Anything from advice for beginning vermicomposters with the Vermicomposting 101 Series or interviews with experts, the Urban Worm Blog has you covered!
The Urban Worm Bag is Now Available in Europe!
I'm thrilled to announce that the Urban Worm Bag is now available in Europe via WormSystems.com! It's a home- or apartment-sized continuous flow worm bin where you simply feed your worms through the top zipper and harvest worm castings a few months later from the...
Apartment Composting: What Are Your Options?
You're an environmentally-conscious apartment dweller who wants to start composting, but you're not blessed with a large backyard where you can toss your food waste into a huge pile of autumn leaves. Such is the conundrum of the urban composter or anyone with space...
Vermicomposting 101: What To Use for Worm Bedding
Choosing the correct bedding for a worm composting bin is a high-consequence decision for a new vermicomposter. Choose wisely and be patient, and you'll be off to a great start recycling organic waste into worm castings, and before you know it, it will seem like...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Francisco Niembro of Aldea Verde Lombricultura
Today, I am thrilled to release this interview with my friend, Francisco Niembro of Aldea Verde Lombricultura, a large-scale vermicomposting company based in Queretaro, Mexico about 2 hours north of Mexico City. Aldea Verde's business is comprised of their own...
2018 Vermiculture Conference Trip Report
Phew! The 19th Annual Vermiculture Conference in Raleigh is in the books! It was an absolutely incredible weekend with lots of camaraderie, beer, networking, speakers, coffee, beer, food, and getting to know fellow worm heads. And more beer or tequila…..for some of us...
Moisture in the Worm Bin, Revisited
Every now and then, I think it's helpful to reevaluate prior assumptions about the basics of vermicomposting. There's no one way to do worm composting correctly for all situations, and if there was, nobody has written a book on how to do it just yet.One of these...
The Urban Worm Bag is Coming to Canada!
Update: The Urban Worm Bag is now available on Amazon.ca! Once you buy it, send an e-mail to steve@urbanwormcompany.com and I'll send you a MUCH better instruction manual than you will get with your purchase. I'm thrilled to announce that the Urban Worm Bag will soon...
Urban Worm Bag 1.0 vs 2.0
Firstly, thank you to all of my existing customers who trusted me enough to purchase Version 1.0 of the Urban Worm Bag. 2018 has truly been a blessing so far. I have enjoyed my interactions with you and receiving your feedback about what you loved about the Urban Worm...
Urban Worm Interview: Dan Lonowski of Michigan SoilWorks
About a year ago, I watched a fascinating time lapse video of the assembly of one of the most attractive continuous flow vermicomposting systems I have ever seen. Some guy named Dan Lonowski of Michigan SoilWorks and Gavin Newton of Detroit-area worm castings producer...
Vermicomposting 101: The #1 Cause of Worm Bin Problems
It seems to happen again and again and again. Armed with a bin, some bedding, and a shiny new arsenal of composting worms, eager new vermicomposters, our fellow foot soldiers in the War on Waste try to win the war literally overnight. And they often fail miserably....
Vermicomposting 101: Plant and Soil Benefits of Vermicompost
Some of us start vermicomposting to divert our household or farm waste away from the waste stream, and that is a benefit by itself. But what about the end product? If you're reading this, you're probably already aware that vermicompost, which includes the worm...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Soil Biology 101, Part II
In Part I of this interview about soil biology with Heather Rinaldi and Nina Folch, we learned some pretty crucial stuff about what constitutes excellent soil, how to recognize when it's good, and what to do about it when it's not. But the one thing we didn't even...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Soil Biology 101, Part I
I kind of always thought of soil as just "dirt", the stuff under the grass, the brown substance plants just magically grow out of. And it wasn’t until embarrassingly recently that I learned of the level of complexity that ecosystem that exists, or at least should...
A Really Cheap Way to Start a Worm Bin
A few weeks back, I asked my e-mail list that I affectionately (and maybe indulgently?) call "Urban Worm Nation" how they're all doing their vermicomposting. I am constantly amazed at how people used old refrigerators, discarded industrial equipment, and good old...
Harvesting Worm Castings: Break Your Back or Break The Bank?
I got the following question from Dawn F, a fellow worm composter from New York City. She writes: "Can you spend some time on how to harvest worm castings? I bought a small trommel screen and I gotta tell ya, it took half a day. Even the Worm Inn requires sifting."...
Worm Towers: Right Idea, But the Wrong Product?
