Worm Farming, The Easy Way

If you don't feel like making your own worm farm, they are easy to find. Available from some hardware shops, local councils or even online, worm farms are very popular.

But if you can get hold of four crates or storage boxes , you are well on your way. The boxes will be stacked on top of one another, so make sure the bottom one is waterproof with no holes and large enough to take the weight of the other boxes when filled with soil. The other three boxes need holes in them or perforations, so that the worms can move from box to box and the box on the bottom will collect the worm juice.

Don't try to collect worms from your garden, not only will it take you ages but they just won't do. The best worms are red worms or tiger worms. You will also need a good supply of vegetable scrap waste.

Step One

Line the first box with soil and newspaper, add some fruit and vegetable scraps and then add the worms. Place a hessian cloth or more newspaper over the top to block out the light. Now place this box on top of the waterproof "bottom" container.

Step Two

Look after your worms for a couple of weeks. Don't put orange and lemon skins in your worm farm, worms don't like acidic food. Also avoid raw onion, tomatoes and pineapples. Remove the hessian or newspaper every time you add food scraps and replace afterward. Add leaves or paper with every second or third batch of vegetable scraps and spray with water occasionally to keep moist. After about two weeks your worms will have grown larger and your box will be full.

Step Three

Set up box two in the same way as you did in step one, remove the hessian or newspaper from box one and place box two on top with the hessian or newspaper over it. Keep adding scraps to this second box and when this box is also full of worms you do the same thing with the third box.

Step Four

Now is the time to harvest your compost from box one. By the time box three is full the worms will have finished eating all the food in box one and moved on. All that will be left in this box will be compost material that you can now spread over your garden.

Step Five

The waterproof bottom container will regularly fill up with liquid fertilizer. Dilute this worm juice, two parts water to one part juice and pour on your plants as fertilizer.

Keep rotating your boxes and enjoy your beautiful garden.

Worm Farming - Uninvited Guests

Black Soldier Fly

Latin Name: Hermetia illucens. Although often listed as such in vermiculture articles, it is a moot point as to whether this fly should actually be called a pest. Worm farmers might not want it in their bins as they may feel that it competes for food with the worms - but that is not necessarily true.

The Black Soldier Fly is actually a benign species of tropical fly , originally from the Americas. It has now spread throughout the world. The larvae of the fly are produced in thousands and are actually very useful workers, as they have voracious appetites and are highly efficient composters, feeding exclusively on putrescent material - thus removing a potential source of disease. However these larvae are unattractive to most tastes, as they are actually a type of small maggot and seeing a mass of them writhing around in your worm bin can be very off-putting. The mature fly would be unlikely to win many beauty competitions either! However, it is completely harmless and after pupation, the adult fly has a very short life and it has no mouth and cannot eat (or bite).

These remarkable creatures, unlike the common housefly, do not spread bacteria or disease - in fact the larvae ingest potentially pathogenic material and disease-causing organisms and thus render them harmless. Moreover Black Soldier Flies exude an odour, which positively discourages disease carrying houseflies and certain other flying pests. When the larvae reach maturity they leave the feeding area to pupate, preferably in a shady bush or tree. After turning into an adult fly, the female lives only a further 5-8 days and produces almost 1000 eggs. The adult fly is nocturnal and characterised by very fast and rather clumsy flight. It has no mouth and cannot bite or sting.

The maggots are often found in worm farm bins, but although unsightly, they are not a real threat to the worms, as they do not attack them and may in fact complement the compost worm's activities, rather than compete with them for food. Like the composting worms used in vermiculture, their feces make excellent compost and the maggots can be used as a high protein fish or poultry feed. They may be utilised directly as live food, or dried and processed commercially into ground meal. They may also be used by the less squeamish for fishing bait.

However the worm farmer may still prefer to avoid them, in which case Black Soldier Fly can best be kept out of the worm farm bins, by not using meat, fatty waste or fecal matter for feeding the worms and by keeping the moisture on the dry side, and by making sure that there is always a good cover of bedding material over the feeding area. The use of fly screens and fly tapes to keep away the adult flies is an obvious choice that would also have the added benefit by keeping down other flying pests such as houseflies and fruit flies.

There is a growing interest in using Black Soldier Fly for commercial processing of sewage and agricultural waste. Its fast rate of reproduction and voracious appetite make it well suited for this purpose. Some hobbyists have been experimenting with the Black Soldier Fly, as an alternative to vermiculture, for private composting/ waste disposal. For the same size of container it is said that a well stocked colony of Black Soldier Fly would be able to process waste material very much faster than a comparable sized worm farm. To find out more about this creature and other "pests" see the Worm Dictionary at http://www.working-worms.com/content/view/43/68/#abc.

