How to Make a Good Worm Farm
A worm farm is a cheap and easy way to make compost, get rid of food scraps, and have an endless supply of fishing bait. When selecting the type of worms, do not dig them out of your garden, buy them. Red wigglers work best for compost, night crawlers for bait. Within the food scraps there can be no meat, bones, or dairy; also, avoid citrus, garlic, onion, or spicy things. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- 2 plastic bins (stackable), with lids.
- Drill with 1/4-inch bit
- Newspaper
- Water
- 4 small cinder blocks
- Worms -- 1 lb./cubic foot
- Kitchen scraps
Instructions
-
-
1
Estimate the square area of the bins and drill four 1/4-inch holes for every square foot into the bins. These holes will provide your worms (and compost) with air, but will also allow any water to drain.
-
2
Moisten the shredded newspaper (taking care to remove any glossy pages). It should feel like a rung-out rag -- moist but not wet. If it is too wet, the paper will either begin to decompose prematurely or the worms will drown.
-
-
3
Place the moist newspaper into one of the bins, creating a sort of nest. This newspaper is the bedding for your worms; anything else added will be food. Try to make it somewhat fluffy, not just a piled mess. There should be enough newspaper in the bin so the floor of the bin cannot be seen.
-
4
Slide this bin into the other so they stack or "nest" together. Under the two bins, place the lid of the second bin and the four cinder blocks -- this is to catch any liquid that runs from the bins. Add the worms, sprinkling them throughout the top of the newspaper. Add the kitchen scraps, placing little piles into each corner, under the bedding. Cover with the lid
-
5
Feed your worms regularly, as worms can eat anywhere from 25 percent to 100 percent of their body weight in food, depending on temperature, moisture, pH, etc.
-
6
Check the bins regularly to see when the worms have eaten most of their food.
-
7
Separate the bins and moisten some more shredded newspaper. Place this newspaper in the now-empty bin, with some kitchen scraps. Place the full bin, with its cover off, back on the cinder blocks, stacking the emptier bin on top of the full one. Cover the top bin. When all of their food is gone, your worms will migrate up to the top bin.
-
8
Wait two weeks. Empty the composted soil from the bottom bin into the garden, collecting any stray worms. These worms can either be added to the compost bin or they will make excellent bait. Repeat steps 5 and 6.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Something that can be very helpful is a pH testing kit (simple pH paper will work). If the pH gets below 6.0 or above 7.0, worms will begin dying. If the compost becomes too low (acidic), add crushed eggshells or 1 tsp. of baking soda. If the compost is too high (basic), add a few citrus peels or 1 tbsp. of orange juice. When adding these, sprinkle the ingredient and stir throughout the bin.
Other beddings besides newspaper include straw, leaves, peat moss, and dried grass clippings.