Worm towers or worm tubes are an intriguing idea for turning food waste to worm castings. Unlike worm composting, which requires the worms, bedding, and food to be placed in some enclosure only to require you to harvest the castings, the worm tower is a...
Is the NCSU Vermiculture Conference Doomed?
If you've read this blog long enough, most of you know that I don't claim to have Jedi-level knowledge of vermiculture, vermicompost, or soil biology (or how to please women or dance in ways that don't make other people really uncomfortable). So it's with great honor...
Vermicomposting 101: How to Start a Worm Bin
Starting a new home worm bin is easy and only requires a bin, bedding, some food, and yes, the worms. Anyone can learn how to do it. But as I learned a few years ago, starting a successful, thriving home bin from scratch where worms won't try to escape the first night...
What Causes Protein Poisoning and What to Do About It
A particularly devastating problem in a worm bin is protein poisoning, also called "string of pearls" or sour crop, evidenced by a serious deformation of the earthworms as their intestines rupture, inevitably killing the worm itself. So let's check out what causes...
Vermicomposting 101: How Much Should I Feed My Worms?
The question of how much to feed your composting worms can vex the beginning vermicomposter, and if you're in an area like I am that features both hot and cold weather, then that amount can vary wildly. So if I were you, I would get out of the mindset of trying...
Vermicomposting 101: What Are the Differences Between Vermicomposting and Composting?
Probably the most misleading thing about vermicomposting is that it includes the word "composting." Wikipedia tells us compost is "organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment." And while that is a fitting description...
Vermicomposting 101: Can I Use The Worms I Find In My Garden To Vermicompost?
No. Or I should say, in nearly all cases, no. There are 2700 species of earthworms in the world and only about 4 of them of them are good vermicomposters. They are: eisenia fetida*, aka red wigglers, tiger worms, manure worms eisenia hortensis*, aka European...
Vermicomposting 101: What Do Composting Worms Like to Eat?
Along with the choice of bedding for a worm bin, the choice of what to feed your composting worms is a pretty consequential decision. While earthworms will eventually eat any organic material over time, the lack of space in home worm composting bins means we have to...
Video: 5 Epic Battles Between Black Soldier Fly Larvae and Food
Screw cremation. When I die, my instructions to my family will be to order a keg of beer for my funeral guests and about 500,000 Black Soldier Fly Larvae. This way, funeral guests can watch in a mixture of horror, amusement, and admiration during the quickest...
Black Soldier Fly Larvae: Pest or Partner?
As if the potential "ick factor" with worms wasn't enough, some vermicomposters have moved beyond earthworms to eradicating organic waste with the Black Soldier Fly Larvae, a nice way of saying maggots. I resisted learning more about BSFL because a man in the suburbs...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Paul Piccirillo of Worm Farming Revealed
I'm thrilled to be interviewing Paul Piccirillo today. If you've poked around the web for information on vermicomposting and vermiculture, you've no doubt run across his vast library of helpful content at Worm Farming Revealed. Pauly's an interesting character. He's...
How Texas Worm Ranch Produces 10,000 Lbs of Vermicompost Per Month
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview Heather Rinaldi of the Texas Worm Ranch. As luck would have it, Heather and I hit it off over our e-mail exchanges and that interview turned out to be one of my most popular yet. Though vermicomposters tend to be...
How Do I Know If My Vermicompost is Ready to Harvest?
A common vermicomposting conundrum is how to recognize when your vermicompost is finished and ready to harvest your worm castings. This is a tough question, especially if you don’t have a system like the Urban Worm Bag, the Urban Worm Company's own worm bin which...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Part III with Bentley Christie
I am really excited about Part III of the Urban Worm Interview Series with fellow Bentley Christie. We dig fairly deep into the world of online entrepreneurship and how to gain traction on the web. For vermcomposters specifically, I'm not sure that the audience for...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Part II with Bentley Christie
In Part I of this interview with Bentley Christie, he talked about his flagship website redwormcomposting.com and how a little innovation helped his physical business in an unexpected way. Part II is all about the Worm Farming Alliance, the group Bentley founded to...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Bentley Christie
I am thrilled, humbled, and a little nervous that Bw to find in the world of vermicomposting. Bentley's not a rock star because he has some pedigree or produces a massive amount of vermicompost. Bentley is so revered because he is a bridge between the academics and...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Heather Rinaldi
Other than this site, my main connection to the vermiculture and vermicomposting community is through the various Facebook groups I belong to. Like most social media communities, the conversation tends to be dominated by very few people who post frequently. But every...
