A Worm’s-Eye View of Composting

While visions of dead leaves, moisture, and dead insects danced through
their heads. . . .

Show students some ways they can “be part of the allows you and your students to continue the impor-
solution,” from diverting food waste from the incin- tant cycle of nutrients described in this book by
erator or landfill and putting it back to work as com- using that compost to enhance soils used to plant
post, to finding ways to donate excess, edible food our food.
to people needing food in our communities. Composting with earthworms, or “vermicom-
Most kids at some point in life are fascinated posting,” is great for settings like apartments and
with worms. Bringing them into the classroom is schools where an outdoor compost pile may not be
capitalizing on this enthusiasm. Decomposition is practical. The great advantage of worm composting
one of those things that appears as magic to chil- is that it can be done indoors and out, thus allowing
dren. Watching worms and micro-organisms decom- year-round composting—year-round recycling of
pose classroom snack waste (right under their noses) food waste and year-round production of “vermi-
pulls them into the world of science. Every day in compost.” Learning to compost at home and in the
school, children consume food and dispose of what classroom provides lessons in
they don’t eat. Using a composting bin allows them decomposition as well as con-
to be part of the solution—recyclers rather than servation. Vermicomposting is
disposers. And because kids like to feed classroom a naturally appealing and fun
“pets” they sometimes change what they bring to activity for most children (and
school to eat so their scraps can be used to feed the adults), even those who may
worms. Creating vermicompost in the classroom be hesitant at first.
 Putting “Garbage” to Work Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils

Vermicomposting Basics 1

Container indoors year-round, and outdoors during milder

Composting worms can live in a plastic bin or wood- months (as long as temperatures are between
en box, with air holes punched in the sides and top. 40–80° F (5-30° C). Indoors, kitchens, closets, class-
Holes in the bottom are generally needed for rooms, and basements are excellent locations (warm,
drainage, so you’ll want a tray under the bin. Line
the inside of the worm bin with fabric screening if
the holes in the bottom are large. The size (surface Please don’t let me freeze!
area) of the box will depend on how much space you
have and on the amount of food waste you gener- dark, and dry), but any
ate. (In Worms Eat My Garbage, Mary Appelhof sug- spare space can be utilized.
gests weighing your food waste for one week, and Outdoors, bins can be kept
providing one square foot of surface area per in sheds or garages, on
pound.) The container depth should be between 8 balconies or patios, or in
and 15 inches. You can use one large box or a num- the yard. They should be
ber of smaller containers for easier lifting and more kept out of hot sun and
choice of location. heavy rain, however.
You can build, buy, or recycle something like an
old dresser drawer, trunk, or discarded barrel. Plastic
bins hold moisture—an advantage in an arid school-
room. Some composters prefer wood because it is
more absorbent and a better insulator for the
worms.

Bedding
The bin needs a cover to conserve moisture and The worms need damp bedding. Suitable bedding
provide darkness for the worms. Worms move about materials include shredded newspaper, cardboard,
in the darkness so a lid also helps to keep them in and peat. (We’ve had success with “peat-free”
their composting home. For outdoor bins, a solid lid products—those using coconut husks for example.)
is preferable, to keep out unwanted scavengers and Add a couple of handfuls of sand or soil to provide
rain. Worms need air to live, so be sure to have your necessary grit for the worm’s digestion. The bed-
bin sufficiently ventilated. Worm bins can be used ding’s overall moisture level should be like a wrung-
out sponge. The bin should be about three-quarters
Worms like moist full of moistened bedding. Lift the bedding gently to
environments. We
breathe through our
create air spaces that help to control odors, and give
wet skins so we are freer movement to the worms.
very unhappy if the
worm bin is too dry
or too wet.
Worms
The two types of earthworm best suited to worm
composting are the redworms: Eisenia foetida (com-
monly known as red wiggler or manure worm) and

1 Adapted/edited with permission from Composting with Red Wiggler

Worms by Gillian Elcock and Josie Martens, Canada’s Office of Urban
Agriculture, (City Farmer) 1995; www.cityfarmer.org
Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils Vermicomposting Basics

Lumbricus rubellus—often found in aged manure Worms like a variety of foods—just

and compost heaps. Do not use dew-worms (large- like people! A class that ate mostly
oranges for snacks gave the worm
size worms found in soil and outdoor compost piles), bins mostly orange peels for food.
We don’t know exactly what hap-
as they are not likely to survive. Several mail-order pened, but after just two weeks,
the kids couldn’t find one worm in
vendors can provide worms: shop around for the the bin! Too much fruit produces
best price (see Bibliography). Mary Appelhof sug- acidic conditions in the worm bin.
So give us some cucumber peel-
gests acquiring two pounds of worms (roughly ings, lettuce, even coffee grounds
(which we love), and a regular diet
2,000 wigglers) to digest one pound per day of food of ground-up egg shells to help
buffer the acidity. Otherwise you
waste. If you start with fewer worms, simply reduce may find the worms trying to leave
the amount of food waste accordingly while the the bin or the fruit flies taking over.

