How to Make a Worm Farm From a Turtle Sand Box

Worms recycle food scraps to produce great compost.

When your child outgrows his turtle sandbox, you can recycle it to create a worm farm. You can use this project as a teaching tool for your children. Children can observe the worms on a daily basis and report their findings. The worm farm can serve two other purposes. It can provide worms for fishing excursions, and it can take your compost and turn it into a fertilizer for your flowers and vegetables.

Things You'll Need

• Turtle box
• Garden hose
• Cloth
• Paper shredder
• Paper or newspaper
• Soil
• Worms
• Kitchen scraps

Instructions

1. Spray your turtle box with a garden hose to get it clean. Use a cloth to remove stuck-on sand or dirt.

2. Use a paper shredder to shred typing paper, school notebook paper, construction paper or newspapers.

3. Place a layer of shredded paper on the bottom of your turtle box. It should be enough to cover a fourth of the inside of the sandbox.

4. Add soil to the turtle box until the turtle box is three-quarters of the way full. Mix the soil and shredded paper together.

5. Water the soil and paper until they are moist. Don't over water it.

6. Place the turtle box in a location that will have consistent temperatures of 60 to 80 degrees.

7. Wait 48 hours and then add worms to your turtle box. Texas A&M University recommends adding two pounds of worms for every pound of kitchen scraps you plan on adding to your soil each day. If your family produces three pounds of kitchen scraps each day, you would add six pounds of worms. Worms can be purchased from a bait and tackle shop or a pet shop.

8. Feed your worms kitchen scraps on a daily basis. Mix the kitchen scraps into the top layer of soil. Water frequently to keep the soil moist.

Tips & Warnings

• Never clean your turtle box with soap. It leaves behind a residue that is harmful to worms.

• Worms will not survive if the soil is allowed to reach freezing temperatures.

References

• Texas A&M University: Home Worm Production
• Washington State University: Composting with Red Worms