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wormfarm [2012-11-05 19:04] imogenwormfarm [2012-11-05 20:48] (current) imogen
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-First up, it's good to know that these are red wiggler worms, not to be confused with earthworms. While both types of worms break down organic matter, earthworms hang out at a deeper level of the soil. Whereas red wigglers live at the surface of the soil, and are a more aggressive eater: devouring manure, dead leaf matter, you name it. So these are the worms used for composting, their worm castings create rich fertiliser for plants to grow. +First up, it's good to know that these are compost worms, not to be confused with earthworms. While both types of worms break down organic matter, earthworms hang out at a deeper level of the soil. Whereas compost worms live at the surface of the soil, and are a more aggressive eater: devouring manure, dead leaf matter, you name it. Their waster (called worm castings and worm tea) create rich fertiliser for plants to grow. 
  
-You can buy a worm farm from your gardening store, however it is way more fun to make your own. Worm farms can be as simple as a single container in which you put your food scraps. They can exist vertically (stacked, so that worms move up and down from layer to layer), or they can also exist horizontally - ie you can create a long farm, often people use bath tubs. Drainage is very important as worms also create liquid (called worm tea). This should be drained out of the worm farm so that the worms don't drown in their own wee (yuk). This liquid is also great fertiliser, and should be added to plants watered down to the colour of weak tea. +You can buy a worm farm from your gardening store, however it is way more fun (and cheaper!) to make your own. Worm farms can be as simple as a single container in which you put your food scraps. They can exist vertically (stacked, so that worms move up and down from layer to layer), or they can also exist horizontally - ie you can create a long farm, often people use bath tubs. Drainage is very important as worms also create liquid (called worm tea). This should be drained out of the worm farm so that the worms don't drown in their own wee (yuk). This liquid is also great fertiliser, and should be added to plants watered down to the colour of weak tea. 
  
 So! Your worm farm design is not only about aesthetics (what you want the worm farm to look like, maybe you want it to also function as a bench top for pot plants or a seat), but it's also about what materials you have at your disposal and how much you are willing to spend on buying bits and pieces. After chatting to FoAM, we had decided on a bath tub design, with a nice wooden lid (perhaps an old door) which could provide a flat surface for plants.  So! Your worm farm design is not only about aesthetics (what you want the worm farm to look like, maybe you want it to also function as a bench top for pot plants or a seat), but it's also about what materials you have at your disposal and how much you are willing to spend on buying bits and pieces. After chatting to FoAM, we had decided on a bath tub design, with a nice wooden lid (perhaps an old door) which could provide a flat surface for plants. 
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 **Step 4** **Step 4**
  
-Place the wooden blocks in 4 corners of the 2nd tub. These blocks create space between the food layer and the composting layer. Stack the tubs on top of one another. Voila, your worm farm is ready!+Place the wooden blocks in 4 corners of the 2nd tub. These blocks create space between the top food layer and the second composting layer. Stack the tubs on top of one another. There is only a small gap between the 2nd and 3rd layers. The worm tea won't collect in the 3rd layer because the tap will always be open, so this gap can be minimal as the liquid should drain straight out. 
  
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-Out on the balcony, the old worm farm is full and overflowing. It was time to dig in, harvest out worm castings that were ready and put the rest of the compost in the new worm farm. +Out on the balcony, the old worm farm is full and overflowing. It was time to dig in, harvest out worm castings that were ready and put the rest of the compost in the new worm farm. The second level is in 'composting' mode (see notes below about how it works), and the top level is ready to add food.  
 + 
 +See that I added some shredded wet newspaper to the existing compost. Worms love newspaper. I was told this via my permaculture teacher who spoke to a worm farming expert in Australia. Carbon (newspaper) helps balance out the rich nitrogen from the food scraps. It gives the worms a balanced diet and makes the compost stable (ie so it doesn't smell). Imagine composting worms living in nature, they would be eating lots of dead leaves along with the smelly and yummy animal poo. Same thing really.  
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 +One final step before it's ready to go. These plastic tubs have been designed to fit snugly when stacked on top of each other. So by creating the space between the tops 2 layers with the wooden blocks, there is a small gap for worms to escape. A metre of mosquito netting, some elastic, a needle and thread... and it was time to make, the **Escapee Worm Preventer**... 
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 +I knew that my sewing classes in primary school would come in handy one day.  
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 +VOILA! 
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 +[[How the worm farm works]]\\ [[How to harvest castings]]
  
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  • wormfarm.1352142299.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2012-11-05 19:04
  • by imogen