However, the thought of learning how to compost can be intimidating. The first time I started composting, I was great at growing flies—but not compost. I did not know how to compost and felt like it wasn’t for me. It was too hard, too stinky, and there were too many bugs. Can you relate to any of those feelings? 

Fast forward a couple of years. I decided to enroll in Master Gardener classes, where two crucial things occurred:

1. I learned the correct way to compost from a local composting expert.      
2. Volunteering at the demonstration garden gave me hands-on experience learning how to compost.

With this newfound knowledge and experience, I was ready to try again. I applied what I learned and put that knowledge to work, and guess what? I was successful and had fresh compost for my garden. Since then, I’ve added hundreds of pounds of homemade fertilizer to my garden beds.  

Article Index:

How to Compost: 10 Simple Steps

1. Choose a location to compost
2. Obtain compost bins
3. Gather the correct tools for composting
4. Learn what and what not to compost​
5. Understand the difference between green and brown materials
6. Fill the bins with greens and browns
7. Observe the compost​
8. Rotate the compost through your bins​
9. Use the compost​
10. Be patient with yourself as you learn how to compost​

Compost Troubleshooting Tips

How to Compost: 10 Simple Steps

There are as many composting methods as there are gardeners, but this method works for me. I use the type of compost bin offered in my city for $5 each, but this method can also be adapted to other types of bins.

1. Choose a location to compost

Here are a few necessities for the location:

• Plenty of room – the bins I use are 3 feet (.9 m) wide and 2 ½ feet (.7 m) tall. Plan on room for at least 2 bins. Ideally, there is 3 to 4 feet (1 m) clearance in front of the bins.
• Access to water – wetting down the compost with a hose helps speed up the process, especially in dry climates like the low desert of Arizona.
• Shade – prevents compost from drying out as quickly and it’s easier for you to work in. 
• Wheelbarrow access – room to maneuver in and out is helpful.

Because composting is an important part of my garden, I’ve designed space for it. Here’s how I’ve incorporated compost into my overall garden layout.

2. Obtain compost bins

The bins need to be around 3 feet (.9 m) wide and 2 to 3 feet (.6 – .9 m) deep (smaller bins won’t heat up as well), have lids, holes drilled in the sides for airflow, and bottomless. For the method I use, you need more than one bin. For smaller yards, 2 bins work fine. Larger yards could use 3, 4, or more bins.  

Call your local city to see if they offer bins. This type of bin may also be found online on places like OfferUp and Craigslist. If you live in the City of Mesa (AZ), call 480-644-2221 to request a bin. 

3. Gather the correct tools for composting

The right tools make composting much easier. I use the following tools: (click on the name to see the ones I use on Amazon).

• Compost Thermometer – Monitoring the temperature helps you understand what is happening inside the bins. I’ve had this one since 2015, and it works great. 
• Pitchfork 
• Scoop-type shovel
• Wheelbarrow – I love this Gorilla Cart. We added no-flat wheels, and it works great. 
• Steel Pails – I use them often in my garden, and they are especially helpful at scooping out compost by the bucketful to add to the garden.
• Hose with a spray wand
• Soil sifter to remove any large pieces from the completed compost.

4. Learn what and what not to compost​

Tired of your lawn’s high maintenance and water demands? Consider these low-water-use ground covers as lawn alternatives.

5. Understand the difference between green and brown materials

Read this post for more information about how to remove Bermuda grass without chemicals.

Learn other ways to become a self-sufficient gardener in this article.

6. Fill the bins with greens and browns

Place alternating layers of green and brown material. Aim for 3 parts brown material for every 1 part of green material. When using food waste, make sure it is buried under a layer of browns to avoid problems with flies. 

Mist the layers with water as you add them to assure that the pile is adequately moist. It should have the consistency of a wrung-out sponge.

7. Observe the compost​

As decomposition starts, the pile begins to heat up. This is where the thermometer comes in handy. You don’t need to do much as long as your compost is nice and hot (110-160℉ / 43-71°C ). Once it cools (below 100℉/37°C), go to the next step. 

See troubleshooting tips (below) if you aren’t sure what is happening inside the bins.

8. Rotate the compost through your bins​

Cooled-down compost that isn’t broken down completely needs to have air and water added back into it to heat it back up. 

Use the pitchfork and shovel to move the green and brown materials from the cooled bin into an empty bin, re-moistening as you go. Break up any clumps of grass or leaves. No empty bin? Use the pitchfork to turn the material inside the bin, wetting it as you work. 

Once all material is rotated through, watch the pile – it should begin to heat back up (110-160℉ / 43-71°C ) within a day or so. When the temperatures drop back down again (below 100℉/37°C), repeat this step. The process is complete once the compost has an earthy odor and is dark brown and crumbly. 

This step is why having more than one bin is so important. Ideally, the compost rotates through the bins and then is complete. After moving the material out of a bin, refill it with new green and brown materials to begin the process again. Keep moving the materials through the bins, leaving one bin open to rotate the compost into. 

9. Use the compost​

Success! A full bin of completed compost is gold for your garden. Use the shovel, pails, and wheelbarrow to scoop the completed compost and add it to your garden beds. If you’re growing potatoes in containers, add some completed compost to top off the potatoes. They will love it! Compost is a key ingredient when learning how to fill a raised bed, since it improves fertility, structure, and soil life.

If desired, use a soil sifter to remove any large pieces from your completed compost. Toss the large pieces back into the compost pile to finish breaking down.

10. Be patient with yourself as you learn how to compost​

The tricky part of learning how to compost is that at any given time, you will be doing several of these steps with different bins. Be patient with yourself and pay attention to what is going on in each bin. Learn from your mistakes and build on your successes. 

Compost Troubleshooting Tips

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What to Feed Worms Outline:

• What do the worms in your in-bed vermicomposting bins eat?
• Perfect Worm Food
• Feed Worms These in Moderation
• What to Avoid Feeding Worms
• Tips for Feeding Worms
• Composting and Fertilizing Resources on This Website

Check out this helpful video for a visual overview of how to feed worms.

What do the Red Wiggler worms in your in-bed vermicomposting bins eat?

Worms in your vermicomposting bin break down various organic materials, transforming them into nutrient-dense worm castings that benefit your soil. Here’s a breakdown of the best foods for worms, items that should be fed in moderation, and those to avoid.

Perfect In-Bed Vermicomposting Worm Food:

• Fruits and Vegetables: Watermelon, bananas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, strawberries, apples, beans, pears, carrots, cherries, grapes, peaches, spinach, cucumbers, cabbage, celery, mangoes, tomatoes, and corn.
• Paper Products: Cardboard, shredded paper, and egg cartons.

These items break down easily and provide a balanced diet that worms love. Fruits, vegetables, and cardboard offer essential nutrients, moisture, and bulk that worms need for digestion and healthy composting.

