Constructing Your Very Own Worm Farm

Beginning worm farming is not immensely complicated all you'll need is a bit of fury for recycling and a easy vigor of worm trivia so here is some worm trivia that might help motivate and modify youwith your worm farming.. How much will the worms eat? Mature worms capable of eating ripening or over three times their avow body rule every day again those who are tailor-made obtaining their feet dank out in worm farming further would enjoy brainy how make worms eat further to be fresh productive.

The key is easy - shred, mash or associate food scraps as these entrust give added digestibility and is very easily eaten by the worms. also make sure you keep their brace temperature at around 23-25 degrees Celsius, being it's at these temperatures that worms meal more valuable but, duck acidic foods, because it will screw up their digestive plan. The following are a few things you may and want to evade feeding your worms term manure, onions, citrus fruits or peelings, garlic, garden dry sprayed with insecticides, dairy products like milk besides cheese or meat.

Keeping the farm moist consign heighten the venture of the liquid fertilizer but bring care not to add too immeasurably wet relaxation the farm or the worms will arrangement. Take note that keep wastes are almost eighty percent water and that gets released when the worms break them single. So, if you happen to pour dampen over the system every few weeks or so make sure that you only enclose enough to equate sure that the worm bed stays arrogant and you will presume true a constant provide of liquid fertilizer.

You won't actually stand for producing to reap the worms as they tent to regulate themselves within any available space and food given to them. The following are some supplementary questions that you could get done up asking.

Why is it common for worms to congregate on the lid of the farm during rainy periods? It is a normal functioning owing to these worms to react this way during the rainy season to avoid taking drowned.to avoid drowning. Simply move the worm farm bins or boxes to a place where absolute won't be exposed to too extremely rain and drop the worms on their bedding

Why don't the worms go to the inauguration of the tray? It may betoken because you putting consequence new food before the worms think complete the previous feeding batch. Worms have an instinct to eat leftovers and bequeath not search for a new food source until it's done with what was up-to-date left. As a result, before adding new trays, halt the feeding of the worms for at first five days to ensure complete existing sustenance is gone and instigate sure that the levels at the tray needs to be placed high enough for the worms to pass easily up to the next tray.

Do worms have the ability with opinion extremely tiptop temperatures? Worms can be aware a temperature range between 10-30 degrees Celsius and so if it gets hotter than they can stand, place the farm in a nice shady cool area post it won't have any trouble regulating moisture and humidity of the worm boxes. character gelid temperatures,cover the creel with old clothes, blankets and wool shavings to sustain the warm temperature. It is also best to food about a site that recommended since more food digested on the worms example permits supplementary fire being generated in their bodies. So, do take heed of these ideas and soon you'll be able to constructing your very acquiesce worm farm.

Worm Farms

Compost worms are amongst our favourite backyard buddies, as they turn our household food scraps into 'black gold. Worm castings are phenomenal soil improvers. We spread worm castings over the veggies beds, and around our fruit trees from the base of the trunk to well past the drip line. They're much better than any other animal manure. And they have no smell, which keeps the neighbours on side!

Can of Worms

We found a great system to start out with is the 'can of worms.' This worm home is a system of trays, shown in the picture above. You feed your worms in the top tray, and harvest castings from the lower trays.

Bathtub System

To get the worm castings really cranking, worm houses made from old bathtubs are the way to go. We set ours up on a frame for easy access.

To make sure our wormies don't go walkabout, or drown, we put a 5cm layer of gravel at the bottom of the tub. Over the top of the gravel, we put a weed matt and some washed river sand to make sure there is no mixing between the valuable worm castings and the gravel.

Ventilation and aeration is critical. Wormies need to be able to breathe easy! One way we increased air flow was by cutting 6 slits in the bottom of the tub. We also have gaps between the tub and the lid, to allow oxygen to pass across the top of the worm farm, but still keep out excess water during heavy rains. And we areate the worm bed whenever we feed the worms, or add water to the system, by lightly 'fluffing' the material in the bed with our hands or a trowel.

Guide to worm composting - Dealing with common problems found in worm composting bins

SOME WARNING SIGNS:

Some warnings that your worm composting bin is not going as well as it should be are:

If your worms are dying. And if your bins smells like rotten or it attract some flies

WORMS ARE DYING:

There are some causes why is your worms are dying:

Your worm may not eating the enough food which is you should bury it with more food into the bedding.

Your worm may be too much dry, which in case it should be moistened in a box until it is slightly damp.

Your worm may be too much wet which in case it should receive bedding.

These may also receive too much heat under the sun which in case you should put it inside of your bin so that it may receive some shade.

Your bedding has been eaten and its time for you to add some fresh bedding to your worm bin.

BIN SMELLS:

Whenever you smell that your bin smells like its been rotten or your bin may attract flies these may be the three causes why your bin smells:

Maybe there is not enough air circulation whenever in case this may happen add some dry bedding under it and over of your worms and do not feed your worms for 2 weeks.

