A worm farm is easily created and is suitable for any location. Regardless of the space available, worms can reduce almost anything into usable organic compost and fertilizer. Called vermiculture, this is an eco-friendly way of composting kitchen and garden waste, reducing the household’s environmental footprint. Here's how to contribute to the earth's sustainability with compost worms.
Build a Home for the Worms
A worm box is required to house the worms. A range of commercial worm composting units are available including the Can-O-Worms, Worm Factory and the Worm Swag. Check at the hardware store or search online for mail order options. A worm box can easily be built at home. Any container will do, but a box built of recycled, non treated timber is best.
The box can be any convenient size. As a guide, a box of 1m x 1m and about 20 cm deep will be big enough to compost household waste for a family of four. However, two smaller boxes may be more practical. Build a lid to suit and drill some drainage holes in the bottom of the box. Place the box over a tray to catch the organic liquid fertilizer that will drain from the worms.
Worm Bedding
The worms will require bedding. About 2 kg of bedding is enough. Bedding can be any material that is non-toxic, holds moisture and allows air to circulate. Use torn up cardboard, newspaper, printing paper, aged manure, sawdust or wood shavings. A combination of materials can also be used. Add a handful of sand or soil and mix with enough water so that the bedding is very moist, but not dripping wet. Top up the bedding every month or so.
Adding the Worms
Compost worms can be ordered from hardware stores and nurseries or from via mail order from commercial worm farms advertising on the internet. About 1,000 worms are enough to start composting. Worms breed quickly in the right conditions, doubling their population in under a month. They will adjust their population to the amount of feed and space available.
Just empty the worms on top of the bedding and leave them in the sunlight for a few minutes. Replace the lid and leave them for a day or two before adding food.
Feeding the Worms
Worms consume up to their own body weight of food each day! This is why they are the best way of composting and reducing landfill waste. Add any of the following to the worm box: vegetable and fruit scraps, crushed egg shells, shredded newspapers, teabags, coffee grounds and filters, animal manures (those from your pet rabbit, guinea pig, or horse), old cotton rags, plant trimmings, leaves, used paper towel etc. Do not add metal, foil or plastic. Citrus, onion, garlic, and meat scraps should also be avoided.
Feed the worms every couple of days with small amounts. Bury the food just under the surface of the bedding. The food will just disappear and as the worms increase in population, add larger quantities of food.
Harvesting the Eco-Friendly Worm Castings
When full, empty the box. Feed the worms in the same spot for a few days so that they migrate to that location. Leave that small section containing the worms and remove the remaining material. Refill the box with fresh bedding and resume feeding in various locations.
Worm castings (poo) contain large numbers of micro organisms without any disease pathogens. Castings contain high elements of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium making it perfect for healthy plant growth. This end product has a perfect pH balance and can be used in your garden and to top up indoor plants.
Composting with worms is a great, easy, environmentally friendly way to transform household waste into a great organic product. Worms will reduce the household waste a lot quicker than conventional composing methods in a smaller space and with less work and smell. So go green today and start a worm farm to contribute towards a sustainable environment for the future by reducing the households carbon footprint.
Natalie Clarke - I have studied Travel Writing and Photojournalism with the Australian College of Journalism and love to read and write. I also own and ...