Some of my favorite things to feed my worms include:

• Bird pecked peaches
• Spent roselle tea after steeping
• Spent okra after making okra water
• Sweet potato peelings
• Leftover pulp from making celery juice
• Amazon boxes. This shredder from Amazon will shred cardboard boxes (remove tape and labels first).

What to Feed Worms in Moderation:

• Starchy Foods: Bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, and other starchy foods.

These items can be added occasionally but should be limited. Too much starch can create an unbalanced environment in the bin, leading to odors or slowing down the composting process.

What to Avoid Feeding Worms:

• Citrus fruits: Lemons, oranges, limes, and other citrus can create an overly acidic environment.
• Meat, bones, dairy, and eggs (crushed shells are okay): These items can attract pests and take too long to break down.
• Processed, salty, or greasy foods: They are difficult for worms to digest and can harm the bin’s ecosystem.
• Pet waste: Contains harmful bacteria and pathogens.

Tips for Feeding Red Wiggler Worms in In-Bed Vermicomposting Bins:

To keep your worms happy, follow these best practices:

1. Balance Greens and Browns Each Time You Feed
   For every batch of food you add, aim to add equal amounts of “greens” (moist food scraps) and “browns” (dry carbon-rich materials). This helps maintain the right conditions.
   • Greens: Fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, bread & pasta (small amounts), coffee grounds, and crushed eggshells.
   • Browns: Cardboard, mulch, dry leaves, and shredded paper.
2. Feed Worms Once a Week
   Plan to feed your worms about once per week. Ensure the previous scraps are mostly consumed before adding new food. If you use wood chips to cover your bins, the level will drop, and you’ll know it’s time for more food.
3. Chop or Blend Food Scraps
   Smaller pieces of food break down faster, making it easier for worms to consume.
4. Cover Food Scraps with Browns
   After adding food scraps, cover them with a layer of browns, such as dry leaves, wood chips, or cardboard. This helps prevent odors and keeps fruit flies away.
5. Monitor and Remove Uneaten Food
   Remove any large pieces of uneaten food. Note what your worms are and aren’t eating to adjust future feedings.
6. Maintain Moisture Levels
   The interior of the bin should feel damp but not too wet. If the bin feels dry, lightly spray it with water or a hose to maintain moisture.
7. Cover the Bin Properly After Feeding Worms
   After feeding, cover the bin with a thick layer of wood chips or replace the lid. This helps retain moisture and keeps pests out.

By following these simple guidelines for feeding your worms in your in-bed vermicomposting bins, they will stay healthy and continue producing rich worm castings for your garden.

Composting and Fertilizing Resources on This Website:

• Vermicomposting Made Easy: In-Bed Worm Composting
• Frequently Asked Questions About In-Bed Vermicomposting
• How to Compost: 10 Steps to Make it Simple
• Why Add Worms to Your Garden: The Benefits of Worm Castings
• Worm Casting Tea: How and Why to Make It

Source:

The Squirm Farm: What Can Red Wiggler Worms Eat Infographic

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In-bed vermicomposting improves your garden’s soil by using red wiggler worms to break down organic matter right in your beds. This process produces microbe-rich worm castings that boost plant health and growth.

If you’re just getting started, be sure to check out my step-by-step guide on setting up an in-bed vermicomposting system. Curious about what to feed your worms? Head over to my blog post on what worms can and can’t eat.

FAQ About In-Bed Vermicomposting Outline:

• Will red wigglers eat my plant’s roots?
• Will worms overpopulate my garden?
• Black soldier fly larvae in worm bins
• Missing worms in compost buckets
• Composting guinea pig waste and hay
• Watering compost buckets in hot climates
• Adding chicken poop to compost buckets
• Harvesting worm castings from buckets
• Keeping worms cool in hot summers
• Ants in vermicomposting bins
• Vermicomposting in containers
• Feeding worms bokashi compost
• Vermicomposting in raised beds off the ground
• Impact of chemical fertilizers on worms
• Red wigglers vs. earthworms for vermicomposting
• Are red wigglers native to the U.S.?
• Safety of cardboard in vermicomposting
• Feeding worms bread
• Managing cockroaches in compost bins
• What if there are maggots in my bins?
• What if it’s cold where I live?
• Doesn’t this add plastic to your soil?
• Does this work in wicking beds?
• Can I use the Mill Home Composter outputs to feed my worms?
• Can I do this in native Arizona soil instead of in raised beds?
• Can I feed my fruit trees with vermicomposting bins?
• Chemicals in Plastic Bin
• Roaches in hugelkultur beds
• Florida Wigglers

Will Worms Hurt My Plants and Root Crops?

Question: Will red wigglers eat my plants/roots?

Answer: No. Red wigglers are decomposers, and they don’t have teeth. They are only interested in eating decaying organic material, so they have no interest in healthy, living plants or their roots. 

Will Worms Overpopulate My Garden?

Question: Will the worms overpopulate my garden?

Answer: No. Worms are self-limiting creatures. This means they’ll take into account how large their population is and how much food and space they have around them. So, if they feel like they have a lot of food and space, they will increase their reproduction. If they feel there is not enough food or space for everyone, they will stop reproducing. 

Black Soldier Fly Larvae in Worm Bins

Question: I have a ton of black soldier fly larvae in both of my bins. Will they be detrimental to my red wigglers?

Answer: Black soldier flies are uncommon in dry areas like Phoenix. However, they won’t harm your worms. The larvae will pupate into harmless flies within two to three weeks. Since the larvae are voracious eaters, you’ll need to increase feeding. They produce heat as they break down food, so you may notice fewer worms in the bucket initially. Worms will return once the larvae have left. You can also remove the larvae if you prefer, using a kitchen strainer to scoop them out.

Worms Missing from Compost Buckets

Question: I dug into two of the buckets to see how my worms were doing, and they were missing. What happened?

Answer: In extreme heat, worms burrow deep into the ground to escape the high temperatures. This is common in areas with intense heat. The worms will return to the buckets once the temperature cools down. Adding fresh shredded cardboard after removing the worm castings will also encourage them to return.

Composting Guinea Pig Waste

Question: Can red wigglers compost guinea pig waste and hay in my raised beds?

Answer: Yes, red wigglers will consume guinea pig manure as it decomposes. However, they won’t eat anything they don’t like until it’s broken down enough. A pound of worms can eat about a pound of waste per week. If you’re producing more than that, don’t worry—the extra waste will feed your beds over time, and the worms will eat what they need.

Watering Compost Buckets in Arizona Heat

Question: How often do you water the compost buckets in Arizona’s heat?

Answer: During the summer, the beds and buckets should be watered 2-3 times a week. In winter, watering once a week is sufficient. If your buckets are integrated into your garden’s watering system, they’ll receive water along with the rest of the bed.

Adding Chicken Poop to Compost Buckets

Question: Can I add chicken poop to the compost buckets?