There maybe some non compostables may present some such as meat, some pet feces or some greasy food all of should be removed.

maybe some exposed food in the bin if in case you should be secured the lid cover the food scraps with a bedding and also cover your worms and bedding it with a sheet of plastic.

FRUIT FILES:

These fruit files are not harmful but these are a nuisance and a very common problem with our worm composting bins we should discourage fruit files by always burying our food wastes and by not overloading the worm bin we should keep always a plastic sheet, piece of an old carpet or some lid on the compost’s surface in the worm bin. The author of worms eat my garbage Mary Appelhof is acknowledges that she doesn’t found a perfect solution for the fruit files. If you add a spider this helps us to reduce fruit files if some flies persisted us, move the bin to the area where will not be bothersome.

Guide to worm composting - intro to composting with worms and worm compost bins

Worms can be useful in different ways. The compost worms are more easy to raise and can turn our unwanted food and organic wastes into a healthy rich plant food that can be use directly to the base of our plants, or dissolved in water and it can be used as a foliar spray.

African night crawlers and European night crawlers are examples of large types of worms. This large type of worms can make for excellent bait and will almost catch freshwater species of any type of fish and other types of saltwater as well.

There are almost thousands of different types of worms, each of this thousands worms has its own purpose.Let worms eat our organic waste. They will be happily turned into some of the best fertilizers that can be used here at Earth. Worms also composts or it is also known as “worm castings” or “vermicompost”. A fascinating and an easy way to recycle our wastes, vermiculture or worm composting:

Requires very little work

Produces no offensive odors

Help plants thrive

Only few things are needed to have good worm compost: a bin, bedding, worms and some worm food. By following some steps listed below, you will be easily learn how to make, maintain and you will easily learn how to compost your worm compost.

SUITABLE worm composting SPECIES:

A earthworm species are most often used Red Wrigglers but European night crawlers may also be used. There are names called at the European night crawlers including dendrobaenas, dendras, and the Belgian night crawlers.

You can also get your worms from your compost bin; you can purchase them/find a horse stable/farmer with aged manure pile

In every 1 pound per day of food waste, you’ll need 2 pounds of worms. Whether you are unable to get this many worms at the start, reduce the amount of food waste until the population of worms increases. Red worms can mature sexually in 60-90 days and it can produce cocoons which take 21 days for them to hatch their baby worms. Once the worms start breeding they can deposit 2-3 cocoons per week with 2 baby worms in each cocoon.

Guide to worm composting - maintaining worms in worm composting bins

Red worms/ Red wrigglers are the best kind of worms for composting. These worms are often found in the old compost piles. These worms are different from the earthworms you would normally find in the ground. These worms have a huge appetite and they reproduce quickly and thrive in the confinement. These worms can eat more than their own weight in food every day. When you purchase some red worms, 1 pound is all you need to get started.

The best suited for composting are red worms. These worms are often found in the aged manure, compost heaps and piles of the leaves. These worms are also known as brandling and manure worms. Their official names are Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus. On the other hand dew worms are also better suited to life in the soil and shouldn’t be used in a worm bin.

You can also get your worms from your compost bin; you can purchase them/find a horse stable/farmer with aged manure pile

In every 1 pound per day of food waste, you’ll need 2 pounds of worms. Whether you are unable to get this many worms at the start, reduce the amount of food waste until the population of worms increases. Red worms can mature sexually in 60-90 days and it can produce cocoons which take 21 days for them to hatch their baby worms. Once the worms start breeding they can deposit 2-3 cocoons per week with 2 baby worms in each cocoon.

FEEDING YOUR WORMS



Worms in composting bins like to eat many of the same things we human beings to eat, only when they aren’t so picky. Favorite foods they eat are:

Stale bread

Apple cores

Orange peels

Lettuce trimmings

Coffee grounds

Non-greasy leftovers

Vegetable scraps

Feeding your worms at the beginning feed them only a little at a time. You can add larger quantities of food waste. You should do bedding regularly, if you rotate the bin as you go. If you return to the first spot, most of the food you have buried there should have been eaten.

Your worms can eat your food scraps, fruits and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. To avoid some potential rodent problems do not compost meats, dairy products and soon.

If you pull aside the bedding bury the food waste deep and cover it up with the bedding again divide the bin into 3 or 4 imaginary sections and bury successive loads in different areas in the bin. There’s a weekly waste food that will help us human beings to determine the size of your worm compost bin and the number of the worms you’ll need. Do this for 2 weeks to get an estimate the average of our food waste.

Nature'S Miracle Gardening ‘Green’ With Worm Castings

Gardeners around the country are increasingly aware of ‘Go Green' as more than a slogan. As more and more homeowners are devoted to beautifying their yards, they seek ways to maximize their efforts. Most importantly, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is becoming less attractive to those who garden. They search for alternative ways to grow their plants, trees, and lawns without the use of toxic pollutants. They are becoming progressively more aware of the adverse environmental impact of these products. Yard runoff flows indirectly to our oceans or seeps into the underground water supply. Chemicals pollute. People are becoming more ‘green' minded. Hence an increasing demand for organic products. Worm castings and ‘worm tea' are two of those products.