population steadily increases.

worms for them. Watch out for the tiny, lemon-
Food Scraps shaped worm cocoons which contain between two
You can compost food waste such as vegetable and ten baby worms! By separating the worms from
scraps, pulverized eggshells, tea bags, coffee the compost, you save more worms for your next
grounds, and small amounts of bin. Mix some of the vermicompost in with the new
fruit. Eggshells are essential to bedding of the next bin, and store the rest in breath-
keep the bedding from becoming able bags for use as required.
too acidic for the worms. For
maximum benefit, dry them well, Common Problems and Solutions
crush them, and sprinkle the tiny The most common problem is an unpleasant, strong
pieces over the top of the bed- odor caused by lack of oxygen in the compost due
ding. It is NOT advisable to com- to overloading with food waste. If the food sits
post meats, dairy products, oily around too long, the bin contents become too wet.
foods, or refined grain products because of prob- The solution is to stop adding food waste until the
lems with smells, flies, and mold. Too much fruit in a worms and micro-organisms have broken down
worm bin can attract fruit flies. what food is in there, to add dry bedding materials,
and to gently stir up the entire contents to allow
Harvesting the Compost more air in. Check the drainage holes to make sure
The finished compost can be mixed with potting soil they are not blocked. Drill more holes if necessary.
and used for houseplants and patio containers. It is Worms will drown if their surroundings become too
an excellent mulch (spread in a layer on top of the wet.
soil) for potted or garden plants, or it can be dug Worms have been known to crawl out of the
into the soil. bedding and onto the sides and lid if conditions are
It is important to separate the worms from the wrong for them. Even if the moisture level seems all
finished compost—otherwise the worms will begin
to die. The quickest way to do this is to simply move
the finished compost over to one side of the bin;
place new bedding in the space created, and put
food waste in the new bedding. The worms will
gradually move over and the finished compost can
be skimmed off as needed.
If you have the time or want to use all the com-
post, you can dump the entire contents of the bin
onto a large plastic sheet and separate the worms
manually. Most children love to help with this
process and you can turn it into a fun lesson about
 Putting “Garbage” to Work Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils

right, the bedding may be too acidic, which can baby worms as well as other compost critters! See
happen if you add a lot of citrus peels or other Compost Creatures and Friends on page 164.
acidic fruit. Adjust the pH by adding a little garden  To get the most out of your experience with the
lime and/or crushed eggshell. worm bin, consider setting up a learning station
Fruit flies can be an occasional nuisance. with some or all of the following materials avail-
Discourage them by always burying the food waste able to your students: plastic bucket or jar with
and not overloading with fruit. Keep a plastic sheet tight-fitting lid (restaurants, health food stores, or
on the surface of the compost in the bin. If flies are your cafeteria may have extras), trowel or fork,
still persistent, move the bin to an outdoor location, sprayer/mister for adding small amounts of mois-
leaving the top off for a period of time to kill off the ture to the bin, plastic (surgical) gloves for squea-
fruit fly larvae—or transfer it to a location where mish students, petri dishes/Styrofoam trays for
flies will not be bothersome. Flypaper in or near the worm or compost observations, measuring cups if
bin can also help. Mary Appelhof has several addi- you choose to measure food waste by volume,
tional remedies in Worms Eat My Garbage. scale if you choose to measure by weight, paper
towels for easy cleanup, magnifying glass, cutting
Worm bins need TLC!
board/knives, thermometer, clipboard and pencils,
flashlight and colored cellophane, pH testers,
humidity reader (hygrometer), untreated lime-
stone, vinegar, reference books and materials,
clever title for the worm center, and an observa-
tion chart.

Resources
For more information on worms and vermicompost-
 During school vacation in one class, an army of
worms escaped from their parched bin and
marched “en masse” several feet to find water in
the classroom sink! The teacher found a path of
dried worms from the worm bin to the sink on
Monday.
 Food is made mostly of water. That water ends up
in the worm bin. A class that was very enthusiastic
put way too much food in the worm bin over a
short period of time. Every day the class found
worms escaping out the drainage holes in the
bin—until things dried up a bit.

