How to Start a Worm Farm
1 Answer
How to Start a Worm Farm
A worm farm is a great way to minimize the waste you and your family produce. Think of it as composting with worms thrown in. Compost produced by worms are not only chemical-free and great for your garden soil. You can even sell the compost that they produce for a small fee. Here’s how to get started with your own worm farm.
Materials
Plastic bins. There are plastic bins made specifically for worm farming sold in most gardening or home depot stores. These bins can be stacked, with a hole in the bottom of each, except for the second to the last bin, which should have a tap in the bottom. The bottom bin collects the water that trickles down from each bin, which you can then use to water the plants, made up with ten parts water with one part of liquid.
Worms. Again, worm farm kits usually come ready to be used, including worms
Procedure
Put your worm farm in a nice, dry and shady place. Worms like it dark and moist, but not wet. You should also put them where the temperature won’t change drastically throughout the day, like a shed in your garden.
worm farm
After stacking the worm farm bins, put in organic materials in the last bin. Add in the worms as well.
Do not fill the bin with organic materials nor pack them in too tightly. Worms like air circulation.
Before you add the organic waste, make sure that you have shredded them first to make the process of composting faster.
Make sure that each bin is filled with the equal amount of dry and wet waste. Remember that worms prefer moist, and not wet, environments.
Worms don’t like overly acidic environments either, so try to hold back on adding garlic, onions, orange or lemon peels in the compost.
Regularly drain the compost by using the spigot on the bottom of each bin.
If you have too much compost for the worms to handle, shred them and store them in the freezer until you are ready to add them in the worm farm.
Once the worms have moved on to the upper bin, you may then take the vermicast left behind and use them as compost or mulch.
Move the lowest bin to the topmost part of the stack, and rearrange the rest accordingly.
Regularly feed them with fresh organic material and drain excess water.
Acceptable Compost Material
Dry
Shredded paper
Shredded egg cartons
Shredded toilet roll cores
Grass clippings, in moderate amounts
Dust bunnies
Hair clippings
Untreated sawdust and shavings
Eggshells
Leaves
Wet
Food scraps with the exception of fat, meat and dairy products
Kitchen waste like peels and leftover vegetables
Farm animal manure
A worm farm is a great way to minimize the waste you and your family produce. Think of it as composting with worms thrown in. Compost produced by worms are not only chemical-free and great for your garden soil. You can even sell the compost that they produce for a small fee. Here’s how to get started with your own worm farm.
Materials
Plastic bins. There are plastic bins made specifically for worm farming sold in most gardening or home depot stores. These bins can be stacked, with a hole in the bottom of each, except for the second to the last bin, which should have a tap in the bottom. The bottom bin collects the water that trickles down from each bin, which you can then use to water the plants, made up with ten parts water with one part of liquid.
Worms. Again, worm farm kits usually come ready to be used, including worms
Procedure
Put your worm farm in a nice, dry and shady place. Worms like it dark and moist, but not wet. You should also put them where the temperature won’t change drastically throughout the day, like a shed in your garden.
worm farm
After stacking the worm farm bins, put in organic materials in the last bin. Add in the worms as well.
Do not fill the bin with organic materials nor pack them in too tightly. Worms like air circulation.
Before you add the organic waste, make sure that you have shredded them first to make the process of composting faster.
Make sure that each bin is filled with the equal amount of dry and wet waste. Remember that worms prefer moist, and not wet, environments.
Worms don’t like overly acidic environments either, so try to hold back on adding garlic, onions, orange or lemon peels in the compost.
Regularly drain the compost by using the spigot on the bottom of each bin.
If you have too much compost for the worms to handle, shred them and store them in the freezer until you are ready to add them in the worm farm.
Once the worms have moved on to the upper bin, you may then take the vermicast left behind and use them as compost or mulch.
Move the lowest bin to the topmost part of the stack, and rearrange the rest accordingly.
Regularly feed them with fresh organic material and drain excess water.
Acceptable Compost Material
Dry
Shredded paper
Shredded egg cartons
Shredded toilet roll cores
Grass clippings, in moderate amounts
Dust bunnies
Hair clippings
Untreated sawdust and shavings
Eggshells
Leaves
Wet
Food scraps with the exception of fat, meat and dairy products
Kitchen waste like peels and leftover vegetables
Farm animal manure