Worm Farms

How to Make a Worm Farm

Wiggly, slimey recycling

A great project especially for those who live in apartments, or housing where there is no yard or place for a compost pile. Handy if you just simply want to dump your table scraps inside without having to put on boots and trek outside - Hey, a worm farm is the way to go!

The benefits:
Consider this-
Cutting back on home garbage production, smell, and doing the right thing - recycling!
You will have worms to go fishing, a possible kiddie income for kids who wish to sell fishing worms and castings, plus you'll have the very best fertilizer and soil enhancer for your houseplants and garden.
When you recycle your family's food waste you end up with something quite useful to put in your garden -to feed house plants and eliminate the smelly aspect and bulk of the usual home garbage - give the kids the job of feeding the worms - so may benefits, all from these amazing tubular creatures - so consider a making worm farm!

To create a simple inexpensive set-up you can use the following:

2 plastic buckets with lids - worms like the dark, but need air so do not seal the lid down unless holes are made.
small amount of regular garden dirt
old newspaper or cardboard -shredded up
egg shells -crushed and crumbled
gravel - small amount of mid size pea or crushed rock for drainage
small water bottle sprayer and water
worms (redworms are suggested by many)
leftovers!

Tools needed:
a drill and 1/4 inch bit
bandaids - 2 1 inchers (optional)

Directions:
Drill a few small holes for air along the top of the bucket or lid.
Put a few cups of gravel in the bottom for drainage.
Add on top of this a mix of moist shredded newspaper or cardboard, soil, crushed egg shell.
Place some worms and leftovers in the bucket.
Put the lid on and place in a cool dark place - like a back porch, utility room or even under the sink.

Their bedding needs to be moist in order for the worms to breathe. Too wet and they will drown. Too dry and they will die.
The second bucket is used when you are going to clean, change bedding and as a back up for population explosions.

More about Location:
Inside or out -
Your worm farm could go outside, but not in direct sunlight where it might bake. Baked worms might sound yummy to you, but I think not.

Basically they thrive in conditions that include the combimation of coolness, darkness and moisture. Be sure in wintertime the location chosen will assure that the farm does not freeze nor to get too warm in summer - best between 40 to 85 degrees F. Something else to be aware of - be sure there are a minimum of vibrations in the vacinity of your worm farm as from a dishwasher or loud music. See the information on "Worm Grunting" in the glossary.

Things worms will thrive on:

fruits - peelings, apple cores
vegetables - wasteage, tops, peelings
breads and cereals -stale and expired
animal poop - maybe for an outside location
coffee grounds (but small amounts and balance with non-acidic leftovers)

Things they will "gag" on:

meat
dairy
grease
onions
citrus
anything with too much salt
anything with pesticides or any chemicals

Symptoms that something is going wrong:

strong smell
dead worms
worms trying to crawl out -escapees
zero or little worm reproduction

Some sideline ideas (great money making idea for kids):
If you want to sell the excess worms as fishing bait collect (recycle) some old empty yogurt cups. Punch breathing holes in each lid, decorate the outsides of them with your wormy biz logo. Then when you're ready to sell your extra farm worms just place some moist bedding in a cup, scoop in a set number and "ca ching"!

You could also market the castings (or casings) and "worm tea" pretty much the same way you would market worms - using some (recycled) cups or containers.
Package up some wonderful home grown worm poop and give as original and thoughtful gifts to your friends!
Other worm farm options:
Purchasing Worm Bins and Containers:
There are commercially made worm farms you can purchase online. These actually would make fun gifts for your "green" friends. To take a look at a few differnt types feel free to check out ones in our amazon shop here or do a simple search.

The worms you use:
Many recommend using "red worms" instead of earthworms. You can still try the earthworms. In fact it might be a fun experiment to try making two farms, one with the redworms and the other with home-dug earthworms. Then let us know how it goes! Also, getting your own worms might be a truly fun experience if you try the worm grunting method! Then you can do it and say you did! Might look interesting on your resume, huh?
Note: If you plan to purchase worms you might want to check with your local Cooperative Extension Agency before introducing any possible new species to your area just to be certain there will be no problems.

Run low on table scraps?
Wow! What a wonderful way to meet new neighbors! "Oh Hi there, you don't know me but I live next door. I was wondering if I could borrow an apple core or crust of bread?" Ah... just be sure to mention it is for your worms or they'll think you're starving. Ah, and, maybe tell a bit more so they won't wonder why you have worms...someone might get a parasitic visual if you don't tell them more about your worms. If after all this they still want to be your friend, they are made of gold and what we call "keepers".

We hope you enjoy making and running your worm farm. Let us know how it goes. Happy Worm farming!

article by F. Farkle