Monday, December 28, 2009

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.

Friday, December 25, 2009

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.


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

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.

Monday, December 21, 2009

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.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

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!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

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.

Monday, December 14, 2009

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.

Friday, December 11, 2009

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.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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.

Monday, December 7, 2009

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.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Worm Farming Profits

Vermiculture is the scientific word for worm farming. Vermiculture utilizes red worms and kitchen waste to produce worm castings, or very rich fertilizer and compost. Millions of tons of organic waste are dumped into landfills the world over. The methane gas produced by this decomposing organic waste affects global warming. Red worm farming can utilize some of this organic waste and produce rich compost in the process.

Vermiculture farming that can be done on any sized scale and almost anywhere. If done properly it can even become a profitable business for you! The start up costs for this are negligible. You can start with 1000 red worms, sold on the internet for around $33.00. Use old dresser drawers or other type of sturdy box-like container, add bedding of shredded newspaper, drill holes in the bottom of the container and you are ready to go. Feed the worms discarded kitchen waste, with the exception of meat, leftover oil and dairy waste. Discarded vegetable waste, grains, coffee grounds, and crushed egg shells make the best food for worms.

As described above, the start up costs for red worm farming are negligible. You can sell the bagged worm castings or compost on the internet for a profit. You can also breed the red worms used in worm farming. Red worms require special conditions to breed successfully. But once these are in place the going rate for 1000 red worms on the internet today is about $33.00. For the entrepreneur this is an ideal low labor and low cost business.

Can you make profits at worm farming? Yes - worm farming has an extremely low start up cost and you can sell the resulting rich organic compost and the red worms themselves on the internet. To find out all about the profitable business please visit us at Worm Farming Profits for more free information. This article was written by Anna M. Hartman

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Worm Farming Secrets

Worm farming used to be only a good idea if you were a dedicated fisherman. Recently, the hobby has exploded into a multimillion dollar business. Because of its incredible track record of being great for the environment households, communities, and even municipalities have revisited vermicomposting as a viable alternative to landfills.

By eliminating the waste that would be sent to landfills, starting a worm farm will save the average household hundreds of dollars every year on garbage removal services. They truly are revolutionizing the recycling industry at an alarming rate, and the best part of it is that they are able to be started at a near zero startup cost.

One of the most important parts of starting your worm farm is to design the farm for the size of the garbage that you expect to want recycled. An average worm farm contains a pound of worms, or 4,000 worms, and can eat through over half a pound of garbage every 24 hours.

Now, you cannot just throw any and all trash into your worm farm and expect it to disappear. You can only place compostable garbage such as paper based products and old food. While this may not seem like a lot, it covers all newspapers, paper, cardboard, and all scraps left over from meals. Additionally, you can make choices in the supermarket to buy products that contain little to no plastics, therefore reducing the amount of non-compostable waste that you generate.

If you are ready to take the plunge into vermicomposting, you can find all of the supplies at your local building supply store, and can get the worms straight out of the ground. The only real trick that you must make sure you heed is the fact that you have to allow your container breathing holes as well as it must be sealable so the worms and the liquids that are produced from the worm farms do not seep into the surrounding ground.

Worm farming truly does offer a hobby that can save you hundreds of dollars every year in addition to helping the environment and providing a possible business opportunity. What are you waiting for?

Sunday, November 22, 2009

4 Simple Steps to a Successful Worm Farm

The best location for your Worm Farm should be a well shaded section of your garden. Worms prefer a cold, moist area so open sunshine is a definite no.

Now you have your area set up, your worms will something to eat. Worms are the totally opposite to humans, they will eat most things that we throw away. Old vegetables, fruit peelings, bread, egg shells and general meal waste are great for worm food. The smaller you can make the food, the better. As you know, worms are small creatures so anything big will be difficult for them to digest. They also like soiled paper or cardboard such as torn egg cartons. Worms do not like fish or meat, cheese or butter, generally foods that are oily, very smelly or have strong odours.

You have two options when it comes to the actual worm farm; you can buy one or build one yourself. There are 3 levels to a worm farm, each with holes in the bottom to drain moisture and allow good air flow. Each level should be about 30cm deep, 60cm wide and 90cm long. A suitable covering for the top layer is required to keep out unwanted animals and to keep it dry. A drip tray is needed at the very bottom to catch all the water. A varied amount of compost mixed with wet paper and leaves gives a great bed for the worm farm. Add about 1000 worms once you are happy with the soiled area. Ordinary worms cannot be used, you will need to buy them from your local garden centre. Spread them evenly and allow them to burrow into the soil. Add your kitchen waste in small amounts, always keeping the cover on when finished. Don't overcrowd the worm farm with food, if they haven't eaten the previous waste, don't add more until it's gone.

