Home Environmental services

Printer friendly version

Worm Farms

WHAT IS WORM FARMING?

A worm farm is a container made of plastic, wood or any other lightweight waterproof material that consists of three or four stackable crates or bins with tiny holes in their base.  The worms live in the bins and simply wriggle their way up from the lowest bin into the one above, where they can smell fresh food.  The base bin has a solid floor to catch liquid run-off (worm wee) that percolates down from the upper bins to a tap near the base.  Everyone can compost using a worm farm.  They don’t smell, use very little room and great for people who live in units or have limited space.  They can even be kept indoors in office kitchens and school classrooms.

Did you know on average 40% of your waste could be used in a worm farm?  By worm farming your scraps at home you can:

• Improve the soil and grow healthier plants.
• Reduce the need for watering, weeding and artificial fertilisers.
• Encourage helpful garden worms and micro organisms into your garden.
• Help keep green waste out of landfill this reduces methane gas emissions and odour problems.

Use Red Worms or Tiger Worms only, they are available from Broken Hill Disability Support Centre.  The common Australian garden worm is not suitable.

MATERIALS THAT CAN BE WORM FARMED:

• Vegetable and food scraps, they particularly like melons.
• Soaked and ripped pizza boxes, egg cartons and paper
• Leaves
• Soil
• Hair
• Crushed egg shells
• Tea bags

MATERIALS THAT CANNOT BE WORM FARMED:

• Meat
• Fatty food
• Dairy products
• Acidic foods like: orange peels, onions, chillies, tomatoes
• Manures
• Pesticides
• Raw potato peelings – worms will eat cooked but not raw potato

WHAT TO DO:

• Find a shady spot in your backyard or balcony.  Choose a spot that does not get too hot, worms like cool dark moist environments.  To achieve this put newspaper or hessian on top of the food bin section (place the food under this cover for the worms to eat in the cool and dark).
• Place bedding material in the bottom of the tray.  Bedding material includes: shredded newspaper or coconut fibre with a bit of soil or finished compost.

• Add 1000 to 2000 worms and let them settle in for a week. Hint: you need about 800 worms per person in your household.

• Add food to your worm farm and cover it with more bedding material.

• Worms like moisture and should not be allowed to dry out!!  Check the moisture content of your bin regularly.  But remember too much water and the worms will drown!!

TIPS:

• The liquid (worm wee) which collects from the worms in the bottom tray, makes a fantastic “food” for your garden.  Mix the worm wee with water until it looks like weak tea, then use it to water and feed your plants.

• Do not overfeed your worms.  Only add more food when the last lot is partly eaten.

• Remember to check your farm for good drainage and to ensure it is not too dry.

• The worms in your farm are special worms, not the sort you find in the ground in your garden.  They can be purchased from Broken Hill Disability Support Centre 80878360.

• To help your worms eat more, you can mash or process the food before adding it to the farm.

TROUBLE SHOOTING:

• If the worm farm is getting smelly there may be too much food.  Stop feeding the worms and stir the material in the top tray with a fork – add ½ a dessert spoon of lime and moisten it.

• If the worms are leaving, the farm may be too wet or too dry.  Check the moisture levels.

• If you have unwelcome visitors in your farm it is generally too dry and acidic.  Add lime and water to deter ants.  To get rid of maggots place a piece of bread that has been soaked in milk, then take it out after 2 days.  Note the worm farms do not allow blowflies or bush flies to enter, the maggots will belong to the vinegar fly and make great fishing bait!

• When you first start your worm farm it will take about 3 to 4 weeks for the worms to settle in, only feed them a small amount during this time.

• Keep your worm food covered with hessian or wet newspaper, this will deter pests and keep the food moist and dark.

USEFUL SITES:

Rein worm factories education site

EPA worm farming www.epa.nsw.gov.au

© 2008 Broken Hill City Council
This page: http://www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au/environment/2853.html