Your Worm. Hotel Guide

Transcription

1 Your Worm Hotel Guide Includes: Vermicomposting 101, How to Build Your Worm Hotel, Sharing Your Project with Others, and more! A partnership between The All Things Food SDG Community Food Network, Healthy Eating for Better Learning & TD Friends of the Environment Foundation

2 Table of Contents 1. Vermicomposting 101 and The Benefits of Worm Hotels 2. Required Materials and Tools to Build A Hotel 3. How to Build Your Worm Hotel 4. Setting Up and Maintaining Your Hotel 5. Sharing Your Project with Others 6. Appendix A a. Worm Hotel Blueprints Page 1 of 11

3 1. Vermicomposting 101 and The Benefits of Worm Hotels What Is Vermicomposting? Vermicomposting is the process through which worms consume organic waste and turn it into compost. Worms and micro-organisms work together to convert food scraps into black, nutrient-rich humus. This rich compost can be used for house or garden plants. What Is A Worm Hotel? A worm hotel is a structure that consists of several stackable trays made from wood. The worms live in the trays and simple wriggle their way up from the lowest tray into the one above, where they can smell the fruit, vegetable and other scraps. Diagram of the Worm Farm in operation Source: Wood Worm Farms What Kinds of Worms Can I Use? Red wiggler worms are ideal to use as they are hardy, process organic waste quickly and reproduce rapidly. As worm populations increase, they can be divided to create new vermicomposters! An important note: Because red wiggler worms are not native to this area, they should not be released into gardens. Page 2 of 11

4 What Types of Waste Can I Put in My Worm Hotel? What goes in Fruit & vegetable waste Grains Newsprint paper Unbleached brown paper, shredded cardboard Egg shells Plant material Coffee filters, tea bags What stays out X Non-biodegradable materials X Meat and dairy X Refined sugars X Glossy, coloured paper X Toxic chemicals X Fats and oils X Salt How and When Can I Harvest the Compost? Simply remove the castings from the lowest tray in your hotel and empty them into a container. Spread the castings on your garden, or use the castings for potted plants. What Are The Benefits of Worm Hotels (Vermicomposting)? Easy & inexpensive to start No unpleasant odours Can be used indoor year-round The resulting vermicompost (or worm castings) is rich in nutrients. It improves soil conditions and enhances growth and yields. Organic waste is added back to the soil and diverted from the garbage Promote sustainable communities Page 3 of 11

5 2. Required Materials & Tools to Build A Hotel Note: Wood Worm Farms ( also sells pre-made hotels starting from $ shipping and handling. List of Materials Wood (e.g. pine, spruce, cedar) - 58 inches of 2 x inches of 4 x 1 98 Brad nails, 20 screws for a 2-box Worm Hotel Top piece: 18 Brad nails Box: 32 Brad nails Box handle: 2 screws Bottom piece: 16 Brad nails Feet: 16 screws Carpenter s glue 1-2 Paint trays (1 for underneath hotel & 1 for varnish) Paint brush Small can of eco-friendly varnish 2 screens (each 15x11 inches, can use hardware cloth screen or old window screens) Sunflower oil (for inside hotel) ¼ lb Red Wiggler Worms Sponsorship sticker Recommendations on Where to Purchase Your local lumber store Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Home Hardware, BMR, Home Depot Your local grocery store Wood Worm Farms (woodwormfarms.com): $15.00, ¼ lb Cathy s Composters (cathyscomposters.com) $25.00, ½ lb All Things Food will provide this to you. List of Tools Tape measure Skill saw or rip hand saw Hammer Stapler Screwdriver Drill Page 4 of 11