After a few days, the worms will have made their way into the top layer leaving their castings in the lower layer. You can use this layer to fertilize your garden. When you remove the compost, simply replace it with fresh soil, cardboard and papers and allow the worms to mix it up again.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A-Z of Worm Farming For Profits

Vermiculture is the technical term for worm farming which is a useful way or turning organic waste into incredibly rich compost. You can use it on vegetables patches, flowers beds or any plant and the results are simply stunning! Considering that millions of tons of organic waste are added to landfills and rubbish dumps all over the world every second, worm farming will definitely be the wave of the future. Methane gases from this decomposing organic waste in landfills are already a huge contributing factor towards global warming. The alternative is worm farming that can be done on any sized scale and almost anywhere as well. Worm farming if done properly can even turn into a profitable business for you!

What is worm farming or 'Vermiculture?'

In a nutshell; worm farming is the new organic way of turning your household waste into something incredibly useful. Special composting worms can break you're your organic household waste and scraps into an incredibly powerful compost that will make any plant flourish. Almost 60% of household waste is organic so you will be doing your bit for the environment. These are special types of worms that originated in the Amazon jungle and by incorporating them into the correct conditions you can have an organic waste disposal that produces rich dense compost for your garden. This compost is called 'worm castings' and an alternative fertilizer as good as this would cost you a fortune at a nursery or farmer supplies. Your worm farm needs certain conditions to flourish and do the jobs you want it to, but once you have the hang of it you will see that it is very rewarding and quite simple to. When you are an expert you can begin worm farming for profits by teaching others how to start their own worm farms...

Can I do Worm farming for profits?

It is possible to pursuit worm farming for profits in different niches, but you will first have to know all the tips and tricks to make your worm farm successful. If you want to make money on a small scale in your backyard then you can sell this rich fertilizer worm casting to your neighbors for their pot plants, gardens and vegetable patches. It is possible do worm farming for profits by also breeding these special composting worms, but you will need to understand the special conditions that are needed in order to make breeding composting worms a success.

Some farmers are seeing a huge demand for organically grown produce that is free from the residue of man made chemical fertilizers and pesticides and if you have a big enough piece of land, it is possible to produce enough for small scale farmers as well. Commercial farmers can set up their own extensive sized worm farms for profits, and make use of the worm castings to their benefits for crops and vegetable produce growing.

How can I learn more about worm farming?

There are quite a number of articles around that can teach you how to go about worm farming and once you are an expert 'vermiculturalist' you can start worm farming for profits. This fast growing natural means of turning organic waste into something so useful is poised to take the world by storm!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Do You Want Working Pets Try A Worm Farm

Did you know that worms will eat organic matter 3 to 4 times quicker than your backyard composter? And with a lot less effort?

It is simple, it costs nothing to run at all, it is not time consuming, and you can make lots of very organic natural fertilizer free, that won't burn your lawn or hurt your plants if you use too much like the commercial products.

A major part of your kitchen waste is organic, and should not be thrown out, but kept and recycled with your new worm pets!. Worms will eat just about anything that was once living. That includes: leaves, grass clippings, weeds, all sorts of household food scraps, natural fiber cloth, all sorts of manure (including dog and cat waste) paper products, and even human hair.

Worm castings, are what you get after the worms have processed their "dinner". It is Mother Natures best natural fertilizer. You simply spread onto your garden beds, and lawns, and flower pots, with no worries about using too much...

Did you know that 2000 composting worms, can turn into 8000 worms in 6 months? All you need are some simple tools and containers, and it pretty well runs itself, you just need to make sure and feed them your food scraps etc, and they will be happy little campers.

Worm farms are also ideal for businesses, its a great place for employees to get rid of their food and lunch scraps. The castings can then be used in planters and beds etc, what a great way to keep all the food scraps out of the dumps, as we do not tend to use composters at work..

Worm farming is also great for balcony gardens in apartments, as there is NO smell, no rotting garbage smell, the worms process the scraps quickly, and you can produce quite a lot of castings for your balcony planter pots.

There are all kinds of great instructions and ebooks out there on worm farming, but a lot of people think it will be messy and stinky, which is not the case. This is a great way for you to help with the environment, and do your part to keep our world green. Give it a try and get some more information...

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Can't I Just Use Garden Worms in My Worm Farm

If you're interested in vermicomposting, typically referred to as worm farming, you may have noticed that there are a lot of worms living in your garden soil. If so, I can't blame you for wondering why you couldn't just use them in a worm farm and save the cost of buying special worms, as recommended by most experts.

