Vermicomposting, composting with the help of hungry red wiggler or red earthworms, is an incredible way to create healthy soil while reducing waste like food scraps, yard debris, uncoated paper products, and more. Via Longwood Garden‘s Matthew Ross in this TED-Ed, “up to 75% of what we put in the waste stream can become food and bedding material for vermicomposting.”
The AV YouTube channel shares how red wiggler composting worms transform three different chambers of bedding material—leaves, cardboard, and paper—in this time-lapse video. Water, pulverized eggshells, and additional bedding are added periodically.
These are all carbon or brown matter as an educational demonstration, but the best ratio for a thriving worm bin is, via FoodPrint, “70 percent brown matter (paper, wood, dried and dead plants) to 30 percent green matter (food scraps, young plants and wet leaves).”
Related reading: Vermicomposting for Beginners.
Previously on TKSST: Vermicomposting with red wigglers, a time-lapse. Plus:
• Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste
• Soil Life in Action: Bioturbation with and without soil fauna
• Inside the Compost Cycle
• The Secret History of Dirt, a smart soil explainer for all ages
• Dead stuff, the secret ingredient in our food chain
Bonus: The Very Hungry Maggot: How larva farming can help reduce food waste.
Thanks, Rebekka Helford.
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