Worm castings are nature's miracle fertilizer. They are the end result of specialized worms eating and digesting an organic source such as manure compost. The finished product is worm castings, or more simply put, worm manure. These ‘castings' are rich in multiple nutrients and minerals providing plants with a variety of essential elements found in nature that they need to grow. They are also an effective soil enhancer. And, most significantly, they are all - natural and toxic chemical free.

In order to see first hand how this process works - how castings develop from a compost pile to market - I visited Legacy Ranch for a first hand look. Legacy Ranch is secluded in the mountains of Campo, California about 50 miles east of San Diego owned and operated by long time rancher and horse aficionado, Lonnie Sole. Lonnie is a ‘cowboy' in the old fashioned sense and looks every bit like one. Lean and wiry, Lonnie is a no nonsense guy when it comes to ranching. He loves the solitude and beauty of country living. He is at home with the coyotes and other wild creatures that roam his ranch by night and attending his horses and Corriente long horned cattle by day. Doesn't really like city life at all. Now in his 60's, he still rides horses regularly and his horses know him by sight.

More than four years ago, Lonnie conceived the idea of producing worm castings for commercial sale. I believe he did so out of curiosity, somewhat from the challenge, but mostly due to his growing concern over the use of polluting chemicals and their effect on the increasingly fragile soil and limited fresh water supply of our good earth. "My worm castings and ‘worm tea' are nature's miracle for growing beautiful flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, and lawns safely without toxic chemicals. Plants love it; insects hate it" says Lonnie.

It has not been an easy journey. He started from scratch and has built his operation into a major endeavor. He now estimates he has millions of worms ‘working' for him. It is an intensely interesting operation and one full of details and watchful care.

Worms can be finicky little creatures. The wrong temperature in the beds, inappropriate food, or any little annoyance can send them scurrying away. And you don't want to see your investment leaving home. Constant vigilance is required to feeding, moisture content of the compost, temperatures of the beds and the general well being of the worms themselves.

Presently, Lonnie and his workers have three old converted chicken barns that house his worms and the castings. He has installed sprinkler systems and various pieces of equipment to minimize labor. However, worms require an intense amount of attention. There are lots of hand tools around, too.

He begins by laying out windrows of moistened composted horse manure which he obtains as a recycled product from a nearby horse ranch. Each windrow is about four to six feet wide and the length of the barn, about 200 feet or so. To this he adds his specialized worms, India Blue. They begin work immediately eating and digesting their favorite food. More compost is added to the top of the row as required and as the worms consume what they had initially been fed working their way from the bottom to the top of the windrow. Within four to six weeks they have converted a row of compost to rich and valuable worm castings. It is now harvest time.

Harvesting castings is done largely by hand. A new windrow of composted horse manure is laid down adjacent to the first. Feeding and watering of the initial windrow is terminated and overhead lighting is turned on. The worms, seeking food and water and averse to light, migrate from the first windrow to the new one rather rapidly. What is left in the first windrow is the sought after results of the eager worms ‘work', rich and beneficial worm castings along with the eggs left behind to hatch later and replenish the stock.

Once the castings are harvested, they are moved to the processing barn where they must be screened. This process removes the clumps that may contain eggs and any uneaten hay or the like from the castings. The final product is dark, rich, dirt - like material. That is the sought after nutrient rich plant food. It has no obvious odor except that of the forest floor or a rich humus soil.

Worm castings may be bagged for direct sale or mixed with a compost to use as a planting medium. They are an excellent natural fertilizer and soil enhancer, 100 % organic and becoming increasingly more popular in the organic gardening movement.

Last year Lonnie began a process of brewing a ‘tea' with his castings. This is a liquid form of dry castings using natural spring water and other organic ingredients. He brews this concoction for about twenty-four hours in special tanks. He has developed a unique product and it is presently on the market under his own label, "Nature's Big Bud Liquid Worm Castings, Premium 100% Organic Liquid Plant Food ". He also sells to other independent distributors, farmers, and commercial plant growers. His product is high in microbial content attributed, according to Lonnie, to his use of pure, high quality worm castings, natural mountain spring water and other organic ingredients he is reluctant to discuss. Trade secret. But I know that natural yucca extract is one of them.

His ‘tea' is becoming a widely sought after garden product. "This cutting edge product will produce superior results for both the home gardener and the commercial grower," says Lonnie. "We expect superb sales. The general public is becoming increasingly aware of natural, organic gardening without using toxic chemicals."

Nature's Big Bud Worm Castings, Inc. spokesmen proclaim their product as "Nature's miracle for growing beautiful flowers, plants, shrubs, trees and lawns safely without toxic chemicals." Yucca extract enhances the product immensely, they say, by acting as a wetting agent and it contains natural steroids beneficial to plants whereas the use of natural mountain spring water invigorates the microbes while conveying a multitude of valuable minerals to the soil and plant.

