Vericomposting is fun, but it's also good for our planet. Find out why!

  • Worms can turn our old food into plant food.
  • Worms are good for the Earth.
  • Worms are good for fishing!

Fun Worm Facts!

  • Redworms may live up to 4.5 years in the Worm Wigwam (compared to 1 year in the wild), and will grow to a length of up to 3 inches.
  • Redworms can live in a wide range of temperatures. They're happiest from 55-70 degrees, but can handle 45-80 degrees.
  • Redworms are hermaphrodites -- they have both male and female sexual organs -- and reproduce quickly in confinement. Their population may double or triple in 1 year.

How to Vericompost

  • Make a dark house for the worms to live in. A wooden or plastic bin or other non-metal container. A bin 1.5 ft. H x 2 ft. D x 3 ft W is a good size for a household. Make drain holes near the bottom.
  • Fill the bin with moist bedding. Bedding can be paper or newspaper shredded, leaves, straw, peat moss or sawdust. Make sure the bedding is kept very moist like a sponge. Change the bedding once or twice a year.

Feed the worms: Fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds, bread, leaves

Do NOT feed them: milk, oil, eggs, meat, fat, dog or cat feces.

Dig a hole in the bedding, dump the food in and cover it up with bedding. Pick a new spot each time you add food.

Keep them damp and warm. Add water if the bedding feels dry, but make sure the excess water can drain away. Cover the bin with plastic or a tarp during freezing weather.

Books about Worms

How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell (illustrated by Emily McCully) is a great book about a silly bet between two young friends. Billy's pal dares him to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. Can he do it? Billy learns a lot about peer pressure, friendship, and of course--worms! Ages 7-10.

 

 

 

There's a Hair in my Dirt: A Worm's Story, by Gary Larson - the tale of an earthworm who decides it is tired of being a worm. It begins beneath the forest floor. where a young earthworm discovers a hair in his dirt and starts complaining about his life. For all ages, from children through grownups.

 

 

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