So you want to start a worm farm. Worm farming is a great way to reduce the waste you're throwing
out to landfill
and can help you create homemade soil conditioners for your garden. Did you know that
the average Aussie bin is made of up to forty percent food
why not get some new down to earth friends who'll appreciate the food
more than the tip will. We will talk you through all four steps
unless you already know where you want to go and then you can just jump straight to that
section
how do you become a worm farmer
first source a worm farm and some composting worms. When figuring out how big your
worm farm needs to be
and how many worms you need, think about how much food you throw away per day.
Worms can eat about half their body weight worth of food
so if you throw away two apple cores and a carrot you need this many worms
to consume it. If you're unsure about how much food you throw away
just buy a large box of worms to get you started. Choose a well-constructed worm
farm so pests can't get in.
remember it's not a pest farm it's a worm farm. Next set up your worm farm.
What materials do you need? Grab a pair of gloves and an apron,
so you don't get too dirty. Then source two sheets of newspaper,
a hessian cloth that is as wide and as long as your worm farm,
grab a large bowl or bucket, your worm farm,
worms and the coco fiber brick that came with the kit.
Place the coco fiber brick in the bowl and cover with water
and wait two hours for it to expand.
While you're waiting for your cocoa fiber brick to expand move your worm farm
into a cool, dark, dry area away from the hot sun. Place your newspaper
on the base of your first working tray. Once your coco fiber brick has expanded
grab it out of the bowl and layer it over the newspaper
it should still be quite wet. Add the worms on top of the coco fiber and newspaper
keeping any bedding that came with them then cover with the worm blanket.
A worm blanket can be made out of any old fabric, today we're using hessian.
And now, let your worms settle in for a week.
Then dig a shallow trench
on top of the bedding
place a handful of food scraps
and cover with the bedding.
Replace the blanket.
And the lid.
and voila, you're all set up. You only need one tray until it fills up.
to learn how to add other trays or how to rotate them visit greenvillages.com.au
So your worms are settled and happy in their new home
let's find out the best way to feed them. Make sure you feed them regularly.
If you feed them huge amounts every week or so the worms cant get through it fast enough and the
food waste goes sour
and starts to smell. When you lift the blanket and there's still lots of food scraps
remaining
move the food to compost or rubbish to prevent overfeeding or smell.
To add more food dig a new trench next the previous one. Continue this until you reach
the end of the farm.
then jump back to where you started. There are a lot of different food scraps in
the average
Aussie kitchen. Here is a list of some you can feed them. Raw and cooked food
vegetable scraps coffee grinds, tea bags, and little bits of paper and cardboard
Here are some you should try and avoid: dairy, bread,
meat and egg shells (but you can if you crush them up). Here are some you just can't put in:
onions, garlic, uncooked potato skins,
and citrus peel. Click below a free printable label for your worm farm
of the full list of foods they like or don't like. Make sure you tear the food up into small pieces because worms
have small mouths.
And finally, make sure to check the water levels. The bedding and food scraps should have
the same level of moisture as a wet kitchen sponge.
If worms get too dry they stop moving and eating.
Worm farm not going so well?
Looks like we've got some troubleshooting to do.
If your worms aren't eating everything it's probably because you're feeding them too much. Before you put
in more food
check that there aren't too many food scraps remaining. Because remember
worms can only eat half their body weight each day. Maybe you need a bigger farm
or maybe you should feed them less.
Flies turning up uninvited? Make sure you cover the food with the worm blanket
and then they'll understand they're crashing a party. Also ensure that the worm farm is
tightly closed with no cracks
this will keep the other pests out too.
Your worm farm stinks? Maybe because you're not covering the worm farm
probably. Are you burying it in a trench, covering it with the hessian blanket
ensuring the lid is tightly closed? Remember we said don't feed them meat, bread,
dairy? It's not because they're gluten intolerant lacto-vegitarians
it's because it makes for stinky farm. Thanks for watching!
If you want to recap anything, click on the links to my left or right,
or for any questions head to greenvillages.com.au
Happy worm farming!
Feedback? Let us know what you think in the comments below!