Flow through vermicomposting

Flow through Vermicomposting is probably the most efficient way of getting your worms to convert waste to good quality compost. The principle being that you add organic waste to the top and remove compost from the bottom. With a good air supply coming in from the base, hot air (heated by the composting process) rising through the column of compost draws in fresh air from the bottom, thus ensuring a continuous aerobic process and optimum conditions for the worms.





Pictures of my flow through bin:

This bin was one I bought in 1999 when worm composting was in its infancy in Ireland. The instructions were basically to throw in your food waste at the top and collect the compost out the bottom. It worked to a degree, but worm populations never got that good, and despite the size, it wasn't able to cope with huge amounts of waste. It also got very wet, even with the spigot open, and the compost was very compacted and sometimes smelly.



So to increase it's efficiency I've added rods above the collecting opening:
















I laid a few sheets of newspaper over the rods and then added the contents of my can-o-worms over that. The can-o-worms had E Hortensis in it (euro night crawlers/ dendrobaenas), and they seem to be loving their new bin.
I feed once or twice a week, depending on how much waste builds up. I shred all of our light cardboard, most of our corrugated cardboard, a fair bit of newspaper and all our office waste paper/ junk mail and use the waste paper as 'bedding' or to keep the carbon:nitrogen ration balanced.