His use of natural unfiltered mountain spring water makes his product unique. He may be the only brewer doing so. This water, straight from a natural spring on the property, is pure and full of essential minerals unlike city water. It contains neither chemicals nor additives. That may be one of the keys to his product.

Lonnie swears by his ‘tea'; he is not alone. A brief surf on the Internet and one can view hundreds of sites pertaining to worm castings and worm ‘tea'. These informative and interesting sites all have one thing in common to the gardening buff: they are gleeful in their endorsement of worm castings and ‘worm tea'. Testing has shown these unique organic and natural products to be highly beneficial. Many noted soil experts are further studying the phenomena, but most agree that there is merit in the claims even though they don't necessarily know exactly why. There is increasing evidence that worm castings and ‘worm tea' assist in insect and disease control also. It is strongly believed further testing will prove that out. However, there is little dispute that worm castings and ‘tea' work! And work well!

I spent many hours with Lonnie discussing his love of worm farming. Several aspects of his efforts were amply evident. Lonnie knows worms. He loves producing a product that is going to help people garden more efficiently and in a manner friendly to the environment. He is not an environmental fanatic, but he knows that chemical free gardening is preferable and somewhat inevitable. The transition to "green" gardening is here and it is real. Slogans are one thing; Lonnie is proactive in his endeavors.

Lonnie loves the land and by all accounts the land loves Lonnie. His worms are promoting a healthy, chemical free environment and that comforts him.

Me, too!

Compost Tea - The Tea Of Worms Explained

Many people are tea drinkers. Whether they are drinking Oolong tea or black tea from their local grocery store, that person has a certain image as to what it is, what it tastes like, and what it is for. There is a certain kind of tea that no one should drink but is one of the most beneficial, nutrient filled solutions that has ever existed. It is called worm tea. What is worm tea? Here are a few tips on how you can create and use worm tea otherwise known as compost tea to enhance your organic gardening needs.

Used for hundreds of years, organic gardeners and farmers that have known of the value of vermicomposting have been creating this potent nutrient filled liquid that is better known as worm tea or compost tea. This liquid which some say has a fragrant odor or is completely odorless can be used on the leaves of potted plants and also in the soil to enhance plant growth as well as help protect the plants that you grow.

It is actually a very simple process with a couple of not so simple steps if you have never done it before. Basically, the vermicast is put into a filter like a nylon and added to a jug of water and oxygenated in order to encourage microbes within the mixture to flourish and grow. Some additional ingredients to add to this tea include molasses or sea kelp. The oxygenation process will continue for about a day or sometimes longer.

Once done, it can be bottled and sprayed on plants or poured into soil at the base of the plants in order to inject a kind of a topical fertilizer that not only helps plant growth but also repels insects and disease such as spider mites and various pathogens, respectively.

There are various ways to get compost tea and one of those ways is through the collection of worm castings. Worm castings are essentially the poop of the worms. Their manure feels like soft little nodules that can be bagged up and cooked like a tea (except at room temperature water) and then used in the same manner that the worm tea was used in liquid form. Usually distilled water is used in the sifting process when using the castings and can actually be a much neater process when doing this on a large scale.

Most compost tea is concentrated so even if it does come in a bottle that looks ready to use, treat it the same way you would miracle grow or other non organic fertilizers. Castings tea should not burn the leaves of plants or over fertilize the soil but it is a good idea to use it more often in diluted form than less often in concentrated form. Red worms and their castings have become a hot commodity for all of those in the organic gardening field.

In essence, you are putting healthy microorganisms back into the soil which can then begin to thrive and multiply creating the ideal environment for your plants and a natural barrier at times for things that would come to destroy them. And unlike most nonorganic fertilizers, if you happen to spill too much into an area of your crop, it will not burn your plants.

By taking the time to create your own worm farm, and making your own tea for your garden or crops, you should see not only a positive growth in your vegetables or fruit, but a noticeable taste difference and production difference in how long it takes your crops to grow. You will also notice that your plants succumb less to fungus and other pathogens and diseases.

Also, by regularly adding this special tea into your garden area, it will also help you regulate the watering of your garden which is very important for crop growth. If you are doing this on a larger scale, you may need special equipment in order to harvest the worm castings and process them, and also to make worm tea on a commercial scale requires significantly different equipment than a small scale operation.

Overall, it will be worth your while to go the natural way and create a worm farm that will supplement the nutrient needs of your garden no matter how big or small. The use of compost tea as not only an additive of nutrients but also as an insecticide to protect your crops will make your organic gardening growing experience more pleasurable each and every year.

So the next time that you hear about a special tea that can enhance the growth of your crops, make your food taste better, and increase your overall yields, you will not think about the kind of tea that you sip quietly at the kitchen table, but of natures key that is given to us by red worms to help all organic gardeners grow more plentiful crops called compost tea.

How to Make a Worm Farm

Worms
can do wonders for the garden: they aerate the soil and their castings are an excellent fertilizer. To get a constant supply of this worm fertilizer as well as extra worms for the garden, start a worm farm.
Use Red Worms or Tiger Worms only (available from most plant nurseries). The common garden
worm is not suitable.