Answer: Yes, but in small amounts. Too much can overwhelm the worms. Be sure to mix the chicken poop with bedding like leaves, shredded cardboard, or mulch to create a balanced environment for the worms.

Harvesting Worm Castings from Buckets

Question: Do the worm castings seep into the garden, or do I need to scoop them out?

Answer: Both. The worms will help move some of the castings into the garden. Once they’ve finished processing the food, you can also scoop out the remaining castings and spread them around your beds. Then, refill the bucket with fresh bedding and food scraps to restart the process.

Keeping Worms Cool in Arizona Summers

Question: How do you keep in-bed composting worms cool during Arizona summers?

Answer: They burrow down into the beds and look for cool spots to stay cool. In-bed worm composting in Arizona is a great option for our hot summers. Beds should be at least 12 inches deep. 

If you stop gardening and/or watering in the summer, the worms will be stressed, which will cause them to produce extra cocoons. The dryness will force them to leave to look for water, but the cocoons they leave behind will stay viable for about a year. They will hatch when the conditions are right.  If you don’t find worms in your bed in August or September, water well. There is a good chance babies will hatch.

Frequently Asked Questions About In-Bed Vermicomposting (cont.)

Ants in Vermicomposting Bins

Question: Do ants attack worms in the composting bins?

Answer: Ants don’t usually attack worms. However, making the compost area moist will discourage ants while providing a better environment for the worms. Ant bait traps can also help if ants become a problem.

Vermicomposting in Containers

Question: Can vermicomposting work in containers?

Answer: Generally, it will work fine – although it is better and easier in a larger container. The challenge with worms in pots for most people is that they tend to let plants get root bound and there is less soil than the worms like. As long as you have organic material and space for them to move, they will do great. You don’t need to bury a bin in the container. You can do the same thing if you dig out a hole and put a lid on the hole.

Can Worms Eat Bokashi Compost?

Question: Can worms eat bokashi compost?

Answer: Absolutely. Bokashi composting creates microbes that help break down waste, making it easier for worms to consume.

Vermicomposting in Raised Beds Off the Ground

Question: My raised beds are completely off the ground. Will worms survive in this setup?

Answer: Worms should be fine as long as the bed has good drainage and isn’t too shallow. Fully-raised beds can get hot in summer, so adding shade is recommended. In case the worms don’t survive the heat, you can always add more when temperatures cool down.

Impact of Chemical Fertilizers on Worms

Question: Will chemical fertilizers hurt the worms?

Answer: Small amounts of chemical fertilizers probably won’t harm the worms, but large quantities or direct contact can be harmful. Worms are best suited for converting organic material into natural fertilizer, reducing the need for inorganic chemicals.

Red Wigglers vs. Earthworms for Vermicomposting

Question: Can I use earthworms for vermicomposting, or do I need red wigglers?

Answer: Red wigglers are ideal for vermicomposting because they live in the top six inches of soil, where the compost is. Earthworms, on the other hand, burrow deeper and won’t stay in the compost area. Red wigglers also tolerate Arizona’s heat better than most earthworms.

Are Red Wigglers Native to the U.S.?

Question: Are red wigglers native to the U.S.?

Answer: No, red wigglers aren’t native. Worms were wiped out during the Ice Age, and the red wigglers we use today are not considered invasive, especially in Arizona, where they remain localized in their composting area.

Is Cardboard Toxic to Worms?

Question: Is cardboard toxic to worms?

Answer: No, cardboard is safe for worms and a valuable resource in composting. Most cardboard produced in the U.S. uses non-toxic inks, such as those made from soybean oil. Even if there are trace amounts of chemicals, the benefits of using cardboard in vermicomposting far outweigh the risks.

Feeding Bread to Vermicomposting Worms

Question: Can I feed my worms bread?

Answer: Yes, grain-based items like bread, crackers, and cooked rice are all fine for worms.

Dealing with Cockroaches in Compost Bins

Question: How do I handle cockroaches in my compost bins?

Answer: Cockroaches can be challenging to eliminate completely, but covering your food waste with at least an inch of browns (like leaves or shredded cardboard) will help reduce their presence.

What if there are maggots in my bins?

It’s not ideal, but it’s not a disaster.  Reduce the amount of food waste in the bin and add more “browns”.  This probably indicates a decline in the worm population and is generally normal in the summer.  The worms will likely recover as temperatures cool.

What if it’s Cold Where I Live?

Question: My winters freeze. Can I still have in-bed vermicomposting bins?

Answer: Worms work essentially everywhere in the United States. You must add a six-inch layer of compost or food waste covered by six inches of mulch before the first hard freeze and then leave them alone. They will be fine all winter and will come back strong in the summer.

But, the worms die if the soil actually freezes.  Anyplace that gets permafrost is too cold – that is about 80% of Alaska and a lot of Canada and any place above 8,000 – 9,000 feet in elevation.

The earth provides some warming.  Even in Michigan winters, the soil temperatures rarely get below freezing…so worms are OK.

Soil temperatures would be my guide.  If you live someplace where the soil temperature goes below 32°F (0°C), you will likely lose worms in the dead of winter.

I would still argue that, even if you need to add more worms every year, you should still do so.  You will have a better garden for less money.  The worms add microbes that convert their organic matter into food for your plants.  If they are trying to garden with purely supplemental fertilizer, they will spend more on fertilizer than just getting compost and castings (or worms).

Doesn’t this add plastic to your soil?

There is so much plastic in our everyday lives that this concern is no more or less troubling than using plastic bottles or consuming seafood.  We should reduce the amount of plastic everywhere in our lives.  

Can I add worms to wicking beds?

It is a great idea and will work well.  Do it!

Mill Home Composter

Question: I have a Mill in home “composter.” I know that it isn’t making actual compost from my kitchen scraps, but can I use what that produces to feed the worms? It is able to break down chicken bones and other things that are on the do not feed list.

Answer: This mix is ideal – the worms love it.  For clarity: worms will eat almost all the stuff on the do not feed list – but, they don’t have teeth – so we tell people not to feed them meat and cheese and bones because all of those will smell and attract rats before they break down enough for the worms to eat.  Mill is accelerating the decomposition process – so the output is great for worms.

Can I do this in native Arizona soil instead of in raised beds?

Question: Can vermicomposting help amend Arizona soil for starting a garden as opposed to doing container gardening or raised bed? If so, what would be the process?

Answer: Absolutely.  Three basic steps: (1) remove any grass or weeds (2) loosen up the existing soil (we recommend use of a broadfork instead of tilling, but at this stage it really doesn’t matter).  (3) add organic matter (compost or “green manure” like buckwheat).  Then add an in-bed worm bin and plant easy stuff.  Remember, making soil great takes two or three years – the first garden won’t be as good as the fourth – so you should grow squash and radishes and cherry tomatoes to start.

