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Got worms? |
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Got worms? |
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Why would I want worms?
They churn through your compost by eating it and turning it into the world's best plant food and it's organic.
How much can a
worm eat?
They can eat their own weights everyday but generally speaking, 2
kg of worms will recycle 1 kg of organic waste in 24 hours.
What do worms
eat?
Everything you do and just about anything organic. Some grass
clippings, even doggie doo.
They can be fed all food and most garden waste but not noxious
plants.
Wet torn up newspaper and cardboard is a favorite and eggshells
will help your ph levels but that unidentified thing from the
back of the fridge seems to be their favourite, along with
anything past its best by date.
What should not
be fed to worms?
Avoid all citrus, oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, onions,
garlic, hot and heavily spiced foods, and high acid foods.
Avoid oleanders and
other poisonous plants.
Be careful of plants that have been sprayed with insecticide.
If feeding worms animal matter, ensure animal hasn't been
recently wormed as your whole herd could be wiped out.
They can be fed
smallish meat scraps but watch out. If they get too big they will
attract flies and maggots and possibly smell.
Don't feed them metals, chemicals, oils, insecticides, soap etc.
Don't pour green manure straight on, it has to be dried and
composted. A few months outside usually is sufficient. This goes
for any pet doo as well. However, small amounts of fresh doo can
be placed on top of the worm bed if there is plenty of room
around it for the worms to escape the heat of decomposition. The
worms will nibble at the edges of the pile where the heat is low,
thus reducing the amount of material daily.
How do you feed worms?
Spread the waste around on top unevenly, leaving gaps for the worms to surface.
Make sure most what you are feeding them is moist, most food stuffs can go straight in but please dampen stale bread and paper scraps.
Cutting things up to
centimetre sized pieces or smaller will speed recycling time by
up to 50%.
Don't mix the waste in as they will come up for it. A loose
spreading of food up to 5 centimetre high is ok..
How do you harvest castings?
With a two bin system, it is quite easy, you simply start feeding them in the top bin and they will move up for the new food leaving the container with the accumulated castings for you to use directly in your garden, pot plants or store for later use. With other bin systems the worm/casting mix may be sorted to separate the worms from the castings. For home use, a hand held mesh frame should suffice using piece of centimetre mesh and sorting through gently. You can wear rubbergloves but don't worry, worms dont bite, they dont even have teeth.
Be on the lookout for worm eggs; they are a yellow-light-brownish color, shiny and oval, about the size of a match head The eggs contain between one and twentyfive baby worms. Place the eggs back inside your farm to hatch.
What kind of bedding is needed to start?
Any moistened organic material can be used for bedding.
Peat moss soaked in water at least 24 hours, aged lawn clippings, dead leaves, untreated wood shavings, newspaper torn up and soaked in water. Garden clippings should have "aged" beyond the green stage and not be giving off heat.
What conditions make worms happiest?
Keep them out of the rain and in the shade. They will drown and/ or scatter under rainy or very hot or humid conditions.
As most food is around 90% water it is not necessary to introduce water to the wormfarm but in warm conditions if it looks like it is drying out you can give it a light spray from time to time or cover food with a wet newspaper to slow down evaporation.
Will the worm bin smell.
Surprisingly, there is usually no odour from the wormfarm. The worm castings smell like rich soil.
How hard is worm farming?
Not at all hard. One person can easily manage a small, residential sized bin for recycling kitchen waste by using these instructions. Not recomended for the under fives.
How fast do worms multiply?
They can double every three months in optimum conditions but their population is self regulating so they will only reproduce to the level of food they are supplied and space provided.
What do I do if I get too many worms?
Their population is self regulating and if the worms think they are getting too crowded they will slow down their reproduction or move out, they are a lot more mobile than you'd think but if you think you are getting too many you can set some free to work for you out in your own compost pile.
