Vermicomposting
Permaculture practices provide a framework for thinking about the interconnectedness of systems and and the interdependence of life forms. As we prepare to plant and manage our permaculture garden at Restoration next spring, our students have begun to think about the relationship between the food we eat, the decomposition of our leavings, and the organisms that sustain themselves from our table scraps. To deepen this understanding with hands-on experiences, we have welcomed into the classroom several thousand Eisinia foetida, also known as red wigglers. These earthworms are adapted to consuming decaying organic material, and flourish in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure. What passes through their digestive system will eventually be compost for our garden. Please enjoy Val’s report on our first days of vermicomposting.
Introducing Vermicomposting
Val Logan
November 18, 2022. We’re setting up the worm bin today! Using the worm books, we researched the materials we needed. This was a good step in our process because it reminded students that referring to a table of contents is more effective for finding specific information than just flipping through pages. We referred to our book (Worms Eat My Garbage, by Mary Appelhof) throughout the setting up process.
First we gathered newspaper material from the front office and grabbed the water bottles from our microgreen project. All students helped to shred the paper and we talked about how the newspaper helps to retain moisture in the bin. Everyone worked together to get all three layers of the worm bin nice and moist. Next we added some soil and the food scraps I’d brought in. Before we added the food, I asked a few students to research in the worm book what worms can eat, and another student to research what they cannot eat. Once they found this information, they read these lists aloud. We double-checked our do’s and don’t’s with a few Google searches. Finally, we all agreed that we could add what we had on hand: broccoli, melons, bell peppers, banana peels, orange, kiwis, coffee grounds, coffee filters, eggshells, and corn. We also agreed that it would be best to cut the scraps up into smaller pieces that our worms could easily eat and digest. All students participated in this part as well. Nobody minded getting dirty and nobody complained about "playing with garbage," which is essentially what we were doing. They were very engaged!
Something very cool was that, as they cut scraps, students compared their own diets to the worms’ diet. A few students even suggested that the worms were actually eating better than they did! I asked them if they might be more inclined to eat more veggies if they grew them themselves. Two or three students said they would at least try them. One student was very against veggies lol. Once we had our scraps down to the right size the students distributed them evenly among the three trays of our worm bin. Then they added a little more soil and leaves.
Now the bins were all ready to introduce the worms!
December 1, 2022. We’re bringing the worms into the classroom today! I created a KWL chart for the worms and asked each student to come up to the board and write something they already know about worms.
They are long.
They move.
They eat trash.
They are cold-blooded.
We then read our worm world reading passage together. Two students volunteered to start us off and I read the other pieces. At some points of the reading passage we had already done some of the steps so I invited the students who were present when we put the bin together to share what we added to it. After finishing the reading passage we reviewed what to feed them and what not to feed them, and also why we don't feed them things like milk, meat, and onions, etc. In the first place, these things are smelly, and in the second place, the bacteria they decompose with will/can made the worms sick and/or die.
While we were putting the worms in the bins a 6th grade student asked if the worms had teeth (she was scared to hold them) and so we put that question under our W on the chart. What do we wonder? I explained that worms do not have teeth. They actually use their muscles to eat and digest. Pretty interesting! Another student wondered what would happen if the worms got too cold? Of course, they would freeze to death. Good questions! Some other questions:
Would worms grow back if they were cut in half?
Why are they different sizes?
Can they drown under water?
Why do worms change colors (more pale looking) when they die?
Students were curious about the mold, too. (Our food scraps had sat for nearly two weeks before the worms arrived.) They hadn’t known that there are many different molds – some that aren't harmful and some that will make you extremely sick. But it was another good question. We’ll research the kind of mold that exists in the worm bin.
Another thing that was cool was seeing some of the baby worms compared to the bigger, grown worms.
In general, some students observed with their eyes alone, while others decided to get their hands dirty. I honored each student’s level of comfort, and was thrilled that mostly everyone participated, whether it was adding water, adding the moist newspaper, adding worms, or observing and asking questions.
December 6, 2022. The worms are thriving! They seem happy and cozy in their new home. Students were asking how they were doing too. We will check in with them next week.