Can I feed my fruit trees with vermicomposting bins?

Question: Can vermicomposting help with the soil around my trees and shrubs and how would I go about improving that soil to feed those plants and trees?

Answer: This is slightly more complicated.  Our worms are a class of worms called “epigeic.” They operate in the top four to six inches of the soil.  To properly feed trees and larger plants, nature calls on other classes of worms (and water) to carry Red Wiggler poop deeper.  If you had the right conditions to support our worms, you would almost certainly get deeper burrowing worms (assuming they are in the Phoenix metro area).  There is certainly no harm – they won’t necessarily get the same level of benefits as they would in a garden.  To do it, dig out a hole twice the size of the basket, put it in the basket, and then fill back loose native soil back to the edge of the basket.  Then feed it.  This will work best with a layer of compost over the area they want to feed covered with mulch.

This comprehensive guide covers frequently asked questions about in-bed vermicomposting, focusing on solutions that work in hot, dry climates like Arizona. Implementing these tips will keep your worms healthy and your composting system thriving!

Chemicals in Plastic Bin

Question: Are you concerned about the chemicals on that dollar store trash can leaching into your presumably organic food?

Answer: The worms don’t care, and a hole works just as well as a basket if we just remember to feed the hole and deal with the side crumbling. If you have concerns, you should avoid the baskets and use natural wood or just a hole. We should all worry about plastic for lots of reasons. There are 7 different types of plastic products ranging from 1 (PETE) to 7 (other). In general, we should stay away from 1 and move to 2 (HDPE), but most of our food is packaged in 1. The risk from buying food is much, much higher than the risk from our bins leaching anything measurable into our food. Zach at Arizona Worm Farm has used these bins for 6 years and hasn’t seen any deterioration. We do the best we can.

Roaches in Hugelkultur Beds

Question: I am getting lots of castings in my vermicomposting bins in my beds. But I also have monster-size crickets, roaches, and earwigs. Is that normal? These are fairly new (6 mos) hugelkultur beds.

Answer: Yes, that’s normal. Especially with the conditions described. That can be mitigated by reducing the amount of food waste, covering with more dry browns. If it’s really a bother, sprinkle some Diatomaceous Earth every day or two’s. Harmless to people and worms

Will Florida wigglers kill red worms?

Question: Will Florida wigglers kill redworms? I live in NW Florida and see some wigglers in my garden already. They are jumpy and very large.

Answer: No, they won’t. Worms won’t eat anything that isn’t dead. But they can outcompete them for food. If there are lots of native worms, you’ll need to feed your worms more.

About Zach and Arizona Worm Farm

Zach Brooks owns and founded Arizona Worm Farm in Phoenix, Arizona. This 10-acre, fully sustainable, off-the-grid farm uses waste by-products to grow food and produce castings, worm castings, tea, and compost. Zach has an MBA and completed extensive sustainability coursework from ASU’s School of Sustainability. 

Arizona Worm Farm is your place in Phoenix to get worms, worm castings, compost, soils, and tea. They are working to produce the most powerful, live, active natural fertilizer on the planet!

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Most of us garden to have healthy fruits and vegetables to eat. When you add worms to your garden, the benefit of the worm castings those worms produce is that you will have better living soil. Better living soil will produce better fruits and vegetables with less water and other fertilizer.  Healthier for you.  Healthier for the planet.

”Worms literally move the earth in the process of their meanderings. Their passage through the earth aerates the soil, and the natural chemistry of their guts renders soil and plant matter into fertile pellets”¹

Charles Darwin

Article Outline

1. The Benefits of Adding Worms and Worm Castings to Your Garden
2. The Science Behind the Benefits of Worm Castings
3. The Science Behind the Nutrients Plants Need
4. How Microbial Life in Soil Helps Plants Use the Nutrients in the Soil
5. Encouraging Microbial Activity Enables Plants to Help Themselves
6. How to Imitate Nature in Your Garden With Worms and Worm Castings
7. How Many Worm Castings Should I Add to My Garden Beds?
8. Do I need to add worms?
9. About Zach and the Arizona Worm Farm

The Benefits of Adding Worms and Worm Castings to Your Garden

I own the Arizona Worm Farm and want you to buy worm castings for your garden. I want to take the time to explain what worm castings do for your soil, but let’s start with the benefits of worms and worm castings.

The USDA says, “Worm castings are high in plant-available nutrients and help improve soil structure and water holding capacity.”²  PennState³ quotes their studies that tell us worm castings will add beneficial microbes to your soil that will do all of the following:

• They “make” food: Microbes break down organic matter into digestible food for your plants.
• They protect your plants: Microbes can outcompete “bad” microbes, produce toxic compounds, or parasitize them. They can also activate plant immune responses to help them fight disease.
• They encourage plants to grow and heal: Microbes release phytohormones that can regulate plant growth and trigger immunity.
• Microbes help your soil use and retain water better. They also help absorb and recycle water in the soil. They extend the reach of your plants’ roots to help the plants access more water.
• They foster healthy growth: Microbes can help plants tolerate stress

The Science Behind the Benefits of Worm Castings

The science is a long journey into the details, but it begins with a simple idea. Nature grew abundant fruits and vegetables long before we showed up with our NPK tests, Miracle Grow, pH balancers, and mycorrhizal amendments. So, if we can imitate Nature in our yards and gardens and get out of the way, our gardens will thrive.

Soil is made up of five basic building blocks – minerals, organic matter, living organisms, water, and air.

• Minerals are tiny pieces of rock that have broken down over time. 
• Organic matter (what soil scientists call Detritus) is partially broken-down leaves, grass, mulches, and plants.  For most of us, this is the stuff that falls from our trees and plants, plus the compost we add every time we plant.
• Healthy soil is made up of almost 50% water and air.

The Science Behind the Nutrients Plants Need

Plants need Nutrients to Grow. There are three primary macronutrients that all plants need to grow healthy and strong – nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). That’s the NPK you see on fertilizer labels. They are the nutrients that plants need most to grow.

• Nitrogen helps plants grow leaves and stems.
• Phosphorus makes flowers bloom, and roots grow.
• Potassium supports the plants’ immunity to disease and affects the fruit’s quality.

There are also many macronutrients—calcium, magnesium, and sulfur—and micronutrients —chlorine, boron, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, and nickel – that plants need to grow.

It is also important to note that the balance of these nutrients is critically important.  Too much or too little of a micronutrient can keep a plant from absorbing macronutrients.  For example, Boron deficiency commonly results in fewer flowers per plant. You might look at your plant and add Phosphorus (because, duh, Phosphorus makes flowers bloom), when your soil has plenty of Phosphorus and not enough Boron. More on that later.

