to compost food waste
is a great way to enhance the richness of decaying material. Anyone can begin their own worm composting in their back yard. Creating a worm farm can teach children a variety of important les-
22 NA Triangle
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sons about worms, soils, composting, organic or natural foods and sus- taining the community. Ben Reckendorf,
owner of Carolina Worm Castings, explains, “Recycling food waste can start at home, and a growing number of people are starting worm bins to keep food waste out of landfills. Castings are a by-product from the worms and can be used to enrich the soil. This can eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers and prevent the contamination of runoff so we do not add to the pollu- tion of our water supply.”
Branching out: using worms to sustain the Local Community
While creating a worm composting
bin for your own home is a wonder- ful starting point, worm farms can also be used on a larger scale in the local community. Piedmont Biofuels is now manufacturing worm digesters, and plans to expand the scale of composting to include grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and other local businesses in the area. Instead of paying to remove waste by trucks, a business could poten- tially use worm composting on a larger scale, and the castings could enrich the soil in the local community, or be used in other ways. In 2007, Piedmont Biofuels was commissioned by the North Caro- lina General Assembly to build a flow through worm digester for their cafeteria. They built a 32 square foot worm bin, and now recycle almost all of their caf- eteria food waste. In addition, they were asked to build an affordable recycling bin for a local coffee shop. Piedmont Biofuels designed a 16 square foot worm bin perfect for any local shop or busi- ness. These 16 square foot recycling bins contain 16 to 32 pounds of red worms.
by Megan Cutter
At full capacity, these bins can produce 240 pounds of casting a month, which then go back into the soil of our local farms and gardens. There are many exciting upcoming
projects from Piedmont Biofuels, and if you’d like to bring worm recycling to your business or organization, they do sell worm recycling bins and assist in getting worm recycling projects started. Using worm composting on a larger scale supports the local community by keeping recycling local, supporting other local businesses, and providing rich nutrients for local farms and gardens.
Become Part of the worm movement
Got the wiggles about worms?
Become part of the worm movement. Start by creating your own worm farm, and use the castings to nourish the soil in your flowerbed or vegetable garden. Worms might feel slimy or slippery, but children are fascinated by worms, so start early and visit a worm farm to learn all of the fascinating facts about using worms in your recycling efforts. Look- ing to make a larger impact? Volunteer with a local worm casting farm such as Carolina Worm Castings or Piedmont Biofuels to help make an even larger impact toward sustaining the local com- munity. Reckendorf adds, “While it will take
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