The “Crazy Worm” Infesting the Upper Midwest and Northeast US
A common sighting in outdoor compost piles in the upper Midwest and Northeastern US is an earthworm that’s doing quite a bit of damage to the health of our forests. The amynthas agrestis is a cousin of the Alabama Jumper, or amynthas gracilis, and while it appears to...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Larry Shier
If you use Facebook groups as source of information on vermicomposting, then you know who Larry Shier is. He's the guy who seems to answer about half the questions posted to the Red Worm Composting, Vermicomposting-Worm Farming, and Worm Farming Alliance groups. More...
Vermicompost Saves a Garden in the Philippines
Man, this was the coolest e-mail ever. John Phillips from the Philippines wrote to tell me how vermicomposting, prompted in part by the Urban Worm Company, has rejuvenated fertility on his property after a flood. I just wanted to thank you for the help your advice has...
Urban Worm Interview Series: Mary Ann Smith
It all started with a picture my new "worm friend" Mary Ann Smith of Valley View Worms posted to Facebook a couple years ago. She had made some pretty awesome vermicompost and decided to experiment with different vermicompost-to-soil ratios and how they affected the...
My Highly Imperfect Worm Warming Technique
This post is a little late, considering the temps here in the northeastern US have already dropped into the 20s, but I'm seeing frequent questions via e-mail and the Facebook groups about keeping your herd alive outside the house for the winter. Of course, I'm making...
Yo Philly! Worm Castings Are Now For Sale!
I'm thrilled to start selling worm castings and freshly harvested vermicompost in the Philadelphia area. My facility is located in Montgomery County, PA which is also very convenient to Delaware, Bucks, and Philadelphia counties. Worm castings are an insanely...
Density: Worm Reproduction’s Forgotten Factor
Whether you just want to increase your vermicomposting capacity, you are planning a business or have one in operation already, you've probably asked yourself the following question. "How can I make my worms reproduce faster?" I've noticed most attempts to answer this...
2015 NCSU Vermiculture Conference Recap
UPDATE: I will be presenting at the 2018 NCSU Vermiculture Conference! If you're interested in going, please see the official conference webpage. It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. John Wooden Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach I had an idea that the...
Urban Worm Calculator Tutorial Videos
Urban Worm Calculator Tutorial Part 1 In this video, you’ll get a quick intro to the Urban Worm Calculator, how to fix your settings and how to enter your Basic Input values for...
The Urban Worm Calculator Guide
This is Your Complete "How To"! The description below should get you well on your way to understanding what the Urban Worm Calculator can do and how it does it. It may seem tricky at first, but this tool is really easy to use. It can give you basic information like...
What Is Your Sustainable Worm Harvest?
In the last blog post, I ran some numbers in the Urban Worm Calculator and detailed what giving away or selling your worms too soon does to the future value of your worm stock. If you missed it, here it is. If you don't want to go back and read it, just know that it...
Do You Sell Worms? Then Stop Giving Them Away.
I'm actually halfway serious. Having run some numbers in the Urban Worm Calculator I'm developing, I've found some truly amazing - and disturbing- numbers about what happens when you start selling your worms too early. In short, it destroys the potential growth of...
The Urban Worm Directory is Live
I published the Urban Worm Directory a few days ago to help people find out where to buy worms and worm castings and it has already gotten some awesome feedback and was quickly responsible for a sale in Colorado. 🙂 We're up to over 60 businesses in 26 states, 3...
The Urban Worm Directory Is Almost Here!
I'm getting pretty excited for the launch of The Urban Worm Directory! It's Going to Be Awesome If You're Looking To Buy Worms or Worm Castings Using Google Maps, buyers are going to have an awesome resource for where to buy worms and worm castings. And if you don't...
Ordering Worms Today? Better Make That Bin First
So you wanna try worm composting eh? First of all, congratulations! There is simply no other form of recycling that comes close to it. Vermicomposting is efficient on a small, household scale, insanely healthy for the environment and, get this . . . it's addicting....
How I Got 150 Lbs of Worm Food In One Morning
It was always a little embarrassing. The baristas at my local Starbucks were always fairly cool and the customers were OK. But there was that lingering fear that hung over me every time I walked to the counter and rather than asking for a pumpkin spiced latte or Chai...
Is Vermicomposting Too Weird?
This is a bit of a confession. I don't run in a real "green" crowd. Sure, my friends and family recycle, make sure not to litter, and take reasonable steps not to destroy Earth. But not one of them vermicomposts or, to my knowledge, derives any pleasure out of...
Would You Like A Cheap, Easy Way To Harvest Worm Castings?