Setting up the System

Worm farms are simple structures that you can make yourself. They consist of three or four stackable crates or bins made of plastic, wood or any other lightweight, waterproof material. The worms live in the bins and simply wriggle their way up from the lowest bin into the one above, where they can smell fresh food, fruit, vegetable and other scraps that might otherwise go to waste. These scraps are turned into the castings that make such good fertilizer. Some local councils sell worm farms at a cost of $50 to $75 for four bins.

The base bin has a solid floor to catch liquid run-off that percolates down from the upper bins, and preferably a tap near the base. By tipping the stack, liquid waste can be drained away through the tap without having to remove the upper bins.

The upper bins are perforated to let the worms move up through the floor to reach fresh food supplies. These ‘holey’ bins lock into each other and are deep enough to leave enough room for the worms to move about without being squashed.

To create congenial living conditions for the worms, you need newspaper and soil to start the farm and a continuing supply of suitable food scraps.

Starting the Farm

On top of the base bin fit an upper (holey) bin #1 that has been lined with a few sheets of shredded newspaper and a couple of handfuls of soil. Spray lightly with fresh water. Add the Red or Tiger worms along with a small amount of food scraps. Exclude light from the upper bin and keep it moist by covering it with newspaper, hessian or another bin. Allow the farm to settle in for a couple of weeks before lifting the cover and putting in more food scraps. Check on the bin’s progress and add more food scraps as the worms grow and multiply. Make sure that your worms have enough food, but don’t over feed them - uneaten food will simply rot, resulting in a smelly farm and unhappy worms.

When holey bin #1 is about half full of worms and worm castings, remove the newspaper or hessian and place holey bin #2 on top. Put food scraps in bin #2 and, again, exclude light and keep the contents moist. In about a week the worms from bin #1 will have moved up into the fresh food in bin #2, leaving behind worm castings that can be spread on the garden.

Worm Farm Composting-Going Green in a Worm Way

Worm farm composting is a time tested and efficient way to enhance your recycling efforts that can be accomplished with the help of our little friends the worms. As one of Mother Nature's tools for breaking down organic wastes, worms are capable of providing efficient waste conversion with some interesting side benefits as well.

Worms are one of Nature's key components in the composting process. Composting is the process where biodegradable waste material is broken down and converted into a soil like substance called compost. Worms actually eat these organic wastes and food scraps. After they've digested and broken them down, the "poo" that comes out, a soil like substance called worm castings, can be gathered and used for fertilizer for flower and vegetable gardens, fruits, and lawns as well. Sort of a Mother Nature "Garbage In, Gold Out" can be the result.

Throughout history back to the time of ancient Egypt, savy farmers realized and used these little helpers to enrich soils and get better harvests. Flowers have been known to actually bloom before their regular seasons when worm compost has been mixed with the soil.Vegitable and fruit harvests are known to yield up to a twenty percent increase, with better flavor and crispness. And the soil benefits as well with plants having a higher resistance to diseases and pests, reducing the need for herbicides and pesticides.

Entrepreneurs caught on to this as well over the the years. Worm farming has long been known as a successful "niche business" in several ways. Many garden supply shops carry bags or boxes of worm farm compost or castings as fertilizers. And, with the increase in home gardening due to our current tough economic times, the demand should go up. And while the "night-crawler" reigns as king for fishing bait, what school-boy fisherman hasn't dug a can of worms from out back and taken his bike fishing. Sporting goods stores do quite a seasonal business of the little wigglers. In recent years, a thriving online industry has developed as well for both the castings and the worms and accessories as well.

One of the biggest benefits of worm farm composting to consider is the portability and adaptability of the process. A home scale worm farm can be crafted with a container as small as several inches deep and wide by say 18 inches to a couple feet long. Worms are sensitive to light, heat, and vibration, so take these factors into account. Your worm farm can be started on a back porch or patio, or in the back yard or garden, so it's adaptable to urban settings as well. Just side towards cool, quiet, and shaded, and you should see success. Add some moist paper, leaves, or cardboard and some soil, then add worms. Feeding your worms is easy. Toss, stir, or mix in your food scraps, yard clippings, or plant waste, and let them go to work for you. They consume up to their own weight per day. There are some things you wan to avoid like meats, salts, andacidy items like onions and citrus, but this information can be found on the web and in a variety of books on the topic.

These simple steps scaled to your needs or goals, will get you started on the path of organic gardening in a very simple but effective way. As noted earlier, we are seeing and should continue to see a rise in interest of home gardening as an offshoot of the economy. Our grandparents and generations before learned to work with Nature to survive, and as a society we face a return to some of this nearly lost knowledge. So just "being Green" could be the fashionable term today, but from a practical point of view, there's plenty of benefits to having your own organic garden today, and some simple worm farm composting can be a big help in many ways.