Actually, you can use common garden worms in a worm farm, but you may not want to. After all, the whole reason for having a worm farm is in order to get that finished compost product, known as castings or vermicast. Any readers not familiar with the worm farming process may be surprised to learn that these castings are actually worm excrement - but it's an odorless 'earth-like' product that makes a great fertilizer or soil amendment. Anyway, It's true that you'll save money initially with the garden worms, but you'll pay a penalty when it comes to the amount of castings that they produce.

You see, most worms normally found in garden soil normally live quite a bit deeper in the soil than the preferred composting type. These garden worms prefer the nutrients found deep in the soil, so that's why they like to habitate there. They don't adapt real well to being enclosed in a worm farm, and since they don't normally eat the type of waste material you'll be feeding them, they will process much less of it than the worms typically used for vermicomposting. Basically, what you'll have is a poorly perfoming system, which sort of defeats the whole idea of worm farming, which is to make the composting process much more efficient.

The type of worms preferred for worm farming like to live near the surface of the soil where they can reach the food they favor, such as leaf litter or other plant debris. The most popular of these preferred worms is called the red wiggler, or sometimes just the redworm.

These types of worms are usually available for less than twenty dollars a pound. Normally, you'll only need a pound or two to get started, and should never have to add any more, as they will multiply dramatically in a well-run farm. If you don't have a supplier near you, just do an internet search for 'worm farm supplies' in your state or geographical area.

When you purchase worms like this, you remove any question about whether or not they're suited for the task, since they've been raised under the very conditions you'll be asking them to live in, which should allow them to be prolific composters. And that's what worm farming is all about!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Worm Farming: A How-To Guide

Often nowadays when someone hears most insect job for the prototypal time they think most how it could easily create revenue with little effort. Perhaps the intellection of having a personal supply of matter flush soil for the garden or bloom beds sounds appealing. Either way, it's essential to undergo how to ordered up a proper insect farm your restricted reasons.

To understand how to ordered up a insect farm, the benefits worms provide must prototypal be established. Worm job provides matter flush soil relinquishing a higher growth evaluate for vegetables, flowers and other plants. A uncolored framework for composting with worms is beneficial to the environment as it helps eliminate the over filling of landfills. Some insect farms are ingrained for the purpose of providing live bait to fishermen, exotic pet owners and even aquarium seek owners.

With the purpose of the insect farm in mind, the ordered up crapper begin. Worm bins are pronto acquirable for purchase on the Internet. Various sizes, shapes, and colours add to the selection. Current super bit insect farmers module often delude small ordered ups for a comparable price.

Other than purchasing a unit online or finished a commercial insect farmer, ordered ups crapper be prefabricated at bag out of a number of home items. Plastic tubs or super wooden boxes crapper be altered and provide a perfect bag for these working worms.

Multiple layers are needed to provide a space for the liquefied at the bottom. The liquefied module run off the soil above and crapper be drained via a touch or hole at the lowermost of the container. Within the upper layer of soil, the worms crapper move most towards the material to be composted.

The numerous models that crapper be purchased are also acquirable for indoor use for those with restricted or no outdoor space. Worm bins crapper typically be stacked for adding more worms later on.

Appropriate bedding module requirement to be provided for the worms to ensure a healthy life style. Peat moss or palm fiber containing a small amount of compost material is substantially accepted. Bedding should ever be moist for worms. Many packaged insect bins become complete with bedding and ordered up instructions.

Location of the bin is essential as well. Worms are unable to tolerate extremes in temperature. A positioning where temperature crapper be controlled between 72 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or choosing a full insulated system, module support ready the worms healthy and happy. The level of moisture within the bin crapper be affected by positioning too.

When a unit is chosen and prepared, the worms module requirement to be additional to start the farm. Various worms are pronto available. Red Wigglers are the best choice for composting farms patch European Night Crawlers are best for live bait.

When worms are purchased, they typically become with acclimation instructions. An essential step is to be sure the bedding and unit are full embattled before the worms arrive for positioning within the farm.

Feeding the worms is the fun part. They crapper consume any number of items to be used as compost including fruit and vegetable scraps, foodstuff shells, paper products, cotton rags, soaked cardboard boxes, leaves, dirt and hair. Items should be cut downbound to governable sizes. Fruits should be sliced into strips for easier activity by the worms.

Provide a layer of items to be consumed on the crowning layer of the soil. To avoid over feeding, exclusive add more food when most of previously fed food has been eaten.