The pH (short for the power of Hydrogen), which measures the acidic/basic level of soil and water, can impact how plants consume these nutrients. Most crops grow best in soils with a pH of 6.5-6.8. Here in the Phoenix area, our water tends to be close to 8, so our plants may have difficulty accessing certain nutrients. Again, more on that later. 

If everything is right and in balance, your plants will grow and be productive, the fruit and vegetables they produce will be of higher quality, and your plants can better resist disease and pest pressure. 

How Microbial Life in Soil Helps Plants Use the Nutrients in the Soil

Let’s get nerdy. Microbes are also present in soil. They are quite small (a teaspoon of worm castings can contain one billion bacteria representing 10,000 species and three to four yards of fungal hyphae), but they play a critical role in feeding our plants.

The organic matter in our soil holds most of the nutrients plants need in complex molecules like proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that plants can’t use directly. To make these nutrients available for plants, soil organisms like bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and pill bugs decompose the organic matter. This process converts nutrients into forms that plants can absorb and increases the soil’s ability to retain nutrients like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. 

Microbes take the food in the organic material and convert it into forms our plants can eat.  We call that “Nutrient Cycling“.

“A nutrient cycle is the cyclic pathway by which nutrients pass through to be recycled and reutilized. The pathway comprises cells, organisms, community, and ecosystem.”⁴

In this process, nutrients get absorbed, transferred, released, and reabsorbed. It is a natural recycling system of mineral nutrients. Nutrients consumed by plants and animals are returned to the environment after they fall off trees or die (or, in the case of animals, when they poop) and decomposition, and the cycle continues.

“Soil microbes decompose organic matter to release nutrients. They also trap and transform nutrients into the soil, which plant roots can take up.”⁵

Encouraging Microbial Activity Enables Plants to Help Themselves

So, soil microbes convert what is in the organic matter into food the plants can eat.  But Nature takes it to an even better place.  Plants and microbes have “conversations” – plants produce exudates (sugars) that feed the microbes that make the nutrients plants need.  For example, while many microbes fix atmospheric nitrogen, some provide specific nutrient availability to your plants. Rhizobia-legumes provide N2-fixation. Plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi assist with phosphorus availability, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi forage soil phosphorus through their hyphae root system. 

Plants can foster the growth of the microbes that produce the specific nutrients they need. When we talked about a need for balance in macronutrients and micronutrients (a couple of paragraphs above) – we now see the brilliance of Nature (and the importance of microbially active soils). Your plants will tell your microbes when they are out of balance, and the microbes will help retrieve and supply the nutrients your plants lack.

With many micronutrients, too much is as bad as too little.  Getting your soil balanced by adding micronutrients is the process soil scientists with advanced degrees get right at giant agricultural companies with labs, tests, and expensive machines.  I have always found it impossible to get right in my backyard.  Conversely, using worm castings to add microbes that talk to plants to balance naturally is demonstrably easier – and has never failed me.

But wait, there’s more!

The National Institute of Health reports many studies that show microbes can increase or decrease the pH and thus produce a more or less suitable environment for themselves.  Microbes like 6.8 to 7.0 can modify their environments to be closer to 7.  They will drive the pH to be what your plants prefer.

How to Imitate Nature in Your Garden With Worms and Worm Castings

We don’t need to understand soil science to get this right. We just need to make sure our gardens and yards have the basics:

• Organic matter (decomposed material (plants, insects, food scraps) or compost you make yourself or get from The Arizona Worm Farm). 
• Microbes (from worms or worm castings)
• Water and Air

If you continuously build up the organic matter in your garden by adding compost to your garden beds regularly, using mulch, growing cover crops, and adding manure, you will have the building blocks in place. By adding worms or worm castings, you add the life you need to transform that material into exactly the nutrients your plants need to thrive.

The bottom line is that microbially active soil with lots of organic matter will fine-tune itself to produce abundant growth.  The National Center for Biotechnology put it this way: 

“Vermicompost enhances soil biodiversity by promoting the beneficial microbes which in turn enhances plant growth directly by production of plant growth-regulating hormones and enzymes and indirectly by controlling plant pathogens, nematodes, and other pests, thereby enhancing plant health and minimizing the yield loss.”

The benefits of worm castings can be summarized in this way: worms grow helpful microbes in their guts that end up in their castings.  When moved promptly, those microbes flourish in gardens with rich organic materials.

How many worm castings should I add to my garden beds?

• For established beds, apply 4 cups per 4×8 bed.
• In new beds, aim for around 5% worm castings (11 gallons per 4×8 bed).
• Layer them on top of the soil and lightly water them in.

Worm castings provide long-lasting nutrients and help build healthy soil biology, making them one of my favorite steps when filling a raised bed. Want more details? Check out my guide on how to amend your garden soil.

Do I need to add worms?

I am often asked if I need to add worms to my garden.  In many geographies, creating a welcoming environment (lots of organic matter and regular water) will attract worms.  They will “show up”.  If you live in an area with moist, loamy soil (like, for example, Minnesota or New Jersey – even Central Phoenix in the irrigated sections), you will almost certainly attract worms – and there is no reason to buy them to add.  If, on the other hand, you live in a desert where the native soil is dry, lacking in organic matter, sandy, or just very hard – you will have a hard time attracting enough worms to have a positive impact on your garden.

And, as I move from Soil Nerd to Worm Nerd, I will tell you that there are hundreds of species of worms. The worms fit into three general categories: 

• Deep burrowing worms (Anecic)
• Shallow-burrowing earthworms (Endogeic)
• Surface-dwelling (Epigeic)

The worms you will attract to your gardens tend to be Anecic or Endogeic and move quite deep in your soils.  They don’t stay where you put them, and you can’t control their movements. Because they only breed in very deep burrows, they can’t be bred in normal worm farms like ours.  The worms we raise and sell at the Arizona Worm Farm are Epigeic – they operate in the top three or four inches of soil and don’t burrow (which means they also don’t wander to your neighbors or fields).

Red Wigglers are perfect worms for worm bins and in-garden worm composting. We recommend adding these worms to your garden. If you feed them regularly and keep them properly watered, you will never have to buy them again.

Sources used for this article about why to add worms and the benefits of worm castings:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Movement_in_Plants
2. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2023/04/13/want-compost-your-garden-bed-let-worms-do-it
3. https://extension.psu.edu/earthworms
4. https://collegedunia.com/exams/nutrient-cycle-biology-articleid-7558
5. https://extension.umn.edu/soil-management-and-health/soil-organic-matter-cropping-systems

Additional information about adding worms and the benefits of worm castings:

• Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizing: Four Simple Steps
• How and Why to Make Worm Castings Tea
• Vermicomposting Made Easy: In-Bed Vermicomposting
• How to Prepare Your Soil for Planting

About Zach and the Arizona Worm Farm

Zach Brooks owns and founded The Arizona Worm Farm in Phoenix, Arizona. This 10-acre, fully sustainable, off-the-grid farm uses waste by-products to grow food and produce castings, worm castings, tea, and compost. Zach has an MBA and completed extensive Sustainability coursework from ASU’s School of Sustainability. 

