Today, our family is on our way to being worm farmers, kicking off our vermicomposting journey. One of our many goals is to decrease our environmental footprint and grocery costs in a fun, sustainable, sensory-driven learning family activity. Organic gardening is a huge part of our long-term goals, and vermiculture will help us to accomplish them while helping our son meet some of his autism sensory needs.
For autism families (ASD) such as ours, vermiculture can be a hands-on sensory activity that encourages a connection with nature while fostering learning and growth. Let's explore the world of vermiculture together and see how it can help to transform your lifestyle and garden. We are excited to explore this simple
For autism families (ASD) such as ours, vermiculture can be a hands-on sensory activity that encourages a connection with nature while fostering learning and growth. Let's explore the world of vermiculture together and see how it can help to transform your lifestyle and garden. We are excited to explore this simple
What is vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting uses worms—most commonly red wigglers—to break down organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. Often called "black gold" by gardeners, the end product is a natural fertilizer abundant in the nutrients most plants need to thrive.
Why indoor composting might be ideal for autism families:
For some ASD families, engaging in indoor composting can provide:
- Sensory Experiences: Shredding paper and cardboard, handling the soft bedding material, observing worms wriggle, and feeling the end-product compost can all be soothing and stimulating for children and adults with autism. (Make sure everyone washes their hands after!)
- Routine Building: Feeding the worms can become a regular, task-oriented activity that promotes focus and responsibility.
- Connection with Nature: Vermicomposting encourages curiosity and teaches eco-friendly habits in a hands-on and inclusive way.
In addition to sensory input and a connection with nature, here are a few additional benefits of vermiculture:
- Waste Reduction: Vermicomposting means fewer food scraps and other organic waste heading to landfills. It is a sustainable option for reducing a family's carbon footprint and encourages greener living practices.
- Natural Fertilizer: The worm castings (poop) make an excellent fertilizer for gardens, raised beds, and even indoor potted plants. The castings are rich in essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
- Low-cost Family-Friendly Fun: Watching worms eat through kitchen scraps can be an engaging learning experience for the young and young-at-heart. For individuals on the autism spectrum, composting can be a calming and engaging sensory activity.
Getting Started with Vermicomposting:
Our family is starting with a five-tray composter that is small enough to fit in our kitchen yet durable enough to move outdoors when the weather is ideal. Check out our video.
While we have an outdoor composting tumbler, composting pile, and raised beds, vermicomposting is an inexpensive addition to taking our organic gardening experience to the next level. But before starting, there are a few things we had to consider, starting with the type of composting bin we would utilize efficiently and effectively. We opted for a five-tray design that could be used indoors or outdoors.
Ready-made bins of all types and sizes can be purchased online or at your favorite home improvement store. You can also choose to make your own composting bin. There are a lot of great tutorials on YouTube. If using an indoor bin, you want to ensure it is small enough to fit under your sink or in a corner, out of the way, yet easily accessible. Whichever type of bin you decide, ensure it has a cover to keep your worms from escaping and any unwanted critters out.
You will need other items once you've chosen or made your composting bin. Shredded newspaper and cardboard can make a great bedding. As this is our first attempt, we followed the advice of many vermicomposting tutorials on YouTube. We opted to go with a combination of Coco Coir compressed peat bricks and home-shredded newspaper and cardboard. We also purchased eco-friendly worm blankets for ease but could have just as efficiently utilized fallen leaves from our compost pile.
Most of the videos we watched instructed us to purchase red wigglers for the quickest composting, and that is what we did. We want to keep the worms in our yard and garden working to benefit our yard and garden. The instructions of our vermicomposter suggested starting with a minimum of 250 worms, and, to our delightful surprise, we found that we could order our worms online for a very reasonable cost.
However, some vermicomposters choose to dig up worms from their yards. And that is perfectly fine for those with the time, space, and worm abundance to do so. Depending on where you live and the time of year, digging for worms may be a cost-saving option.
The last key to successful vermicomposting is remembering that your worms must eat. On average, two hundred fifty worms will eat at least half a pound of fruit and vegetable scraps daily. Are you eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables to sustain yourself and your growing worm farm?
A final note on worm composting: If you create a healthy environment of quality food scraps, temperature, and proper aeration, expect your red wigglers to multiply! These excellent composters can lay 200 to 250 eggs monthly and up to 1000 eggs yearly! They can also live, on average, four to five years. As your bin becomes full, consider how you will utilize them. We will be adding them to our raised beds and future outdoor composters.
Thanks for exploring our world differently with us. We look forward to your positive feedback!
While we have an outdoor composting tumbler, composting pile, and raised beds, vermicomposting is an inexpensive addition to taking our organic gardening experience to the next level. But before starting, there are a few things we had to consider, starting with the type of composting bin we would utilize efficiently and effectively. We opted for a five-tray design that could be used indoors or outdoors.
Ready-made bins of all types and sizes can be purchased online or at your favorite home improvement store. You can also choose to make your own composting bin. There are a lot of great tutorials on YouTube. If using an indoor bin, you want to ensure it is small enough to fit under your sink or in a corner, out of the way, yet easily accessible. Whichever type of bin you decide, ensure it has a cover to keep your worms from escaping and any unwanted critters out.
You will need other items once you've chosen or made your composting bin. Shredded newspaper and cardboard can make a great bedding. As this is our first attempt, we followed the advice of many vermicomposting tutorials on YouTube. We opted to go with a combination of Coco Coir compressed peat bricks and home-shredded newspaper and cardboard. We also purchased eco-friendly worm blankets for ease but could have just as efficiently utilized fallen leaves from our compost pile.
Most of the videos we watched instructed us to purchase red wigglers for the quickest composting, and that is what we did. We want to keep the worms in our yard and garden working to benefit our yard and garden. The instructions of our vermicomposter suggested starting with a minimum of 250 worms, and, to our delightful surprise, we found that we could order our worms online for a very reasonable cost.
However, some vermicomposters choose to dig up worms from their yards. And that is perfectly fine for those with the time, space, and worm abundance to do so. Depending on where you live and the time of year, digging for worms may be a cost-saving option.
The last key to successful vermicomposting is remembering that your worms must eat. On average, two hundred fifty worms will eat at least half a pound of fruit and vegetable scraps daily. Are you eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables to sustain yourself and your growing worm farm?
A final note on worm composting: If you create a healthy environment of quality food scraps, temperature, and proper aeration, expect your red wigglers to multiply! These excellent composters can lay 200 to 250 eggs monthly and up to 1000 eggs yearly! They can also live, on average, four to five years. As your bin becomes full, consider how you will utilize them. We will be adding them to our raised beds and future outdoor composters.
Thanks for exploring our world differently with us. We look forward to your positive feedback!
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