Ant Coe has a degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and is passionate about promoting the use of cheap solutions for the various problems facing poor communities in Africa. DIY worm farming or vermiculture is one such proposal. Few poor African communities can afford the high cost of commercial fertilizer, and worm compost is an excellent source of free organic enrichment for school and village gardens. Visit his website at http://www.working-worms.com/ for further information.

How to Make Your Own Worm Farm

Worms can do wonders for the garden: they aerate the soil and their castings are an excellent fertilizer. To get a constant supply of this worm fertilizer as well as extra worms for the garden, start a worm farm.

Use Red Worms or Tiger Worms only (available from most plant nurseries). The common garden worm is not suitable.

Setting up the System

Worm farms are simple structures that you can make yourself. They consist of three or four stackable crates or bins made of plastic, wood or any other lightweight, waterproof material. 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, fruit, vegetable and other scraps that might otherwise go to waste. These scraps are turned into the castings that make such good fertilizer. Some local councils sell worm farms at a cost of $50 to $75 for four bins.

The base bin has a solid floor to catch liquid run-off that percolates down from the upper bins, and preferably a tap near the base. By tipping the stack, liquid waste can be drained away through the tap without having to remove the upper bins.

The upper bins are perforated to let the worms move up through the floor to reach fresh food supplies. These 'holey' bins lock into each other and are deep enough to leave enough room for the worms to move about without being squashed.

To create congenial living conditions for the worms, you need newspaper and soil to start the farm and a continuing supply of suitable food scraps.

Starting the Worm Farm

On top of the base bin fit an upper (holey) bin #1 that has been lined with a few sheets of shredded newspaper and a couple of handfuls of soil. Spray lightly with fresh water. Add the Red or Tiger worms along with a small amount of food scraps. Exclude light from the upper bin and keep it moist by covering it with newspaper, hessian or another bin. Allow the farm to settle in for a couple of weeks before lifting the cover and putting in more food scraps. Check on the bin's progress and add more food scraps as the worms grow and multiply. Make sure that your worms have enough food, but don't over feed them - uneaten food will simply rot, resulting in a smelly farm and unhappy worms.

When holey bin #1 is about half full of worms and worm castings, remove the newspaper or hessian and place holey bin #2 on top. Put food scraps in bin #2 and, again, exclude light and keep the contents moist. In about a week the worms from bin #1 will have moved up into the fresh food in bin #2, leaving behind worm castings that can be spread on the garden.

A Guide to Worm Farming

Thousands of tons of waste are dumped into landfills which is harmful to the environment because as it decomposes it produces poisonous gases and methane. Many environmentalists and governments as well as agricultural ministries are becoming extremely interested in Vermiculture which is the technical term for worm farming. Worm castings which is the rich natural compost produced by special composting worms can provide an answer to any household recycling of kitchen waste and scraps that are normally just dumped in refuse bins. Imagine the benefits a worm farm can have for hospitality institutions, restaurants, and homes which is another step forward in protecting the environment from excessive waste. Worm castings produce rich dense natural fertilizer which is a far better alternative to man made pesticides and chemicals used on mass produced fruit and vegetables.

How to set up your own worm farm.

Worm farming is an easy way of recycling kitchen scarps and peelings and turning it into useful compost for your garden, pot plants or vegetable patch. This rich natural compost called worm castings will produce amazing growth in any plants. Worm farming can be done all year round as long as your worm farm is kept in a place that is neither too hot nor too cold.

A guide to get started in worm farming

A. To start your own worm farm for a flat or small apartment you will need a container that has a ventilated lid. A sensible size is one that is at least 10 inches deep and 20 inches wide and the same in length. Of course it can be a lot bigger if you have a backyard or space in your garage. It is best to have a container that is watertight and the lid must keep it dark because worms like the dark. Keep the worm farm away from lost of noise and vibrations because worms are very sensitive to this.

B. You need to prepare your worms bedding next which should consist of shredded moist newspaper. Try and avoid glossy sections and color print which has unnatural inks which worms do not enjoy. Make layers of garden soil and shredded newspaper which all should be well moistened. You can add a few kitchen scraps for good measure to get you started as well. Some tea bags and coffee grinds are a great start. Crushed eggshells and peels also work great.

C. Now you need to introduce the worms which you could purchase from certain hardware stores, nurseries or online dealers which can send them to you if you have the Internet. These should be special composting worms called red composting worms or tiger composting worms. Do not try common garden earthworms because they are not effective enough for a worm farm dedicated to decomposition of organic wastes.