The Arizona Worm Farm is your place in Phoenix to get worms, worm castings, compost, soils and tea.  They are working to produce the most powerful, live, active natural fertilizer on the planet!

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In-bed vermicomposting solves the problem of what to do with the worms during extremes of hot and cold. For example, vermicomposting in hot weather places (like the low desert of Arizona) is difficult unless you bring the worms inside during the summer months. With in-bed vermicomposting, the worms simply burrow deeper in the beds during the heat of an Arizona summer and then emerge again in the fall. 

Article Index:

• How does vermicomposting work?
• What are the benefits of worm composting (vermicomposting)?
• What is the easiest way to make and maintain a vermicomposting (worm composting) bin?
• When should I add in-bed vermicomposting bins to my garden beds?
• Which type of worms should I use for in-bed vermicomposting?
• How many in-bed vermicomposting bins should you have?
• What do worms eat?
• How do I make an in-bed vermicomposter (worm composter)?

For FAQ and more details about how to implement in-bed vermicomposting, read this blog post.

How does vermicomposting work?

Worm composting – also called vermicomposting (‘vermi’ = worm) – is the process of using worms for composting food scraps into vermicompost. Worms eat up to half their weight daily in kitchen scraps, and worm castings are the byproduct of all that eating. Worm castings = GARDEN GOLD!

During digestion, the worms secrete chemicals that break organic matter into nutrition readily available for plants. Worm castings and the chemicals secreted during digestion make up vermicompost.

What are the benefits of worm composting (vermicomposting)?

• Vermicompost improves soil texture and structure and aerates the soil. 
• Vermicompost increases the water-holding capacity of soil. 
• The nutrients in vermicompost are immediately available to plants. 
• Worm castings contribute to faster plant growth and higher production.
• Worm castings are dense in microorganisms and nutrients.
• The chemicals in worm castings help prevent “damping off” and other diseases.

For more information about the amazing things worm castings do for your garden, read “Why Add Worms to Your Garden: The Benefits of Worm Castings.”

What is the easiest way to make and maintain a vermicomposting (worm composting) bin?

A vermicomposting bin built into your raised beds, containers, or in-ground garden bed is the easiest way to make a worm composting bin. Gardening with kids? This is a fun project to do with them. Get more tips for gardening with kids in this article.

There is no need to harvest the worm castings or move the worms inside for extremes of hot and cold temperatures. The worms live, work, reproduce, and make worm castings in the garden bed right where they are needed. 

When should I add in-bed vermicomposting bins to my garden beds?

If you live in a hot summer climate, do not add worms during the hottest months of the year. In the low desert of Arizona, the best time to add in-bed vermicomposting bins to your garden is from mid-September through May.

Which type of worms should I use for in-bed vermicomposting?

Red wigglers are composting worms that hang out in the top six inches of your garden. “Earthworms” is a generic term for one of the hundreds of varieties of worms. If you dig them from the garden, they won’t stay in the compost level.

That’s not bad, but they won’t hang out in the habitat we set up. Most bait worms need cooler temperatures than Arizona summers. If you buy nightcrawlers, you will probably lose them in June or July. We want all worms. Red wigglers will stay and live better, but no worm is bad.

Purchasing red wiggler worms locally is the best choice. I get my worms from Arizona Worm Farm here in Phoenix. You can also buy them online.

How many in-bed vermicomposting bins should you have?

I have one worm habitat in each bed. One habitat per bed is enough to get a continuous flow of microbes.

You can add as many bins as you need to process your food scraps and waste, but you don’t need a high density of worms for a successful garden.

Add at least 300 worms for each habitat. 600-800 is better, if possible.

Worms multiply to fit the space and available food. In a big garden, worms will breed faster.

What do worms eat?

Perfect worm food: Watermelon, bananas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, strawberries, apples, beans, pears, carrots, cherries, grapes, peaches, spinach, cucumbers, cabbage, celery, mangoes, tomatoes, corn, cardboard, shredded paper and egg cartons.

Feed worms in moderation: Bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and other starchy foods

Avoid feeding worms: Citrus, meats, bones, eggs (crushed shells are ok), dairy products, processed foods, salty or greasy food, and pet waste.

For more details and information about feeding worms, read this guide.

How do I make an in-bed vermicomposter (worm composter)?

Supplies needed for in-bed vermicomposting:

• Bin (see options below).
• Shredded cardboard – This shredder from Amazon will shred cardboard boxes (remove tape and labels first).
• Kitchen scraps – Perfect worm food includes bananas, watermelon, pumpkin, strawberries, apples, and more. I keep them on the counter in this container until I add them to the bins.
• Worms – Red wigglers are preferred. I get mine from Arizona Worm Farm. Look for a local supplier if possible. If you can’t find one you can get them online here. The earthworms typically found in the garden aren’t suitable for vermicomposting.

Bin options for in-bed vermicomposting:

The bin helps designate a place in your garden for the worms. Choose one slightly smaller than the depth of your garden bed. There are several options:

• These plant protectors provide a large, deep area in the bed.
• They come ready to use and are the right size to use underneath my watering grids.
• This is my favorite way to create a cavity in my beds for the worms’ habitat.

• A wire garbage can with wide openings is the simplest way to add bins to your beds. They are available at Dollar Tree or Amazon.
• Lifting the bin out of the bed is simple when it’s time to collect the finished worm castings.

• Shape hardware cloth into a cylinder slightly shorter than the depth of your garden bed.
• Wire the ends of the hardware cloth together.

Directions for installing and using an in-bed vermicomposting bin:

1. Dig a hole in the garden bed the bin size.

2. Place the bin in the hole.

3. Fill the habitat with shredded cardboard (or wood chips) and wet it down. Allow cardboard to absorb moisture overnight.

4. Add 300-600 red wiggler worms. Red wigglers are preferred. I get mine from Arizona Worm Farm. Look for a local supplier if possible. If you can’t find one you can get them online here.

5. Begin feeding worms – see worm feeding details.

6. Cover the food scraps with a layer of “brown” materials—examples: wood chips, dried leaves, soil, and shredded cardboard.

7. Cover the worm habitat. Use a thick layer of wood chips. You could also use a piece of wood or a tile.

8. Check back occasionally and add more food scraps. (Always top with browns). Remove any large pieces of uneaten food.

9. When food scraps are gone, and the bucket is empty, you can harvest the castings. (The worms will leave the bucket and migrate to other areas of the bed). Spread the castings around the garden bed. You can also leave the castings in place.

10. Begin the process over again, starting with fresh shredded cardboard (or wood chips), food scraps, and browns—no need to add additional worms.

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Learn how to make nutrient-rich organic worm castings tea for bigger harvests, healthier trees & pest-free gardens. Zach from Arizona Worm Farm shares his recipe.