Worm castings crapper be found in the lowermost layer of the soil. This uncolored fertilizer crapper be additional direct to bloom beds and gardens. A liquefied fertilizer crapper be prefabricated by adding water to castings for plants and flowers that prefer to be fed direct at the roots.

Worm job is relatively low maintenance. If the surroundings is less than desirable, the worms module often simply crawl away in search of better experience conditions. Keeping the temperature constant, moisture at an appropriate level and food pronto acquirable module support ensure a healthy and happy supply of working worms.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

What Do You Need to Know About Worm Farming?

Maybe you poverty to essay something different, something unique to your area, or just something to gross out your neighbors! Worm farming is educational, beneficial to nature, and has a aggregation of potential in the market if you undergo how to near your product.

An nightwalker crapper lay 900 eggs a year. That's a aggregation of eggs. They crapper produce CO2. That's a positive thing. Their digestive grouping helps neutralize acidic grime or grime with a high alkaline level. That's a gardener's friend. Worms are a maker of matter for another animals. A natural matter that is safe and healthy. So, how crapper you go criminal with a good insect farm?!

An interesting and strange abstract to undergo about insect farming is that many years ago Cleopatra proclaimed earthworms to be sacred, gods of fertility. A little old nightwalker was protected and cherished, death to the person who caused alteration to the earthworm.

America is not so kind to the lowly earthworm. Usually it is forgotten, ignored, or utilised for bait or husbandry purposes. Some another cultures use it for food, which could be thoughtful sacred to a starving person!

A healthy abstract you need to undergo about insect farming is that if you poverty to lower your cholesterin level, go take worms. Seriously, earthworms crapper reduce your cholesterin level because they contain Omega 3 oil. You are probably saying that you'd kinda hit a high cholesterin level. But what else are you putting in your grouping on a daily basis? To a vegetarian, meat eaters are the sick people. To the meat eater, only eating vegetables crapper seem crazy. So, who's to say eating worms is wrong, especially considering the health benefits. They're good protein, inferior fattening, affordable to produce and cost a aggregation inferior than steak! If you favour a sophisticated constituent for this oddity, its technological constituent is entomophagy.

Worm farming is usually done for reasons another than eating, of course. Those worms in the bait shop or in the pet store hit to come from somewhere. Now you undergo where they came from. Worm farms do hit their risks, of course, as does some business. Making money with them is not necessarily easy. You hit to undergo your worms, undergo your market, and undergo how to manage your money.

Feeding your worms doesn't cost such for a small insect farm. They take dirt, decayed leaves, animal manure, living organisms found in the soil, vegetables and fruits, non-glossy paper products, grains, gage clippings, and wood pieces. Just make trusty that whatever you feed them has no residues of some type of poisons.

You crapper start a insect farm in a simple container with some dirt, holes for air and drainage, moisture, and matter scraps. Large containers will need some sort of sifting tray for when you are primed to harvest your insect crop. You may poverty to getting the drainage to use for tea for your plants. Once you see how the impact works on a small scale, you crapper decide whether or not it's something you would poverty to become further involved with as a substantial business.

Monday, November 2, 2009

What are the worms used in worm farming?

Worm job is an excellent way to naturally compost waste without adding to the already flooded landfills. Vermicompost is produced as a result, providing a nutrient rich center that greatly benefits gardens, crops and house plants. The worms kept in ectozoan farms obligation lowercase to remain healthy, voracious eaters. Understanding the morphology of these worms proves useful in understanding their needs.

A worm's body is prefabricated up of 70-95 percent water. Worms therefore require a rattling moist surround that should be mimicked in the ectozoan farm. When worms die, they ofttimes shrivel up and go unnoticed as the liquid noesis is lost at this point.

These are cold purebred animals. Temperature should be maintained between 72 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit to assist the regulation of their body temperatures. Worm farms should be placed in a positioning that allows for this constant temperature, or bins that are insulated should be purchased.

One pore of ectozoan job is to have worms that power reproduce easily. Worms are hermaphrodites, meaning they possess both phallic and female sex organs. Worm farmers must actualise that though they are hermaphrodites, they cannot self-fertilize. A single ectozoan cannot reproduce alone. A body of some worms power result in larger numbers existence produced.

Worms used in ectozoan farms are awninged in a slimy secretion coating. This color serves some purposes. The secretion helps the worms ready water. As their bodies are prefabricated up of a high percentage of water, an important step when ectozoan job is to be trusty to provide adequate wetness levels in the bin. The ectozoan power be able to hold in the required wetness level finished this secretion coating.

