Helpful Composting Tips
- Kitchen food waste has a high moisture content. To prevent sour slimy conditions developing, creating odours and attracting flies, add food regularly rather than in large quantities. Also food in excess will sour and putrefy before the worms can deal with it.
- Chopping or mincing food scraps before feeding speeds up the composting process. Inclusion of crushed egg shells normally provides sufficient calcium which stimulates earthworm reproduction and activity. In addition, however, as worms and other compost organisms don't like an acid environment, a monthly light sprinkling of dolomite or garden lime is desirable to ensure a good environment for the worms.
- Acidic conditions are often indicated by an increase in the numbers of Potworms or nematode worms, tiny white worms which are usually present in small numbers. The addition of a little dolomite or lime will correct this.
- Worms need to be kept moist but not soggy. If they dry out they will die, or if it's too wet they will drown.
- Fruit and house flies can be troublesome if added food isn't buried in the bedding.
- If odours are produced, this is usually because the unit has been overfed, allowed to become too moist or the bedding has become packed, limiting air flow. Odours generally result from anaerobic (lack of free oxygen) conditions, so it is important to correct not only for odour reasons but also because the conditions may well be toxic to the worms which need oxygen to live.
- As worm composting doesn't generate heat, any seeds included with the food may still germinate, eg; tomatoes, pumpkins.
- Finished worm compost is nutrient rich and as such is an excellent material for topdressing container plants and as an ingredient in potting mixes. It can also be used in the garden to condition the soil every time you plant (a handful mixed into the soil when transplanting vegetables etc when transplanting vegetables etc gives plants a good start). Use in small amounts.
- Compost used as part of a potting mix or as a topdressing around potted plants should not contain worms as they tend to upset the functioning of the potting media.
- You may simply add it to a commercial potting soil or incorporate it in your own special mix.
