How to pre-compost the food for your worm bin

The earthworms that are in your bin, are called composting worms. In nature, they thrive in compost piles and eat the organic matter that is in the topsoil. They process compost very fast and it is their favorite food.

To maintain a healthy worm bin the rule, if there was only one rule to observe is don't overfeed your bin. You will keep your worms happy and limit the troubles that can happen inside the bin.

If you keep a bin of pre-composted food, you can simply add the volume of food they need and not worry about what to feed them if you don't have food available.

Get a composting bin

Here the size of the bin does not matter, it could be a simple bucket with a lid with a few holes on top of it.

Your bin will need air so that your compost does not lack oxygen. If compost has no more air in it it turns anaerobic and this is where bad bacteria will start to create troubles for your plants and your landscape. Your bin and pre-compost have to stay aerobic at all times.

The simple way to notice if compost is anaerobic will be the bad smell. If it is the case, add some more bedding to fix it or start fresh with a new one.

If your compost is aerobic it will not smell bad and instead will smell like forest soil.

My only recommendation is to get a bin where you will be sure that your pre-compost will stay aerobic and moist enough.

What pre-compost food will achieve?

A compost pile has 3 phases

With a pre-compost bin, you will stay in the first phase of the mesophilic. The goal is to maintain the temperature at around 70F so that the bacteria of this phase will thrive.

Once you add the pre-composted food to the worm bin the worms will achieve the maturation phase, they will digest all of the compost and produce the good bacteria that will feed your plants and your garden.

The thermophilic phase is where a pile reaches high temperatures, it will pasteurize the compost and make it safe for your garden, and it will kill seeds and pathogens. This does not happen in a worm bin because the worms will die at this temperature.

So you want to be careful with what you put into your pre-compost bin.

Start your pre-compost bin

The way you want to deal with the volumes of your pre-compost bin is pretty simple. You want to put more Carbon than Nitrogen to avoid the bin to heat the material.

Here is the basic recipe for your pre-compost bin:

Everything you put in this bin should be chopped finely, it will make the composting process faster. First you always put the layer of carbon in the bottom. Then you put the layer of nitrogen. Then you put the layer of soil. When the compost starts the levels will mix by themselves. This compost is ready when you can't tell the levels anymore. It will not look as fine as a matured compost that will be the job of the worms to finish this stage.

Feed your worms the pre-compost bin

Once the compost is ready it is very easy, just give them the volume of pre-compost they need and this is done. Layer it on top of your worm bin and give them enough food for 3 days.

Then all you have to do is repeat the process it will give you an opportunity to feed your worms on a schedule and you will never have to worry about shortages of food for your worms.

Because i do this system i never have to buy any food or bedding for them. I just collect what i find nearby.

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