The worm's secretion color is also a protector. As the ectozoan borrows into grime and bedding, the secretion provides a disentangle coat protecting it from harmful substances that haw reside there.

The morphology of the mouth of the ectozoan is regarded as unique. In the worm, the mouth is called the Peristonium. Worms do not have teeth. Instead they have this mouth office that is used for prying. Worm farmers should be aware that worms power be able to meliorate compost matter items that have been cut downbound into small pieces. Soaked paper and cardboard products power be more easily pried apart than hard, non-soaked pieces.

Established ectozoan farmers and those newborn to the plaything are ofttimes astounded to learn the life span of the worms that are commonly used in ectozoan farming. The common lifespan of these worms is typically between 4 and 8 years. It has been reported that some worms have been known to springy over 15 years.

These are daylong lived creatures whose lives are most ofttimes cut short by accidents. The myth that worms crapper be cut in half and therefore produce two worms is false. Worm farmers should always be careful when searching for worms, replacing substance or removing vermicompost. Sharp or hard tools are likely to damage a ectozoan or modify cause death.

If provided a beatific diet, comely undergo conditions and a safe environment, worms crapper springy daylong prosperous lives. Healthy worms produce prosperous compost that crapper be place to beatific use. Understanding the basics of the morphology of these worms power aide in the understanding of how unique they are and how to address their needs.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Odds and End On Worm Farming

For the beginner, insect job crapper either seem like a simple adventure or something totally foreign to them. Some grouping hit never been colorful enough to stop a worm, not to mention making a full farm of them! So, let's explore whatever interesting odds and ends most insect farming.

Compost worms and earthworms are not the same. Earthworms modify the soil. Compost worms eat the mulch layer of soil. Grub worms are not really worms at all. They're larvae from the June bugs that are pests to grouping in the southern parts of the United States. Catalpa worms are not really worms either. They're caterpillars from a moth species that are known to infest the Catalpa tree. Red worms are favourite as fishing bait. Tomato horn worms sound like lowercase monsters, but they're actually edible worms. Witchetty grub worms are served in restaurants as barbecued appetizers in Australia. Palm grubs are prepared by frying in hot pepper and salt. (Kinda makes you poverty to ask what the new ply is before you eat in a fantastic place, huh?) If you soak an earthworm overnight, it module purge the grime from them.

Odds are that the modify result of many dishes served in other countries could be quite tasty. But most insect job in America is done for other purposes. New word of the day is vermicomposting! It sounds really smart and sophisticated, but it exclusive effectuation composting with worms. Worms are great lowercase workers for your compost containerful and crapper enrich the modify result. This effectuation you hit better phenomenon with that green moulding you've been trying so hard to encourage!

You crapper build a insect containerful discover of wood, plastic, concrete, an older bucket, or an older bathtub. If you really poverty an odd bin, create one discover of an older toilet! You just knew you were action it for something, didn't you? The exclusive difficulty with having fantastic bins is that you need to create a drain. You can't let your insect dirt intend likewise soggy. They rise to the top of the ground after a rain for a reason, you know.

Drainage creates another benefit of your insect farm called insect tea. No, you don't ingest it. That would be far likewise odd and might modify with a sick stomach. You don't help it to your worms either. Although it does create a cute represent to imagine them sitting at a tiny table, holding their tiny lowercase tea cups and act tiny lowercase straw floppy hats!

Did you undergo you crapper take your worms vacuum preparation dust? Although you may poverty to ensure that you didn't just atmosphere the house for bugs before you vacuumed.

Worm job crapper be as expensive or as low-cost as you opt to make it. How much does it cost to move a insect farm? Well, that's up to you. How flamboyant you think you need it? How large do you poverty to make it? What type of worms do you poverty to move with? How much space module you hit for new growth? How much money do you hit acquirable for the adventure? What type of business do you poverty to do if it is a business venture? Whatever your choices are, odds are that you'll modify up acquisition something valuable!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Worm Farm in Different Way

Worm farms are in effect in assorted states every over the United States. Because of the interest in recycling and the eco-system, these farms attain sense. Landfills get less bagged waste, crops are improved, other animals are fed a uncolored food, and the worms wage uncolored bait for fishing.

Worm farms crapper wage some things likewise worms. Worm gifts, insect candy, insect flour, insect breads, insect cookies, books, dvds, cute insect songs on cds, worm-related toys, chemical teas, compost, potting soil, cupped fishing bait, and hands-on activities for youngsters are some ideas.