Article Outline:

• What is worm castings tea?
• How & Why to Make Worm Castings Tea: Zach’s Recipe for a Pest Free Garden
• Why bother making it?
• What are the benefits of worm castings tea?
• Worm castings tea recipe development
• Use fresh and varied inputs for the best tea
• Gather the supplies
• Zach’s Worm Casting Tea Recipe
• How to apply worm castings tea
• When to apply worm castings tea

What is worm castings tea?

Worm castings tea, also known as vermicompost tea, worm compost tea, or worm casting tea, is a nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer brewed by soaking worm castings (and other ingredients), in aerated water. It’s a natural way to feed your plants and boost soil health, teeming with beneficial microbes and minerals.

Zach from Arizona Worm Farm has spent the last five years perfecting his recipe, and now he’s sharing it with us so we can learn how to make worm castings tea at home.

How & Why to Make Worm Castings Tea: Zach’s Recipe for a Pest Free Garden

Guest post by Zach Brooks, Owner of Arizona Worm Farm

Why bother making it?

It’s a lot of trouble – so let’s start with why. Quite simply: Your vegetable yield will increase. Your trees will be healthier. Your flowers will be bug-free.

What are the benefits of worm castings tea?

There’s a lot of soil science – pure academic research and decades of field testing that backs up this basic concept: if you suspend microbes in clean water and add air, the microbes will multiply dramatically. When you then transfer that microbe-laden brew into your soils and onto your plants, the microbes thrive and do what they do almost immediately.

Here’s what all those microbes do:

• Help produce thicker leaves so your plants protect themselves against frost, sunburn, and pests. 
• Rapidly convert organic matter from the soil into food for your plants.  
• Tell your plants there are pests present before those pests arrive, so your plant protects itself from the inside out.  
• Extend the reach of your plant’s roots so your plants grow better with less water. 
• Eat harmful microbes.  
• Improve soil structure through the formation of soil aggregates. 
• Increase soil porosity, resulting in better aeration and water retention. 
• Stop the degradation of soil pollutants and provide pH buffering.

Convinced about the benefits of worm castings tea? Let’s talk about how to make it.

Worm castings tea recipe development

Over the last five years, I have run more than 125 experiments where a standard recipe was compared to variations of ingredients or procedures.

We then looked for and counted microbes under a microscope.

Worm castings experiment findings:

• The 27-hour brewing time increased protozoa activity.
• Humic acid stimulated fungi activity.
• Kelp stimulated protozoa activity.
• Fish fertilizer stimulated fungi activity and increased nutrient content.
• Worm castings resulted in increased fungi content.

I am going to share our recipe and approach – although I will reiterate, that this is a bit of a bother, and you need the correct inputs to get this right. 

We sell it fresh every Saturday morning here at the Worm Farm. An easier option is to just come by a gallon or two.

Use fresh and varied inputs for the best tea

Start with as varied and healthy a collection of microbes as possible. Use your castings, fresh from your worm bin, and your compost, fresh from your piles. Use other sources of microbes like hydrated mulch that is breaking down or mushroom compost.  

If you don’t have your own, buy them from a local farm where you can get fresh. The big box compost and worm castings sealed in plastic do not have much microbial life. If you come here to my farm and want inputs for your tea, tell us so we can sell you unscreened material.

We don’t screen any of the inputs before we use them to make our tea here. The compost and castings will have larger chunks of wood than our typical commercial product. This mostly serves to reduce microbe exposure to heat and dryness and to avoid breaking fungal hyphae strands.  

The other ingredients are humic extract, kelp meal, fish hydrolysate, and Arizona Worm Farm’s BSFL Nutrient +. How many of these you use is up to you. The extra additives will improve the tea but are not essential.

Gather the supplies

• A seven-gallon bucket (This size allows you to make 5 gallons of tea.)
• A “tea bag” (You can add the material to the water and aerate it, but the bag makes it easier to spray and use in our gardens.)
• A pump that can produce a “rolling boil” – bubbles that make the water look like it is boiling hard – with no heat. We recommend this home brewing kit from Compost Tea Lab. It contains a pump, a bubble snake, and a tea bag.
• Hose end sprayer
• Fresh worm castings
• Unscreened compost
• Decomposed hydrated wood chip mulch
• Humic extract
• Commercial kelp meal 
• Fish hydrolysate
• Arizona Worm Farm’s BSFL Nutrient + 

Zach’s Worm Casting Tea Recipe

Serving Size:

5 gallons

Time:

24-27 hours

Difficulty:

Medium

Ingredients

• 5 Gallons (19 liters) of pure well water, collected rainwater, or city water allowed to sit out overnight. *see note
• 12 oz (340g) worm castings 
• 4 oz (113g) of unscreened handmade compost
• 4 oz (113g) decomposed wood chip mulch (hydrated)
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) humic acid
• 2 Tablespoons (30g)  kelp meal
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) fish hydrolysate
• 2 Tablespoons (30g)  AZWF BSFL Nutrient+

Directions

1. Place the bubble snake in the bucket.
2. Add 5 gallons of water to the bucket. (see temperature note below)
3. Fill the compost tea bag with castings, compost, and mulch.
4. Tie the tea bag to the snake.
5. Add liquid and powdered ingredients to the bucket.
6. Turn on the pump.
7. Replace ingredients in the tea bag with fresh castings, compost, and mulch after 1 hour and again after 2 hours. After the 3rd hour of aeration, take the tea bag out of the bucket. (Add spent ingredients to garden beds or containers.)
8. Continue aerating the tea for 21-24 hours, but not longer.
9. Use tea within 2-3 hours. The microbes begin dying when you take the tea off the bubbler. After 4 hours, the numbers return to where you started. 

* A note about water: Most city water has chlorine to kill parasites, bacteria, and viruses. It kills the bad stuff but also kills the good stuff. If you only have access to city water, add water to the bucket and let it sit overnight. The chlorine will dissipate. If you are in a hurry, boiling for 15 minutes will have the same effect. Allow to cool before use.

Temperature: Keep water temperature between 60-70°F (15.5-21°C)–above 85°F-90°F (29-32°C) is too hot.

Recipe courtesy of Zach Brooks, owner of Arizona Worm Farm

Printable copy of the worm castings recipe:

How to apply worm castings tea

There are many ways to apply tea – and they are all easy. 

As a soil drench: Pour it on the soil around your plants. Add 2 gallons of water to each gallon of tea for a soil drench. Or use it at full strength and then water the soil well.

Foliar feed: Add it to a hose-end sprayer and spray it as a foliar feed.

• Strain the tea through an extra fine mesh strainer before use.
• Put the dial on the “most product” level and fill the jar with undiluted tea.
• Rinse the filter in the hose end sprayer frequently. The hose end sprayer should empty quickly. If it is not emptying, the filter may be clogged.

