Hi my name is Mia. I am currently a student in Community Worker Program in George Brown College. I have an interest in working with kids and food justice. So Green Thumbs is a great place to have my placement. I really want to help kids know more about the beauty of nature!
Funny facts about worm composting!
I have been in Green Thumbs for almost 2 months, and every week the funniest thing for me to do is taking care of the worms and feeding them. I used to know nothing about worm composting. I was even afraid of holding a worm! But now, I realized they are meaningful creatures and the soil would be completely different without these cute worms.
There are so many interesting facts about red wigglers. They breathe through their skin. They are male and female at the same time. They don’t have teeth but they eat a lot. They reproduce fast… There are so many mysterious things about worms that are waiting for me to find out. What we now have in the worm bin is called red wigglers which are considered to be the best compost worms. They are thin and tiny, but they help a lot for the soil. Red wigglers are very picky too! They like coffee, tea and avocados, but they cannot eat oranges, onions or lemon because they are too acidic. Also they can only survive in wet soil, so we have to water them almost every week. What do these little worms do in the soil? A lot of things that we cannot imagine happen under the surface! They digest the bacteria from the vegetables and expel something called castings that is very rich in nitrogen and potassium, and that is really good for the soil. Of course, not only red wigglers, but other types of worms are indispensable for soil. Earthworm movements within the Earth create burrows that help loosen the soil.
There are so many advantages of having a worm composting system. It gives the worms a better environment, and we can also make the most use of the vegetable scraps that we throw away. After the worms finished composting, we can use the composted soil for planting. So it is a win-win process. Why don’t more people keep a worm composting bin at home? How cool that would be!
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