Worm job is technically known as vermi culture. It crapper be a lucrative business, but it is not a artifact to attain a lot of money quickly. It takes patience, education, money, space, and marketing skills. You can't meet toss a handful of worms in your field and expect them to go to work and attain you rich!

If you want a assorted category of insect farm, you first would want to research the another insect farms that are in the market. If you attain your insect farm unique and fun, you'll draw families. Families spend money on souvenir type items and knick knacks as memoirs of their adventures. Kids like games. Maybe you could create some playground equipment for your little visitors with designs that are based on worms. Demonstrations crapper attains your insect farm different.

You crapper attain your insect bins decorative as well to help reassert open interest. People like \"eye candy\". Things that are brightly colored and designed catch the eye. A person dressed in a insect suit to chat with the children would be a fun addition to attain your insect farm different. A small insect farm museum would be interesting for school groups to visit, which would increase open interest and attain your insect farm different.

You strength want to figure discover how to hit a insect festival on your insect farm. Provided you hit enough room for parking and someone to candid traffic, this could wage advertisement and fun for you and for your visitors. Worm contests much as who crapper take the most insect cookies or design the best insect poster, the most fictive insect prowess made with playdoh, or races in insect formed cars are some ideas.

Educational benefits exist as well. Your insect farm crapper is used as a artifact to instruct the open on how important the insect is to our uncolored environment. It crapper teach people about another worms likewise the earthworm and the worms that cause harm.

If you want a assorted category of insect farm, it takes a beatific imagination and some ingenuity. Creating interest and a open need is a beatific artifact to succeed. It also effectuation you'll hit to meet \"on-your-toes\" to reassert that interest. Of course, it effectuation more of an investment, too. But in the playing world, it takes money to attain money. You meet hit to "worm" your artifact into the open receptor and get noticed!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Worm Farming Can Be Fun

You haw think worms are boring. After all, they just place there and wiggle. They don't do any tricks that you crapper watch. They don't make cute sounds. But worms are an interesting, beneficial part of our world. They hit individual uses that make them worthwhile to our existence. You hit to look beyond the obvious and appreciate the results sometimes to get the most goodness from an experience. That's where insect farming comes in.

Have you ever heard of insect grunting? Not some people have, it's apparently a dying art. It's a way of gathering worms that's still kept alive in Florida. One small town has a yearly insect festivity and gets visitors from all over to partake in their fun. Professional insect grunters entertain guests to this event. The insect grunters use a ultimate method to create the kind of vibrations that bring the worms to the surface of the connector for gathering. You could practice insect grunting on your insect farm for your little visitors' delight. Many small children get their recreation from grossing discover adults, so going to a insect farm or festivity would be a great adventure trip for them.

Now before you think, "That's it. I don't hit to start a insect farm. I'll just gather my worms from the wild woods or people's yards!" You must undergo that when you take a beneficial part of the environment absent from other places, it also takes the goodness of what it does for that Atlantic of the earth. That's why re-planting of trees is encouraged, if we take absent from the environment we must also return something to the environment or we all eventually suffer the consequences.

Even if you don't find any recreation in worms, you could improve them for the benefits you are able to get from them. Songbirds like grub worms. Grub worms are white with a flushed head, a C shaped body, and are most as big as the end of a thumb. If you hit a grub insect farm, you crapper encourage song birds to visit your home property for your entertainment and bird-watching pleasure. So, while you haw not consider raising the insect farm to be fun, you crapper still get your pleasure knowing you are getting more feathered visitors! Your bird-watching friends crapper gather at your house and enjoy the recreation with you. They'll be thankful for your insect farm, too. (Be aware that grub worms do eat being roots and leave dead, dry patches of grass. So, just encouraging their cosmos in your yard is not the best idea. You'd want to contain them in their possess areas for the safety of your other plants.)

You haw get some recreation from cooking with worms from your possess insect farm; this way you will undergo no pesticides or diseases hit tainted them or their flavor. You could entertain children at the local library by using some recipes specifically including the worms for ingredients. If the local librarians aren't unstoppered to the intent (some people hit an irrational fear of worms and some are just plain grossed discover most eating them), you could try a demonstration at the nearest zoo. Flour crapper be made from the worms to use in recipes. Some worms are eaten raw, but most Americans aren't unstoppered to the experience.

Monday, October 12, 2009

How to Build Your Own Worm Farm

So you've decided to verify the fall and set up your own worm farm. Perhaps you're looking for an uncolored way for composting waste, are interested in the nutrient rich fertilizing center produced by the worms, or are looking to provide a constant supply of springy bait or springy food for exotic pets. Regardless of the reason, you're going to requirement to set up a bin.