A beginning vermicomposter with a finished batch of worm compost is like the dog who finally catches up to the car it's been chasing. They both ask themselves "now what the heck do I do with this?" While producing a lively, microbially active bin chock full of...
iPads, Nuclear Weapons, and Earthworms: All Technological Marvels
I have to admit, when I first heard about the book Vermiculture Technology, I was pretty skeptical of the title. Technology? Really? Growing worms and feeding my food waste simply can’t be lumped in with 3D printing, space travel, or GPS navigation, right?...
Urban Worm Company Invades Its First School. More To Come?
I got an interesting phone call for some worms last week. A lady we’ll name “Jennifer” said her daughter was assigned vermicomposting as a subject for a science experiment in her 7th grade class in Philadelphia. And she needed worms, pronto and didn’t have time to buy...
How Much Vermicompost Should I Use?
You know, I just want things to be easy. My binary mind hates "well it depends"-type answers. I have simple questions! Just give me simple answers! These simple questions around vermicomposting may include the following: How many worms should I get? What temperature...
Urban Worm Warming Board: Nov 2 2014 Update
Well I’ve been using the Worm Warming Board for a couple weeks now and thought I’d give an update. Not wanting the lights to come into direct contact with the bedding, I placed a layer of weed guard and cardboard on top of the bed first before laying the board on top...
PBS Visits the Sonoma Valley Worm Farm
Many thanks to Urban Worm Blog reader Ed for directing me to this episode of PBS’ Growing a Greener World. Host Joe Lamp’l visited Jack Chambers of Sonoma Valley Worm Farm to give the viewers some great insight into vermicomposting. While the episode is recent, the...
What Is The Best Worm Bedding? My Vote is For Horse Manure!
Hands down, I think aged horse manure is the best natural bedding and habitat for composting worms. Red Wigglers have many names, manure worms being one of them....maybe an indication horse manure might be pretty awesome, no? Not convinced? Read on. Dual Purpose...
The Urban Worm Warming Board
Winter's Coming! Well the leaves are changing, the days are shortening, and the crispness of the autumn air signals the onset of a winter that climatologists fret will be harsh. So what do we do? We insulate our homes, stock up on non-perishables, make sure our...
Let He Who Hath Not Licked an iPhone Playing a Video of Worms Cast The First Stone
And you thought YOU liked earthworms. You have to watch this. The good stuff starts about 45 seconds in.
Your Worm Bin Vs. Charlotte Airport. You Win!
Suffering from cost overruns and broken equipment that injured an employee, Charlotte Airport executives brass are looking for another vendor to run its recycling program, which features an 8,000 square foot vermicomposting bed. So it sounds like your small-scale worm...
Your Worm Obsession Is Unhealthy. And Totally Understandable.
You stand over your little angels at night, singing sweet lullabies to these gifts from God. You provide for them. You nourish them with food processed especially for them. You change their bed when it’s wet without a second thought. The idea of them leaving you...
One Picture Proves Your Garden Needs Vermicompost
The hardest of hardcore worm freaks might love sifting through academic studies, detailing the relative N-P-K of various soils, composts, and growing mediums. If you want to do this, knock yourself out. But Mary Ann Smith, a new addition to Bentley Christie’s...
1 Million Worms Start Work at Charlotte Airport
Sweet! After suffering some delays and cost overruns, the Charlotte Airport is about to add a million new jobs - for worms that is. I will be looking forward to seeing how this project goes.
Wormz Organics Closed. Owner Skips Town
Wormz Organics, a business started just this past February has gone under, its shady owner leaving behind a trail of angry farmers and a pile of unsold worm castings, yet again reminding everyone why the earthworm industry has a reputation used car dealers would...
5 Tips To Keep Correct Moisture In Your Worm Bin
A possible challenge for a beginning vermicomposter to get a handle on is keeping the moisture levels in the bin at a reasonable level. Thankfully, composting worms are very tolerant of a wide range of dampness, between 50-90%. But "wet it and forget it" is decidedly...
Embrace Your Inner Worm Nerd
Like any field that is biological in nature, yet enjoyed by academics and laypersons alike, literature about vermicomposting is split into two distinct categories for two distinct audiences. Clinical studies are written by and for academia and industry experts. The...
Urban Worm Inaugural
Welcome to the Urban Worm Company! I hope this site will be many things: informative, entertaining, and helpful in your vermicomposting and vermiculture efforts. I also hope the site is easy to use. If there is one gripe I have among 90% of the worm farming or worm...