As winter sets in, you might think gardening slows down, but composting can continue right in your home! Vermicomposting is a fun, eco-friendly indoor activity that helps you turn kitchen scraps into nutrient-packed worm castings, even in the colder months. It’s an excellent way to recycle food waste and promote sustainability. If you haven’t tried vermicomposting yet, there’s no better time to start. Here’s how to get going!
This is a tiered vermicomposter
What Is Vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting involves using worms to convert kitchen scraps into a rich compost known as worm castings. These castings are full of nutrients and beneficial microbes, making them a superb organic fertilizer for your garden. By feeding your worms food scraps, you not only cut down on waste but also create valuable compost for the coming spring.
The Benefits of Winter Vermicomposting
Eco-Friendly: Instead of tossing food scraps, you can reduce waste and create beneficial compost for your garden.
Natural Fertilizer: By spring, you’ll have a good supply of worm castings ready to enrich your plants.
Fun Indoor Activity: Vermicomposting is an engaging and educational experience for families, especially when outdoor gardening isn't an option during winter.
How To Start Your Worm Bin
Not all worms are suitable for composting! Here’s a quick guide to help you pick the right ones and avoid issues:
A box or bin to hold your worms and food scraps
A lid for your bin or black plastic to cover the bin
Cardboard, newsprint or shredded paper for compost bedding
Soil
Water
An extra bin or garbage can for mixing fresh bedding
Worms
Where to Keep Your Indoor Worms
Vermicomposting is ideal for indoor settings, especially during winter. Here are some tips for choosing a location for your worm bin:
Choose a Warm Spot: Place your worm bin in a warm, dark area like the basement, laundry room, or under the kitchen sink. Ensure it’s out of direct sunlight and away from drafts.
Avoid Temperature Extremes: To keep the worms comfortable, don't position the bin near heating vents or in unheated areas that may freeze.
Choosing the Right Worms for Composting
Not all worms are suitable for composting! Here’s a quick guide to help you pick the right ones and avoid issues:
Good Choices: The best option is purchasing red wigglers (Eisenia fetida), which thrive on decaying organic material and adapt well to indoor environments. European nightcrawlers are another viable option, though they’re a bit slower in breaking down compost.
Worms to Avoid: Stay clear of garden worms such as night crawlers, as they aren’t suited for indoor composting and won’t efficiently process food scraps. Also, be cautious of pests like fruit flies and mites that may invade your bin.
Where to Purchase: There are many companies that are happy to ship your worms to you. You can also checkout Facebook to find local options
How Many Worms Do You Need: Worms process up to half their body weight in waste per day. The number of worms you need to produce castings will depend on the amount of food scraps you and your family produce and size of your bin.
Caring for Your Indoor Composting Worms
Your worms are essential to the composting process, and keeping them healthy will ensure they stay productive throughout the winter. The most commonly used worms for this are red wigglers (Eisenia fetida), which thrive in bin environments and excel at breaking down organic matter.
Feed Sparingly: Offer small amounts of food scraps like fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and eggshells several times a week. Cutting food into smaller pieces helps the worms break it down quicker.
Maintain Moisture: Worms prefer a damp environment, but it should not be too wet. Bedding material—such as shredded newspaper, cardboard, or coconut coir—should feel like a damp sponge. If it becomes too dry, you can lightly mist it with water.
Watch the Temperature: Indoor worms enjoy temperatures between 55°F and 77°F. Keep the bin away from extreme heat or cold, as these can be harmful.
Turning Kitchen Waste into Worm Castings
Throughout the fall and winter, your worms will be busy transforming food scraps into nutrient-rich castings. To support this process:
Feeding Guidelines: Ideal scraps for your worms include vegetable and fruit peels, coffee grounds, and crushed eggshells. Avoid citrus, meat, dairy, and greasy foods to keep the bin balanced.
Harvesting Castings: After a few months, you’ll notice dark, crumbly compost in your bin, ready for harvesting. To collect the castings, move food scraps and worms to one side of the bin, allowing the other side to fill with finished compost. After a couple of weeks, you can easily gather the castings.
The Benefits of Winter Vermicomposting
Eco-Friendly: Instead of tossing food scraps, you can reduce waste and create beneficial compost for your garden.
Natural Fertilizer: By spring, you’ll have a good supply of worm castings ready to enrich your plants.
Fun Indoor Activity: Vermicomposting is an engaging and educational experience for families, especially when outdoor gardening isn't an option during winter.
When to Harvest Your Compost
Patience Pays Off: The average composting time is two to six months. This depends on the size of your worm bin and how often you tend to it. The more frequently you turn it, the faster you will speed things up!
What To Look For: There are three signs that let you know it’s time to harvest your compost. First, the color of the compost should be a rich, dark brown color. Second, the texture of the compost should be crumbly and soil-like, not sticky or clumpy and third, your compost should have a pleasant, earthy aroma. If it smells like food, it needs more time.
Harvesting Castings: Stop adding new food scraps to your bind a few weeks before you plan to harvest so the composting has a chance to finish up. Separate the worms from the compost by placing them on a piece of plastic or a tarp or put them in a fresh bin.
Vermicomposting is an effective way to recycle your kitchen waste, even in the depth of winter. Getting started is easy, and with proper care, your worms will produce valuable compost that your garden will appreciate come spring. It’s an enjoyable and sustainable hobby that helps you stay connected to nature throughout the year. At Be Green Pro, we’re passionate about helping you explore sustainable practices like vermicomposting that benefit your home and the environment.
