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Worm farms are great for
breaking down organic waste such as left over food. It means
that you don’t get a smelly rubbish bin, you put less
rubbish in the land fills, and you get great worm fertiliser
for the garden.
Adding worm castings to the soil promotes soil fertility,
moisture retention, and encourages plant growth.
There are many different options for worm farms, from simple
make your own, raised boxes, or purpose built ones that you
can buy from your local hardware store or garden centre. The
most important thing is that you need to keep the worm farm
cool and damp.
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Make a bed that the worm farm can sit in. It can be a tyre
stuffed with newspaper sitting on an old piece of carpet and
corrugated iron, or a wooden box without a lid, a plastic
bin or even an old bath tub. Make sure you have got an
access way to the bottom of the structure to remove the worm
castings.
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Fill the bottom of your new
worm bed with a layer of bedding material such as
compost, horse manure, or shredded paper with a few
handfuls of soil.
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Fill with worms. The best
type of worm to use is the tiger worm. Cover with wet
newspaper or wet old sacks.
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Feed the worms regularly
with scraps of food. Make sure you cut the scraps up
into small pieces otherwise it will rot before the worms
can eat it. Most kitchen scraps are ok, including tea
bags, meat, kitchen towels, and coffee grounds.
Go easy on citrus scraps and don’t give them onions, garlic
or spicy food.
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As the worms break down the
waste, use the worm casting from the bottom of the worm
farm to fertilise your garden.
Keeps the worm farm moist and add extra water in summer if
necessary.
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Buying worm bins
Worm bins come in many shapes
and sizes, however most have multiple layers for easy
removal of the worm casts. Some come with taps to allow the
worm tea (nutrient rich water that comes out the bottom) to
be removed.
Try to get one that is made from recycled materials. Size,
price and functionality vary, with costs between $20 and
$200. Choose carefully for what will suit the amount of
kitchen scraps that you will produce, and ask the retailer
lots of questions.
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Common worm farming problems
| Problem |
Cause |
Solution |
| Rotting food |
Too much for population |
Feed less |
| Fruit flies around
farm, larvae or small white bugs and worms |
Too acidic |
Cover food with damp
paper or bury into the bedding.
Add lime to increase pH |
Worms climbing up
sides
Worms very fat and pale |
Too wet |
Add paper products
and dry leaves, gently fork holes in the working
layer |
| Ants |
Too dry or acidic |
Add water/lime
If
your worm farm is on legs, place each leg in a
container of water to stop such pests from getting
in |
| Food rotting and not
eaten |
Too much food / wrong food /
pieces too big |
Add less food, break
into small pieces |
| No worm tea |
Not enough water |
Add water |
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Last page update: July 2010 |