6 3. How to Build Your Worm Hotel Blueprints for the hotel can be found in Appendix A. 1. Step 1: Build boxes (2 or 3 depending on how large you would like your hotel to be). Cut and assemble box pieces. Glue and brad nail corners. Dado cut corners. Apply glue to corners and clamp; brad nail box corners together. 2. Step 2: Build leg & base piece. Designate base box, cut 4 pieces cut on angles. Affix legs to sides of base box by drilling countersunk holes for screws. Use screws (counter sink screws and place plugs). 3. Step 3: Build top piece. Cut largest sections first. Cut center rail. Cut end pieces which should be bullnosed to avoid sharp edges. Assemble top by gluing all joints before removing clamps. Assemble the 2 1x1 supports to the underside of the lid by gluing and brad nailing in place. The lid should fit the box snug but not tight. 4. Step 4: Cut 2 pieces for the handles. Affix these opposite sides of the box which are also used as guides for the lid. Install these with wood screws (2 screws per handle). 5. Step 5: Add screens. - Cut screens to the dimensions of the boxes. - Affix screens to the top of the boxes with staples. 6. Step 6: Varnish and oil inside of hotel. Finish hotel with an eco-friendly varnish & sunflower oil. Page 5 of 11

7 4. Setting Up and Maintaining Your Hotel After the construction of your worm hotel, follow the steps below to create the optimum home for your worms. 1. Place Drip Tray (Paint Tray) underneath Hotel The drip tray will prevent any water from dripping on the floor. 2. Add Bedding to Holey Tray Bedding for your worms is important because it provides an environment for worms to burrow and bury waste. Bedding will be consumed by the worms and should be non-toxic, dry and fibrous, light and fluffy, odourless, readily available, and inexpensive. Suggestions for bedding include: Shredded newspaper Brown paper bags Brown paper hand towels Dried leaves Wood chips Straw *Coloured ink is not recommended. Gather 2 lbs of bedding, and dampen with 1L (4.5 cups) of water. Ensure to fluff the bedding so that there is adequate ventilation. 3. Add Your Worms! Add ¼ lbs of worms on top of the bedding, and leave the tray out of the hotel for several hours so that the worms will burrow into the bedding. 4. Add Food Scraps (Organic Matter) Bury food scraps into the bedding. Allow the worms a few days to become comfortable before adding more organic material. Adding egg shells is recommended; the calcium carbonate found in egg shells decreases acidity, and provides calcium and grit for the worms. 5. Add New Trays When holey tray #1 is full of worms and worm castings, remove the cover and place holey tray #2 on top. Put food scraps, new (moist) bedding, and some old compost Page 6 of 11

8 in tray #2. In 2-3 weeks, the worms from tray #1 will have moved up into the fresh food in tray #2. If you have more trays, repeat the same operation with each one in its time. If it's your last tray, empty castings from the lowest tray into a ready compost container and use an empty tray on the top end of cycle. 6. Maintaining Your Hotel Feed worms food scraps 1-2 times per week. Bedding should be added to the hotel every 2-3 months. Add egg shells or calcium carbonate once a week. Below is a summary of the optimum environment for your worms: The Optimum Environment for Your Worms Temperature: 15 to 25 C Moisture content: 70-90% Ideal ph: 5-9 Adequate ventilation: Worms use O 2 and produce C0 2 Small amount of soil for grit and micro-organisms Small amount of calcium carbonate (found in egg shells) Minimal noise and light Troubleshooting Problem Fruit flies Odours Worms crawling up inside bin How to Solve Ensure waste is buried fruit flies need exposed food to lay eggs. Try laying a damp newspaper over the habitat for a few days. The compost may be too wet; add less food and moisture and allow it to dry. Incorporate more oxygen into the system by rotating the bedding often. Make sure meat or dairy has not been added. Rotate the system more often. Do not add waste for a period of time. The conditions are not suitable for the worms. Ensure darkness. The bedding may be too dry; add food or water. Ventilate by rotating the compost. Add egg shells or a small amount of sodium bicarbonate. Page 7 of 11

9 5. Sharing Your Project with Others One worm can produce over 100 offspring in six months! Consider splitting your worms and sharing them with a neighboring school, hospital, church or community organization. Page 8 of 11

10 Appendix A Worm Hotel Blueprints All measurements are in inches. Page 9 of 11

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