Red Worms For Composting - Organic Gardening Made Cheap

Worm farming or raising red worms for composting is a great alternative for those who want to make their organic garden even healthier than before but do not want to spend too much money on doing so. It might sound difficult and intimidating but to tell you the truth, it is quite the opposite.

So how do you make a worm farm at home?

The first thing that you have to do is pick a spot. One of the key things to keep in mind when raising healthy compost worms is that they do not want to get too hot. That means, finding a spot under some shade to build your worm farm or bed.

The next step in creating a small worm farm for your compost pile is finding food to feed your red worms. Red worms are not very particular with the kind of food that they want to eat. What worms like to eat the most are food wastes! This includes peeling from vegetables and fruits, pulp from the juice, bread, tea bags and crushed eggs. Small portions of soiled paper and cardboard (like the ones that they use for egg trays) are also some of their favorites! But while worms have their favorite foods, they also have their least favorite foods. These include dairy products such as butter and cheese, fish, meat, fat and bones. They are also not interested in eating oily foods, citrus, onion and garlic.

The next concern is building a home for your worms - a worm bin. There are lots of commercial worm bins available in the market. But if you want to save money, you can always build your own worm crate farms with boxes or construct a worm bed in your garden. There are lots of variations, shapes and sizes for homemade worm farm boxes. The typical dimensions are 30cm deep, 60cm wide and 90 cm long. It is also important for these boxes to have holes in the bottom to allow for drainage and airing of the worm farm. The boxes should also be covered with either a lid or with Hessian or underfelt. It is also important to have a base underneath the box to catch liquid and provide drainage.

The worm farm will now need bedding for the worms. Beddings are best made out of finished compost, paper and leaves. These three should be torn or shredded thoroughly to allow the worms' easy movement around the bedding. The bedding material should also be soaked in water before being added into the box. The bedding mu must be, at best 10-15cm deep.

After doing all of these, the box should now be ready to house some worms. Place some one to two thousand worms into the box, spreading them out gently onto the surface and allowing them to burrow down into the moist mixture.

Kitchen wastes are to be added at a regular basis and only in small amounts. You can simply place the wastes in the box and cover them with a handful of the bedding material, soil or compost. It is important for you not to add to much food for the worms all at once! Give them more food only after they have almost consumed their previous supply.

You now have a worm farm and can now raise worms for compost! To harvest the worm castings or compost, you simply have to move it all to one side of the bin and add fresh bedding the empty side. A majority of the red worms will migrate to the fresh bedding on the other side of the bin and the worm castings or compost can then be taken out and used.

Worms Are Effective Garbage Reducers

Worms are the world's first and premier soil cultivator. They plow the soil by burrowing vertically, horizontal and diagonally through it, thus, aerating and conditioning it making the soil suitable for planting. These wigglers are also efficient and natural processors of organic fertilizers that can help increase farm productivity and decrease the cost of inputs. More countries, organizations and individuals are starting to recognize the added value of worms not only in the production of fertilizers, but in the over-all strategy to protect the environment.

The world's garbage problem is very huge. Some estimates say it is about 5 billion tons a year or 14 million tons daily. The world's total population is estimated at 6,773,700,000 (source: International Programs Center - census.gov.) One person, therefore, contributes an average of 10 kilos of pollutants daily. Fertilizer production using worms, if done by everyone, can help reduce this output by about 35 percent. This is called Vermitechnology. Vermi is the Latin term for worms.

We have trained on this technology and introduced it in our service communities to help them improve their farming systems and contribute to the local government's solid waste management program. To produce 50 kilos of vermifertilizer, 100 kilos of biodegradable waste materials are composted and processed by the worms in 30 days. This means 3.34 kilos of garbage would be reduced from the daily 10-kilo individual waste output.

In producing organic fertilizers, our group does have certain standards on what particular types of biodegradable wastes to use in order to produce a suitable organic fertilizer. That is, one that has enough nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content. However, if we use the vermitechnology purposely to reduce garbage volume, there is no need to classify the waste except that these should be biodegradable ones. This is already solving half of the problem, so to speak; the other half being the non-biodegradable ones which are being addressed by different quarters also.

Worms multiply at a relatively rapid rate. A kilo of worms, approximately 1000 pieces, that is introduced to a hundred kilos of composted garbage can produce an additional kilo. More worms mean faster waste processing and greater garbage volume reduction. Alongside, surplus worms can be chopped up and utilized as meals for fishes and other species in marine culture projects.

Other potential for worm use are being experimented, too. Some members of our local communities have fed some of their livestock with worm poop. They say that their stock grew fatter and bigger and did not develop any side effects. One of the worm raisers, who had a tumor in his chest, took a dose of powdered pan fried worms daily for a few months. The lump is now visibly gone. But, these are only testimonials from local folks. These are yet to be researched further and validated. That is why I am not recommending for others to try the same. Yet, since there were no negative results from those elementary experiments, the benefits we can generate from worms could be bigger. Aside from being effective garbage reducers, they can (pending result of further studies) also help in addressing extensive use of synthetic feeds and medicines.

