DIY Nightcrawler Composter

While most hobbyists who compost with worms use red wigglers, or Eisenia fetida, some employ the larger ̶0;super reds,̶1; Eisenia hortensis or European nightcrawlers. Suppliers that offer European nightcrawlers for sale find that these worms tolerate a wider range of temperatures while remaining as easy to cultivate as their smaller cousins. All compost worms need you to provide basic comforts as part of your composter strategy: a shallow bin, darkness, food scraps and bedding, as well as moisture and neutral pH.

  1. Make a Bin

    • Before obtaining your nightcrawlers, prepare their bin, bedding and food. A worm composter, or vermiculture bin, needs to be shallow and lightproof. According to Rhonda Sherman of the North Carolina State University Extension, the easiest and cheapest way to get started is to drill two 3-inch holes at the top of the short sides of a 14-gallon plastic tote. Press a 3-inch louvered soffit vent into each hole for ventilation.

      Add soaked strips of newspaper or cardboard to the bin to a depth of about 10 inches. You can also shred junk mail, being careful to remove all plastic windows from envelopes first, and add this to the bedding. Do not include any brightly colored or chemically treated papers such as credit card receipts.

      Gather food scraps in a small bucket in your freezer. Vegetable and fruit peelings and cores work best, as do eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags. Chop the vegetables and fruits into 1-inch lengths and freeze overnight to break down the cell structure. Remove about 1 or 2 cups from the bucket, make a 6-inch-deep pocket in the bedding, dump in the scraps and cover them with bedding. Place the lid on the tote.

    Add the Nightcrawlers

    • Allow the scraps to thaw and begin to decompose, acquiring bacteria and fungi. This important step converts fresh scraps into a form that allows the nightcrawlers, with their tiny mouths, to eat the scraps and convert them into worm manure or compost. Order your nightcrawlers from a supplier so they will arrive after the scraps have had about one week to decompose. When the nightcrawlers arrive, place them gently on top of the bedding, spritz them with a water bottle and place the tote lid on the bin.

    Bin Maintenance

    • Add additional scraps of food when the first pocket of scraps disappears. Create a new food pocket about 6 inches away from the old one. As the bedding becomes converted to compost, add more shredded paper. Maintain the bin at about a 75 percent moisture content, as measured by a moisture meter or by squeezing bedding to see if a few drops of water will come out. Raise the moisture level by spritzing with a spray bottle or by adding soaked bedding.

    Harvesting Compost

    • When most of the contents of the bin look like coffee grounds and smell like clean soil after rain, harvest your compost. Dump the bin contents onto a large plastic sheet and build six conical piles of material. Skim the cone tops off and place this finished compost into a bucket. Place the compost in your garden as a 1-inch top dressing. Remove the worms to a small pail. You will find them either in the conical tops or in a mass at the bottom of the pile, where they will gather to avoid light.

      Put fresh bedding and additional food scraps in the bin and return the worms to begin the process anew.