Various models are acquirable for purchase at worm farming supply companies and garden centers. These come in different shapes, sizes and colors and each have their own benefits. The frugal approach is to physique your own.

The first thing to study is how big of a container you're going to need. To figure this out, you'll requirement to first measure discover approximately how much waste you are going to requirement to use for feeding. For each blow of waste, you'll requirement one conservativist foot of space in your bin. Depth should be at least six to twelve inches.

A plastic tote or container works well as do wooden boxes. Metal containers should not be used as irons and chemicals can leach into the soil, harming the worms. Many worm farmers favour wooden boxes over plastic as wood is more easily aerated. Plastic can cause more moisture to physique up than wood, which can be both good and bad.

Once a container of the appropriate size has been chosen, it'll requirement to be prepared. Holes should be drilled or punched through the top of the container to earmark for air flow. There are digit ways to address the lowermost of the container.

One method is to drill or lick holes into the lowermost of the container to earmark excess water and other liquids to drain out. Another is to install a spout at the lowermost of the container. When liquid begins to fill up in the bottom, the spout is turned on and releases the fluid.

If using a spout, a raised shelf should be added within the container. This shelf should be the same width as the container, but be allowed to set a few inches above the bottom. This module earmarks the empty space at the lowermost to fill with liquid and prevent it from sitting in the grime and bedding. This raised shelf should be made of slats or have several holes to earmark liquids to drain into the lowermost of the container.

If a improve shelf is not used, screening should be installed over the holes to earmark liquid to run discover of the container but prevent worms from squeezing through. Screening should also be attached to the top of the container to prevent escape.

Some thought should be put into what module be used for substance material. Soaked and shredded newspapers, cardboard and even dampened leaves can be bedded in the bin. Regardless of the touchable used for bedding, a small amount of grime should always be mixed in. If using the raised shelf system, substance should be bedded on top of the shelf.

The container should be put in a location that module ensure optimal conditions. Temperature should remain between 72 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The bin should not be placed in an area of the yard that module gain excess rain water, either.

Once the bin has been constructed, substance has been added and the perfect location has been found, the next step is to add the worms and begin your own worm farm. Worm farming is rewarding whether it is done for a profit or a hobby. Constructing an appropriate home for these guys is your first step towards becoming an authentic worm farmer.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Choosing the Right Worms for Worm Farming

Worm farming is done for several reasons. Composting, the production of nutrient rich soil and providing live bait are three of the most common reasons for worm farming. Some worms do a better job at their duties than others so it is important to know how to choose the right worms for your worm farm.

Composting is one common reason for worm farming. Worms are used to compost waste and discarded material naturally and without adding to the local landfills. To do this, the worms eat fruit and vegetable scraps, along with other compostable items such as paper products, leaves, cotton rags and egg shells.

If composting is the primary reason for setting up a worm farm, choices should be made for the appropriate types of worms that are known as being the best for this option. The Red Wiggler, or Eisenia fetida, is reportedly the best worm for composting. These worms reproduce easily and are extremely hardy. The trait that makes them best as compost worms is their ravenous appetites.

Because of their eagerness to devour anything edible, Red Wigglers produce a high quality substance resulting in a nutrient rich soil that is so desirable with worm farming.

Perhaps raising worms for the purpose of providing live bait is the goal of a worm farm. Bait can be raised for personal use or even supplied to local fisherman through bait and tackle shops. The best worms for this purpose are the European Night Crawlers. These worms can be used for baiting fish in all types of conditions, even in saltwater.

The European Night crawler is reported to be one of the hardiest fish available for worm farming. They can also be used as a live food source for other animals such as birds, reptiles, exotic pets and aquarium fish. They can be used in a composting type worm farm but work best as live food and bait. Night Crawlers are readily available and have similar care requirements as the Red Wigglers.

Worms used for garden and lawn farming are typically available in sets of three different varieties of worms. The Red Wiggler and the Night Crawlers are often two of the types of worms in these sets. The third worm is usually Pheritema, or Florida Wiggler which are worms that burrow deep into the soil.

Over 3000 varieties of worms exist. The worms mentioned here are the most commonly used and readily available on the market today. They can be found at various online distributors. Local worm farmers can be found through online directories or by looking up the topic in the local telephone book.

Most types of worms are typically made available as adult worms, young worms and egg capsules. Typically sold by the pound, the number of worms per unit will vary depending on their age and size. Egg capsules yield a higher number of worms per unit once hatched.