Vermicompost - How to Set Up a Simple Worm Farm and Make Compost in 4 Months

Vermicompost is vital to good soil. In the previous article on Organic Farming one of the sections dealt with soil and how important having healthy soil is to Organic Farming as a healthy soil equates to healthy vegetables and cattle. One of the main contributors to this process is the lowly earthworm. However, more and more people nowadays are realizing how useful this little animal is. The casts, or the manure that is produced by earthworms, is called vermicompost.

The humble earthworm's activities result in numerous advantages:

1) If you start your own vermicompost heap you generate an endless supply of cheap compost that is chemically-free, eco friendly and uses up biodegradable matter that before one would dispose of.
2) The vermicompost is friable and improves not only the structure of the soil, but also the rate of water retention.
3) The soil is enriched. The concentrations of nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and phosphates are all higher in soil that has earthworms.
4) Vermicompost also suppresses certain types of weeds that would have grown if the compost were not present.
5) It promotes better root growth and structure, and is an excellent medium for growing seedlings and seeds as it enhances germination and crop yields.

So now that we know the benefits of worm farming, how do we go about setting up a small worm farm and what sort of bin should you choose?

What Size of Bin and Type of Bin is Best for you?

For each 500 g (1 pound) of food waste produced each week, you will need at least 30 cm squared (1 ft squared) of bin space. Therefore choose the size of bin that is appropriate for your size family. As a benchmark for 2-3 people you should have a bin measuring 60 x 60 x 30 cm stocked with 1 kg of worms.

Most small bins for vermicompost use can be grouped into three categories:

1) Non-continuous : An undivided container, a layer of organic matter is placed in the bin lining the bottom. Worms are then added and organic matter for composting is added in a layer above the bedding. Another layer is added on top of the organic matter and the worms will start to compost the organic matter and bedding. This type of bin is often used because it is small and easy to build. But it is relatively difficult to harvest because all the materials and worms must be emptied out when harvesting.

2) Continuous vertical flow : A series of trays are stacked vertically on top of one another. The bottom tray is filled first, in a similar fashion to the non-continuous bin, but is not harvested when it is full. Instead, a thick layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic material. Worms finish composting the materials in the bottom tray and then migrate to the one above. When a sufficient number of worms have migrated, the vermicompost in the bottom tray can be collected and should be relatively free of worms. These bins provide an easier method of harvesting, as they do not all have to be emptied out.

3) Continuous horizontal flow: A series of trays are lined horizontally. This method too relies on the earthworms migrating towards a food source in order to ease the process of harvesting. The bin is usually constructed to be similar to a non-continuous bin but is longer and lies horizontally. It is divided in half, usually by a large gauge screen of chicken wire. One half is used until it becomes full, then the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter. In time, the worms migrate to the side with the food and the compost can then be collected. These bins are larger than a non-continuous system but still small enough to be used for small-scale worm farming, with the added advantage of being easier to harvest.

Setting up a small-scale Worm Farm

Setting up the compost bin is easier than you may think. All you need are the following:

* A plastic bin with a lid to keep away the flies and to cut down on odours while the matter is decomposing. However, your worms will need oxygen, so drill holes in the bottom of the bin for ventilation and drainage and further help this process by placing the bin on some bricks to elevate it off the ground.

* Place some bedding in the bin for the worms in the form of either shredded paper (that from a mechanical shredder is perfect as it is really fine), peat moss or shredded coconut hair (coir) that can be commercially bought. Do not use glossy paper or magazines. This should not be more than about a fifth of your bin space. Remember that the worms eat the bedding, so you need to replenish this every few months.

* Water to dampen the bedding. Make sure that you do not flood the bin with too much water. You just want to make the bedding moist.

* Get your food scraps that you have been saving up. The best scraps are fruit and vegetable peelings, fruit skins, apple cores etc. If you want to help your worms along, some of those scraps could be liquidised in a blender to quicken the process. Additions such as cow, sheep, pig or chicken manure is a bonus, but it is not a necessity.

* In setting up your vermicompost avoid feeding the worms the following: meat, fats or dairy products, citrus, onions and garlic, fish, bones, tobacco, or pet or human manure. Too much fat prevents the earthworms from breathing properly as they breathe through their skin. Also avoid using too many watermelon skins as they really don't have a lot of nutritional value for the earthworm and they also disrupt the moisture levels of the compost. If your lawns have been sprayed with any weed killer avoid feeding these clippings to the worms.

* Now it is time to place your worms into the bin. The type of worm is important and the red worms are the ones to get. These are called composting worms and known as Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida) or Red Earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus). Make sure that you do this on a sunny day and that the sun is shining into the compost bin. Earthworms do not like the sun and they will immediately start digging down into their new home. If you do not have the sun shining for this exercise you may find that most of your worms have crawled out of the bin and left for greener pastures! The worms can be bought commercially, including over the Internet.

* Now cover with two handfuls of soil to the bedding in each bin to supply "roughage" for the worms. Adding crushed eggshells provides not only roughage but also calcium for the worms, and it lowers acidity in the bin. Now put the lid down on the bin.