D. Feeding your worms can be done regularly and as a point to note - these red composting worms can eat their own weight every day. Their excretions are called worm castings which is what you are after because this is the rich fertilizer that you are looking for. Avoid feeding your composting worms meat because this will end up making your worm farm smelly which you definitely do not want. Use some common sense and stick to egg shells, peels, old food and vegetables that are well past their sell by or use by date. Worm farms must have fresh air so keep the lid well ventilated to prevent suffocation.

E. Worms will lay eggs more readily when you add egg-shells because this provides calcium for reproduction. You will see tiny oval shaped cocoons which will tell you your red composting worms are reproducing. Be very excited because this means your worm farm is a success. Soon you should see tiny white offspring from your red composting worms.

F. Following this simple guide to starting your own worm farm will have you hooked before you know it because worm farming is not only useful but a great hobby as well. You can later expand into worm farming on a bigger scale once you have got the hang of it. If any one asks you then tell them you are now a fully-fledged vermiculturist!

Start a Worm Farm

Humans have been polluting the earth for decades. We have dumped our wastes into the soil, rivers, seas and even the air. Environmentalists are encouraging everyone to do what they can to help save Mother Nature. It doesn't have to involve something big like chaining yourself to a tree in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest, something as little as recycling and managing your household waste like food scraps goes a long way. A fun, environmentally friendly and cost effective way of getting rid of your food scraps is worm farming.

Worm what you ask? Worm farming or worm composting is the practice of feeding your organic wastes to worms to produce worm tea. Worm tea is the liquid produced during the composting process and is used as an environmentally safe fertilizer. So you not only get rid of your organic wastes like food scraps, but you also get to make organic chemical free fertilizers for your gardens. Worm farming can be done both indoors and outdoors and is a good way for kids and adults alike to learn about nature, recycling and helping the environment.

So how do you start a worm farm? Before you go off and catch some worms here are a couple of basic things you should know about worm farming. First off you need to pick the site of where you want your worm farm to be. Remember that worms don't like the heat so make sure to pick a nice cool and shady spot for your worm farm.

Picking the ideal container is important in worm farming. You can buy commercially sold worm beds or farms or better yet you can recycle old boxes or even an old bathtub. The thing to remember is that the typical worm bed is around 30 centimeters deep, 60 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters long. It is important to have holes in the base of the box to allow for good drainage and air circulation. The box should also have a lid to cover it with and a base underneath the box to catch liquid and provide good drainage. Remember that worms breathe through their skins so they need a lot of moisture but be careful as too much water will also drown your worms.

After you have your box and base set up, the third step to worm farming is preparing the bedding for your worms. Torn, or shredded paper mixed with compost and soil make for good worm beddings. Make sure that the bedding material is torn or shredded and then soaked in water before it is added to the box. The bedding layer should be ten to fifteen centimeters deep.

Now that your worm bed and bedding is ready its time to pick your worms, you can buy commercially sold worms. Worm farming has gotten to be very popular so you can even check the yellow pages under Worm Farm for distributors. Worms are usually sold by the thousands and a thousand worms would weigh about 250 grams. A good solid number to start your worm farm with is around two thousand worms.

When it comes to feeding your worms be sure to pick food scraps like vegetable and fruit peelings. They also like bread, juicer pulp, crushed eggshells, and even teabags. Never feed your worms dairy products, meat, fish, fat and bones. This type of food will also make your worm farm stink. Worm farming experts also advise you not to feed your worms oily foods, citrus and garlic.

Harvesting the fruits of your worm farming efforts is done in two simple steps: first, move the old bedding to one side of the box and then add fresh bedding to the other side. The worms will move on their own after a day or two. Make sure to harvest the liquid produced by the worms and their castings as they make great fertilizers.

Worm farming is an easy, fun and cost effective way to manage your food scraps, not to mention the money you save on fertilizers. So help save money and help save the environment today by starting your very own worm farm!

Worm Farming, Where The Worms Do All the Work and You Get All the Benefits

So, you may be wondering why anybody would start a farm to grow worms? Maybe to use when they go fishing, or sell to other fishermen? Well, there are some people who do it for that reason. But the majority of people who decide to begin with worm farming aren't really interested in increasing the worm population, although that will happen as a side effect. They do it in order to get the end product that the worms produce. While the whole procedure is usually called worm farming, the technical term for it is vermicomposting.

That desirable end product is called castings, or vermicast, and is literally worm poop. Don't be put off by that. It's an earthy, humus-like, non smelly material, which is a fantastic fertilizer and garden amendment. There are commercial worm farms that produce it and pack it in bags for sale, but you can make it yourself with the right worms and a minimum of other materials. Basically, the worms are just fed organic material such as that used in a normal compost pile.

