Life as a Red Wiggler by MCR Alan S.

Hi there, I'm a red wiggler, the type of worm that helps turn food waste into usable and plant nourishing compost. I am excited to help provide you with an easy and environmentally friendly solution to your food waste. I am sure you are going to look after my buddies and I really well. You have probably been told a few things and have checked us out on the web. That's great! Here is a little more information about us.

We like to have proper moisture in our home (worm bin); we like it moist and not too wet.
Please make sure to keep a drain open in our home to make it easier for us to manage the moisture. Make sure you save any liquid that drains (if it doesn't have a foul smell) to fertilize your plants.  If our home gets too wet, adding more browns like paper towel or dried leaves will help us control the moisture and reduce bugs.

If you add a bit of sand ( about one cup sprinkled for every one inch of compostables) it helps are gizzards and keeps our land loose and easy to move around in. We also like a bit of trace minerals such as azomite and diatomaceous earth. Not only are these minerals and sand better for us, it is also much easier for you when it comes time to harvest our castings.

Here's what we like to eat:

• We too enjoy a morning coffee in the form of grinds and filters.
• Vegetables; not too many tomatoes please.
• Fruits; (no citrus) too much fruit = too many fruit flies.
• Breads, cereals, pasta (no milk products).
• Fine roots, leaves and a little grass.
• Eggshells (put eggshells in a paper towel, crush them up and throw in the the whole thing). These help keep our pH levels levels around 6.5.
• Paper products, shredded is best. We could help governments and agencies shred sensitive documents.
• Please remember don't give us meat or dairy products.
• Watch out for hot composting. Keep our temperature under 35 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit. We prefer lots of airflow. 
• We like lots of variety and quantity in our food, so give us lots, if it starts to stink maybe you have over fed us, but fear not we will get to it all in good time.
• We are prolific breeders and if you follow these simple instructions we will multiply quickly!

That’s all for now. Take care of us and have fun! Keep us in the dark, moist and fed, and don’t let us freeze -- we are Californians you know!

With love from,

A Red Wiggler

To learn more: edmonton.ca/compost

Alan S. is a Master Composter Recycler from the 2019 year. Alan helps to reduce waste and turn it into goodness one worm bin at a time.