Harvesting Your Worm Compost

After you have been feeding your worms for three to six months you may notice the bedding has been eaten. You can begin harvesting the compost, which will look like rich, dark soil. Harvest the compost and add fresh bedding at least twice a year to help keep your worm healthy. Here are two simple methods for collecting your finished worm compost.

Lay a large sheet of heavy plastic on the ground. Dump the entire contents of the worm bin on the plastic. Mae about nine cone-shaped piles. If the light is bright enough, they quickly move away from it towards the center of each pile. Leave the piles alone for 5 to 10 minutes, then gently remove the outer surface of each pile. Eventually the worms will have aggregated in a mass at the bottom of each pile.

Have fresh bedding ready, then add the worms to the top of the bin as you did originally and you are ready for another cycle.

Another method of harvesting is to let the worms do the sorting. Prepare enough bedding to fill one half of your bin. Pull all of the old compost in your bin over to one side, and add the new bedding on the other side. Bury your scraps in the new bedding and let the worms find their way to it. It is helpful to replace the plastic sheet only on the side with the fresh bedding to permit the other side to dry out more rapidly. The old compost will have some worms in it, but enough should have migrated to the new bedding so that you needn't worry about harvesting the few that remain.

Using Your Worm Compost

Worm compost is rich in phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients and minerals. It is a wonderful fertilizer for any house or garden plant. For potted plants, add a thin layer to the top of the potting soil. Each time you water, some of the nutrients will be washed into the soil. You can also add the compost directly into your soil mix when repotting. In the garden, simply work ;it into the ground around the base of each plant. The compost is as organic as the material you've put into it, and very mild, so there's no need to worry about accidental burning or over-fertilizing.

Return to Home Page