The Final Word

Taking worms out of their natural environment and ing, see the Resources in the lessons that follow.
placing them in containers creates a human respon- Earthworms . . .
sibility. They are living creatures with their own  Improve the topsoil and enrich plants. That’s why
unique needs, so it is important to create and main- farmers and gardeners love them so much.
tain a healthy habitat for them to do their work. If  Are not native to North America, believe it or not!
you supply the right ingredients and care, your They probably hitched a ride on plant material or
worms will thrive and make compost for you. soil brought over by European settlers in the sev-
 It’s a good idea to make a list of things to check enteenth and eighteenth centuries.
each week. Be sure to put “feeding” on the top  Make tunnels in the soil that benefit plants. These
of the list! It’s fun to check for worm cocoons and tunnels allow air and water to enter the soil. In
Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils Vermicomposting Basics

the process of digging their tunnels, earthworms More Wormy Ideas

mix soil layers.  Check out different
 Eat soil—they actually are after the organic mat- soil samples for signs of
ter (dead plant and animal parts) of the soil and worms.
microscopic organisms living there. If you have  Find evidence of worms by
earthworms, your soil has organic matter. When looking for their castings
you add organic matter to soil, you invite more around their worm tunnels.
worms to your spot and they go to work to  Write stories, songs, or
improve the soil that much more. It’s a win-win poems about worms under-
situation. ground or in the worm bin.
 Excrete castings—a polite term for worm manure.  List all the adjectives you can
Soil and organic matter that pass through a think of to describe a worm.
worm’s digestive system is extremely rich in min-  Look at the classification of
erals. animals and see where
 Can produce their own weight in castings every worms are listed (Annelids, segmented worms).
24 hours at optimal conditions.  Observe changes in the worm bin over time. Keep
 Are segmented worms. There are many different charts, records, and journals. Measure food waste
kinds of earthworms on this planet. Garden going in.
earthworms are not the same worms as compost-  Classify or group food wastes that can be fed to
ing redworms. Night crawlers are another variety worms. Use the food pyramid for categories or
of earthworm. Some worms in Australia can grow make up your own.
to be several feet in length!!! It has been report-  Make a list of things you know about worms and
ed that these Giant Gippsland worms can be another list of things you would like to know
heard “munching and gurgling” during the night. about worms.
 In large numbers can do great things! The USDA  Build a large worm bin with wheels that you can
Yearbook of Agriculture says that the worms in wheel from classroom to classroom (collect left-
one acre of land can bring 20 tons of soil to the overs, of course), sharing the fun and learning
surface in one year. opportunities with other teachers who are inter-
 Have no eyes but can sense light, no teeth but ested but not committed to a full-time worm bin.
they can grind food up in their gizzard, no feet or  Ask students to write about what it would be like
hands but they can move efficiently through soil, if they were Annelida—how she lives, what she
no antennae or nose but they can sense the pres- eats, how she moves, how she survives, good
ence of water nearby, no ears but they can sense days and bad days, what she thinks about her
the tiny vibrations of an approaching predator, no predators, what kind of a burrow world she wants
lungs but they can breath air through their moist for her squirmy brood of baby worms, etc.
skin, and have a brain about the size of a pinhead Encourage “worm’s-eye view” illustrations.
but are able to regenerate small sections of their
tail.
 When cut in half do not—I repeat, do not—
become two worms. It becomes two pieces of a
worm wriggling in pain. Worms can regenerate
only small sections of their tail.
 Are sensitive to chemicals and may not appear in
great numbers where soil has been treated with
pesticides.
 Putting “Garbage” to Work Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils

Starting Out Right with Worms  Then hand out materials: one tray, a wet paper
Grade Level: K-2 towel, and a small pile of wet, shredded news-
Teach students how to handle living things gently paper per student or pair.
and to make some first observations with their  Tell students: Now we are going to observe live
worms. worms. We have three rules:
 Begin by showing the class the bag of worms. 1. Be kind to the worms;
(They are often shipped in paper bags or cloth 2. Keep the worms moist (so they can breath);
bags inside a cardboard box.) 3. At a designated signal, put down what is in your
 Ask: Why cloth and not plastic? Explain how hands, freeze, and listen.
worms breathe. (Through their wet skin.) Ready? Hand out a few worms per student or
 Next, give these directions: “Everyone close your pair. Allow observation and ask questions intermit-
mouth and hold your nose. Now breathe through tently—for instance: How can you tell where the
your skin.” Give them a chance to try. (We can’t. head and tail are? Show them how to find the
We need to breathe through our mouths into our clitellum; only adult worms have them. Clean up.
lungs. Worms don’t have lungs, but like our Sing “The Worms Go Marching Song” while
lungs, the worms’ skin needs to stay moist in putting things away
order for them to get air through their skin.)

The Worms Go Marching Song

(Sung to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching,” words by Kathy Lyons)

The worms go marching one by one,

Hurrah! Hurrah!
The worms go marching one by one,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The worms go marching one by one,
We better go now, here comes the sun.
Chorus
And they all go marching down into the ground,
Where it’s cool and it’s wet.
Squirm, squirm, squirm, squirm
Squirm, squirm, squirm.
The worms go marching two by two. . . .
We are part of the garden, too.
Chorus
The worms go marching three by three. . . .
We eat your kitchen scraps for free.
Chorus
The worms go marching four by four. . . .
We’ll happily eat your apple core.
Chorus
The worms go marching five by five. . . .
We help the soil, and that’s no jive.
Chorus
The worms go marching six by six. . . . (make up your own words)