A well working worm farm is a joy to see, and smell. Earthy rich soil and not a fly to be seen.
Worms will turn all your organic scraps into fantastic garden fertilizer and don't take up much space - perfect in courtyards, balconies, carports and gardens.
Worms are the perfect pet - you don't have to take them for walks, you feed them rubbish, you want their poo all through your garden and you can even carry them around in your hand-bag to cafes (if you're Paris Hilton)
Find out everything you need to know to build a worm farm from scratch.
Fact Sheet
What’s this video all about?
Worms worms kitchen scrap and worms. How to build a worm farm using a pre-fab worm farm what to feed them and how to look after them.
Why bother?
Sending your scraps and organic waste to land-fill causes your bin to stink and causes all-round planet-problems. Green waste in landfill produces methane gas – which is 21 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2
Worms are natural recyclers. For hardly any effort on your half you they take what we don’t want and turn it into something we do.
Worm farming is easy and rewarding. A discreet worm farm on a shady corner of your balcony or garden will turn most of your kitchen waste into fantastic fertilizer. You will have the healthiest looking plants on the block.
Worm Facts:
- Worms like dark cool, damp (not wet) dark conditions.
- You must get red wriggler, tiger or indian blue worms for your worm farm. These are the most voracious eaters. Worm farm worms are different to earth worms that live in your garden.
- Worms eat almost anything but don’t overfeed them – that is when the worm farm starts to smell, slime-up and attract flies.
- The smaller and mushier it is the quicker they eat it. The love: most food scraps, coffee grinds, tea-bags, ripped-up moist paper and cardboard and egg-shells. They have been known to eat children’s homework.
- They don’t eat: acidic foods (citrus, pineapple and vinegar), onions, meat and dairy.
- Worms have simple needs: that want to eat food scraps, excrete them out as worm castings and reproduce ever 6 weeks.
- Worm farms do not smell. If you have a smell worm-farm with little flies (vinegar flies) watch the ‘Trouble Shooting’ Worm farm video to find out an easy way to get your worm farm back on track.
- Worm wee (the liquid stuff collected in the bottom tray of your worm farm) should be diluted with water 10:1 and used on your garden.
- To make worm-tea take a scoop of castings, mix in a bucket of water and leave for up to 8 hours – no longer as bacteria develops. Pour tea on plants.
Shopping List
You’ll need:
1 worm farm. Cost: $100
Several companies make these or you could paste an ad in your local Freecycle network or paper to find an old one that is no longer used.
Some local councils also offer worm farms to their residents.
If you want to make your own you can use old Styrofoam boxes or a bathtub (preferably one that you don’t want to have a bath in!)
1 starter box of worms $30/1000 worms
You can buy a box of worms from garden shops/hardware or ask friends if you could have some from their worm farm. 1000 - 2000 is a good start. Global Worming sell boxes of worms bred to munch through scraps http://www.globalworming.com.au/
Common earthworms cannot be used in a worm farm – they aren’t hungry enough to compost your scraps quickly.
Coir (coconut fibre block) $3.00
Available in most garden centres and hardware shops.