Where should you Place your Vermicompost Bin?

Many people actually like to keep their bin inside, either in a garage, basement, kitchen or laundry area. Personally, I do not think that compost bins belong indoors at all. Rather place the bin in a sheltered area out of the sun. In winter, you could move the bin to the garage, or surround it with some form of shelter like hay bales to keep the snow, rain and cold out.

Maintaining your Vermicompost Bin

You have to make sure that you have enough moisture in your bin, without it getting too wet, and
making sure that the compost is alkaline rather than acidic. You should turn the bin contents over on a regular basis, it's best to do this every 3 days. Your worms require 3 things to exist: i) Oxygen ii) Moisture iii) Food Scraps iv) A dark place to live

If all requirements are met your worms will live quite happily in their new environment and will also procreate. Adult worms produce three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more. Every three months the worms should be harvested or separated from the castings.

Make sure that your soil never smells sour. If this happens it means that the soil is too wet. If it smells sour then add calcium carbonate, also known as garden lime which is very different to ordinary lime which will kill your worms, crushed egg shells, dirt, sand, or more newspaper to soak up that excess moisture.

So how wet should your compost be? - About 75% moist. What exactly does this mean? I can already hear you ask. Well, if you take a handful of matter and squeeze it hard you should only get about a drop or two of liquid. This is just how your worms like their environment and will be quite happy to stay.

No only will they be happy to stay they will also multiply. If conditions are good, you will double your worm population in six months. If the worms become crowded and you do not remove any, then worms will slow down their reproduction.

Feeding your Worms

There are two methods of adding food scraps to the bin.

* Top feeding: This is when food scraps and biodegradable matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer in a bin and then covered with another layer of bedding and soil. This is repeated every time the bin is fed.

* Pocket feeding : A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath by drilling down into the bedding. The location of the food is changed each time, rotating around the bin to give the worms time to decompose the food in the previously fed pockets. The top layer of bedding is replaced when necessary.

One pound of worms will eat about three and one half pounds of food scraps a week. If you add more food than your worms can handle, anaerobic conditions will set in and cause odour. Make sure that food scraps are always buried under the soil to avoid attracting flies and rodents.

Knowing When and How to Harvest the Vermicompost

Smaller scale worm bins are harvested in a variety of ways, and the length of time it takes for the process to be completed really depends on a whole range of variables including the size of the container to start off with. In all cases, harvesting should begin when the bedding and consumed food has turned a rich dark brown. It should be moist and crumbly, with a consistency of coffee grounds.

After about six weeks, you will begin to see worm castings (soil-like material that has moved through the worms' digestive tracts). Castings can boost plant growth, since they are rich in organic matter and the nutrients plants need to thrive, and are pulsing with biological activity that will bring life to your soil eco-system.

After about 4 months it will be time to separate the worms from the compost. If you have a non-continuous or undivided container, it is more difficult to harvest the worms. However, this situation is certainly not impossible. Take the contents and turn it upside-down on a piece of plastic such as a ground sheet or a tarpaulin. Because the earthworms are photosensitive, if this is done on a sunny day the worms will start burrowing down, and then it is easy to start scraping the compost from the top, waiting in between for them the move downwards. Wait 20-30 minutes before starting to scrape off the top layer of compost.

If, however, you are the impatient type, get yourself a fine meshed sieve, the type they use in construction yards, if your compost heap is fairly large, or a large household sieve will do. Sieve the compost until you have finely granulated composted on one side, and your worms in the other to start the process all over again. Do not be lazy and put the worms into your soil along with the compost. It is not that the worms will damage your plants in any way, but red worms are not worms that will survive for any length of time in such soil. In nature, this type of worm lives in mild climates in the leaves on the forest floor or in manure piles.

Be on the lookout for worm eggs. They are lemon-shaped and about the size of a match head. They are shiny in appearance, and are light brown in colour. The eggs contain between two and twenty baby worms. Although it is time consuming, you may want to return the eggs to your bin so they can hatch and thrive.

Another way to harvest the compost is to move the compost to one side of the box and add fresh bedding and food to the other side. Then only bury food on the new side. In six weeks, the worms will have migrated to the new bedding and you can harvest the finished compost, and replace it with new bedding.

Now that you have all this compost how are you going to use it?

You can use your vermicompost straight away or store it and use it later. It will be good for about a year. Mix it into the top six inches of soil in your garden and around your trees and plants. You can also use it as a top dressing on outdoor plants or sprinkle it on your lawn like you would as if you were top-dressing. Vermicompost makes great nutrient-rich mulch so is perfect for areas that do not get lots of rain for moisture retention.

For indoor plants, you can safely mix vermicompost with your potting soil. Regarding indoor plants, make sure that you have removed all worms and eggs from the compost as they will not survive in an indoor pot.

You can also make a "compost tea" to feed to your plants. An easy recipe is to add two tablespoons of vermicompost to one quart of water and allow it to steep for a day, mixing occasionally. Water your plants with this "tea" to give them a boost.