To end up with the best quality castings from your worm farm, you need to begin with the right kind of worm. If you just head out to your yard and start digging for earthworms, you may get lucky and find a species that's suited to vermicomposting - but it's not likely. The typical worm found in gardens will tend to burrow too far into the ground, and will also not be as prodigious of a 'processor' as the type most often used in vermicomposting - called the red wiggler or redworm and technically reffered to as Eisenia foetida. You can buy these from any worm farm supplier, many of which are online.

People have used many different materials to build the actual worm farm. Commercial operations frequently just create the farms directly on the ground in long rows known as 'windrows'. But for home use, you probably want to house the worms in some type of a container. You can build or scrounge these yourself, or buy a commercial solution for under fifty dollars. Some of the pre-made models are actually intended to be placed under the kitchen sink, where there is usually a steady supply of scraps that can be used as food.

Speaking of food, what can you actually feed the worms? Just about any type of organic waste material will do, such as vegetable peelings and waste, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg cartons, egg shells, leaves, hair, paper, certain types of cardboard, etc. Most wastes from fruit are fine too, but some people caution against citrus peels, and pineapple contains an enzyme known as bromelain, which will dissolve the worms, so that's definitely out. Other things which should not be added are wastes from animal products, such as bones, left over meat, milk products, and dog, cat, or human manure. Adding these items may either contaminate the final castings with pathogens or attract pests to the worm farm.

There are a number of different designs for worm farms, and these use different methods to harvest the castings. One popular arrangement uses a number of separate bins stacked on top of each other. The farm is initially started in the top bin with some shredded newspaper or cardboard to serve as bedding. On top of that is added some dirt, the initial supply of worms, and some organic waste for food. Then put the lid on and try not to peek every day, as the worms don't like light. When the bin gets full to with a couple of inches of the top, put an empty bin on top and move the full bin below it, removing any large pieces of unprocessed food. Put some bedding and food in the new top container, and the worms will migrate from their original home to the new one through the holes in the bottom, leaving the first container filled with just a rich dark dirt-like material ready to be added to the garden.

The worm farm will also usually leak some dark liquid which can be caught in a pan placed at the bottom. This is called 'leachate' and is also a great fertilizer, but it may be too strong for some applications. I'd advise researching your intended use before using it.

Give worm farming a try. It's like having a regular compost pile, but the worms do all the work for you. And how many people are able to put a compost pile under their kitchen sink?

Worm Farming as Extra Income

A insect farm could be a enthusiastic investment for a little extra income as a prototypal business for a teen entrepreneur. A teen mortal with admittance to a bounteous backyard, who lives in the land or a teen mortal who lives on a farm strength encounter insect job a enthusiastic artefact to intend their prototypal undergo with business management. Even a child who lives in the municipality crapper move a small insect farm if they have a flower bed-sized area to begin. Town folk like to fish and garden, too.

Suppose you're looking for something to occupy your spare time during your retirement years? Worm job on a small scale may be just the thing to ready you busy, to provide you an activity that keeps you close to nature, crapper provide extra income, and crapper be less demanding physically.

Worm job could be a enthusiastic interest to share with your teen grandchild. You could essay it as a artefact to acquire popularity among your fishing buddies or with your gardening friends.

Shelter for your insect farm is important for several reasons. Shade from the sun, cover from the rain (you wouldn't poverty your investment to cover or be washed away), and protection from reptiles and birds are important reasons to have good shelter.

Worms go dormant in the winter. You'd have to ready them in a controlled environment to delude them year-round. Sheds, barns, or basements that allow for temperature control are whatever ideas.

Make trusty you consider packaging costs. The correct packaging for your worms, their castings, or the repast you crapper attain with the drain water could support meliorate your businesses chance for success. Informative and/or captivating packaging crapper support spread your stylemark to solidify your image in the public eye. But when you prototypal move out, you'll poverty to ready your overhead as low as possible, so choose your supplies wisely so your extra income will be more lucrative.

Plant nurseries, take stores, or hardware stores are whatever ideas for places to occurrence about allowing you to delude your products from your insect farm. You may be able to delude on a consignment basis. You could lease a booth at a flea market to intend a move on selling your products. To attain extra income, you have to be willing to let go of whatever first!

You strength essay making a care with a local livestock farm to trade whatever fishing worms for scatter to support take your worms. Just attain trusty there's no residue left in the scatter that would blackball your worms. If the animals have been wormed recently, or if they have parasites of the wrong kind, it could wipe discover your stock. Chicken scatter may be the least captivating scatter since it tends to be \"hot\". Also, remember not to use fresh manure. It's better if it has older for a few weeks.

Some people enjoy insect job as a artefact to manage their stress levels. They encounter it relaxing to harvest the worms. Just as people encounter relaxation in gardening or bird-watching, insect job crapper relieve tension and provide you an outlet to focus on. It may even be a artefact to support your child attain new friends with the kids on the block!