Irrigation injection system: Follow system instructions for use.

 When to apply worm castings tea

1. At the beginning of each season

• In the fall to get your plants ready for frost.
• In the spring for a harvest boost.
• Just before summer to get plants ready for the heat. 
• Use it as often as weekly; it only does good. However, more than four times a year is probably not worth the time and money.

2. When setting up new garden beds or adding fresh soil

Apply tea when you set up a new bed (to get the soil ready). For best results, apply it a week or two before you plant, and then keep the soil watered like you had plants in it.

3. When planting new trees

Using worm castings tea when you plant new trees has been shown to dramatically reduce transplant shock and help new trees establish roots.

4. To add microbes when fertilizing your fruit trees

Adding microbes in the form of worm castings or worm castings tea is the first of four steps to fertilizing fruit trees. Learn the additional steps in this blog post.

Arizona Worm Farm offers fresh worm castings tea most Saturdays. They also offer mobile tea sprays. See their website for availability.

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Self-sufficient gardening is developing skills and implementing systems to help your garden thrive with less dependence upon other sources and less influence from outside forces.

A self-sufficient garden means you don’t have to run to the store whenever you need seeds, compost, or fertilizer. Learn more about how to make your garden (and you!) self-sufficient with these 10 tips. 

10 Tips for Having a More Self-Sufficient Garden

These ten tips aren’t in any particular order, but the more of these suggestions you implement, the more self-sufficient your garden will become. 

1. Learn how to save seeds

Saving seeds is not complicated; it is often straightforward. Learn about the crops you are growing and see if it is possible to save seeds from them. Learn the best time to harvest seeds, and store them properly. (This blog post tells you how.) Properly-saved seeds will last for years.

An added advantage to saving seeds is that seeds you save from crops that grow well in your garden are adapted to your garden’s unique growing conditions. 

I go into detail in this blog post and in this video about the specifics of saving seeds, but the bottom line is that YOU CAN LEARN TO DO IT! 

2. Plan and grow your own “seed” crops

When you think of seed saving – think outside the box a little. There are many crops that, if you save bulbs or learn how they propagate, you can grow enough to consume and set aside some to replant the following season. 

For example, save your best cloves of garlic to plant the following season. Because I have two planting windows for potatoes, I can save some of my spring potatoes to plant out in the fall. Save a couple of sweet potatoes and grow slips to plant next spring. This blog post tells you how.

3. Learn how to start from seeds (indoors and out) 

Learning how to grow crops from seeds successfully is a valuable skill. It can require practice and the right equipment if growing indoors. However, the initial outlay in time and money will be well-paid over and over in the number of transplants you don’t have to purchase from the garden center. 

Although prices have gone up, the price of a packet of seeds is usually a few dollars (free if you save your own), and within that seed packet, there are usually dozens of seeds. If stored properly, seeds will last many years and give you more transplants than you probably need.

On the other hand, a six-pack of vegetable transplants (the price for these has also gone up!) is usually considerably more than the price of a package of seeds. 

The added benefit of learning how to start from seed is the wide variety of fruits and vegetables, flowers, and herbs that are now accessible for you to add to your garden. 

4. Learn which perennial crops grow well in your zone and area

Perennials are a sure way to become more self-sufficient in the garden.

Perennial crops come back season after season, with just a little seasonal upkeep or maintenance needed from you. Good examples of perennial crops to consider adding to your garden are asparagus, strawberries, artichokes, rhubarb, perennial kale, Jerusalem artichoke, I’itoi onions, longevity spinach, and peppers. 

5. Plant fruit trees suited to your climate zone

Learn which types of fruit trees grow well in your zone and add them to your garden. Learn how many chill hours your area receives and pick fruit trees that require that number (or less). For example, where I live, citrus grows well and thrives in our native soil, as do varieties of peaches, figs, and pomegranates.  

Fruit trees not only provide an abundance of fruit, but many are deciduous, and their leaves are valuable additions to the soil and compost pile.

Don’t forget other fruits like blackberries, raspberries, grapes, goji berries, etc. Learn what grows well in your area and plant it! 

6. Learn how to propagate plants

Adding perennials can be a substantial investment, but there is another way to add perennials. Learn how to propagate and multiply your existing plants (or others’ plants). There are many methods: 

• Cuttings 
• Division
• Air or ground layering
• Grafting

7. Learn how to compost 

Compost is a mixture of ingredients that would otherwise be in the landfill used to fertilize and improve the soil. Adding compost to your garden at the beginning of each season is the best way to prepare your soil for spring, summer, and fall planting.

Compost:

• Adds organic matter to the soil to improve the texture.
• Fresh compost contains billions of living microorganisms.
• Improves plant health and production.
• Protects plants from certain diseases.
• Helps moderate soil pH. 
• Supports the beneficial microbes already in the soil.  

With so many reasons to add compost, learning how to compost should be high on your list of ways to become more self-sufficient in the garden. 

I compost my garden waste using traditional composting methods and my kitchen scraps using in-bed vermicomposting. I have articles and videos on YouTube about both processes. 

8. Create your own fertilizer for self-sufficient gardening

Feeding your soil with compost is essential, but you may sometimes want added fertilizer boosts. There are a couple of ways you can produce some of your own: 

Chickens or other livestock produce waste that is high in nitrogen that can be added to compost and then fed to your plants.

Grow comfrey. Comfrey leaves are high in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and many trace elements. Comfrey leaves decompose into a liquid rather quickly and make an excellent liquid fertilizer.

Gow cover crops. Some cover crops can help increase the nitrogen in the soil or be used as green manure.

In this article, learn more about using cover crops during summer to improve garden soil.

9. Learn how to collect and use rainwater

Collecting and saving rainwater for use in the garden makes sense and was a common practice by our ancestors. 

Benefits of saving rainwater include:

• Water conservation.
• Saves money on utility bills.
• Access to water during a drought.
• Rainwater contains fewer concentrations of dissolved minerals like magnesium and calcium.
• Unlike tap water, rainwater isn’t treated with chlorine, minerals, and salts.

Before collecting rainwater, check your local laws and regulations to make sure it is legal in your area. 

10. Maximize your garden space for self-sufficient gardening

There never seems to be enough room in our gardens (no matter how large they are) to grow everything we want. Using your area efficiently will help you become more self-sufficient in the garden. Methods that maximize garden space include: 

Vertical gardening is better for plants and gives you more room to plant! Read this blog post to learn more.

Extend the seasons with shade, hoop houses, crop covers, etc. Read this blog post to learn more.

Succession planting. Don’t leave empty areas in the garden. When a spot opens up, plant something! Learn more about succession planting in this guide.

Find creative ways to use your garden harvests around the house. Try growing loofah, a plant that not only thrives in the heat but also helps create a more sustainable kitchen with natural scrubbers.

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