A worm farm will be most successful when the appropriate worm is chosen for the job at hand. While most worms will compost discarded items and waste and act as live bait, some have some small traits that make them the best choice for a worm farm with a particular purpose.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

The History of Worms and Worm Farming

When many of us think of worms, we think of the few pink earthworms that hang out in the garden, strolling through the soil and showing their faces after a heavy rain. We don't often stop to think about the history involved in these legless creatures. Some people even put these guys to work for profit and natural soil care through a process known as worm farming.

So how long have worms really been around? To take a look at the history of worm farming, we have to go way back before the age of man. Worms have been around almost since the beginning of time. Even in the age of the dinosaurs, earthworms worked hard breaking down excrement and waste. Their job was to produce a substance more useful to the soil. In turn, the level of fertility of the soil would remain high promoting a better rate of growth.

From 51 and 30 B.C., the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII realized the importance the worms played in the fertilization of the Nile. The export of worms from Egypt was then banned and became a crime punishable by death. For this reason, the Nile has been reported to contain the most fertile soil in the world even today.

Many years later, Charles Darwin published "The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actions of Worms with Observations on their Habits" in 1881. He mentions here that the plough was one of the best inventions made by man. It changed the lives of farmers everywhere.

The worm however, has been doing the same job long before man although later they were once regarded as a pest. It was thought that worms destroyed plant life, chewing through the roots of crops. In reality, the worms plough through the Earth carrying water and air beneath the soil aerating and fertilizing it. Darwin continued to study earthworms, their habits and their benefits to man for over forty years. He even went so far as to label these crawlers as one of the most important creatures on earth.

During the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s chemistry was discovered and Darwin's studies were cast aside. Worm farming as a natural method for ploughing was ignored. Instead, man-made products were used for the job for a quicker more efficient way of producing a larger yield of growth.

Chemists produced fertilizers that increased the growth of crops. These fertilizers also damaged the soil, requiring even more fertilizers to continue to produce this increased growth yield. Other chemicals such as pest sprays and poisons have caused the decrease in the population of earthworms in the soil, thereby causing a fall in the fertility of the soil.

Because of the availability and ease of use, fertilizers and pesticides have been primarily used in crops across the world. However, some farmers began to culture their own worms on a smaller scale. Worm farming, or vermiculture, is the use of earthworms to aerate soil and change organic matter into compost. It only became a commercial process in the 1970s.

Worm farmers experience fluctuations in production and revenue depending on market requirements and demand. While commercial worm farmers still exist and function efficiently, many individuals have begun to establish their own methods of farming worms. This has been made easier through readily available worm farming supplies and equipment to encourage a more natural way of producing well fertilized soil and for composting waste.

The views about worms and how they effect the environment have changed dramatically over the years. Whether they're held sacred or regarded as nasty slimy critters, worms have proved to be hardy and beneficial enough to last this long; they're probably going to hang around for many years to come.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Worm Farming: A How-To Guide

Often nowadays when someone hears most worm farming for the first time they think most how it could easily create revenue with little effort. Perhaps the thought of having a personal cater of nutrient rich grime for the garden or bloom beds sounds appealing. Either way, it's essential to know how to order up a proper worm farm your specific reasons.

To understand how to order up a worm farm, the benefits worms provide must first be established. Worm farming provides nutrient rich grime yielding a higher growth rate for vegetables, flowers and other plants. A natural technique for composting with worms is beneficial to the environment as it helps eliminate the over filling of landfills. Some worm farms are established for the determine of providing live device to fishermen, exotic pet owners and even aquarium fish owners.

With the determine of the worm farm in mind, the order up crapper begin. Worm bins are readily acquirable for purchase on the Internet. Various sizes, shapes, and colors add to the selection. Current large scale worm farmers will off times sell small order ups for a comparable price.

Other than purchasing a unit online or through a commercial worm farmer, order ups crapper be made at home out of a number of household items. Plastic tubs or large wooden boxes crapper be changed and provide a perfect home for these working worms.

Multiple layers are needed to provide a space for the liquefied at the bottom. The liquefied will separate off the grime above and crapper be drained via a tap or hole at the bottom of the container. Within the upper layer of soil, the worms crapper move most towards the material to be composted.

The numerous models that crapper be purchased are also acquirable for indoor use for those with limited or no outdoor space. Worm bins crapper typically be stacked for adding more worms after on.

Appropriate substance will need to be provided for the worms to ensure a flourishing life style. Peat moss or palm material containing a small amount of compost material is well accepted. Bedding should always be moist for worms. Many prepackaged worm bins come complete with substance and order up instructions.

Location of the bin is essential as well. Worms are unable to tolerate extremes in temperature. A location where temperature crapper be dominated between 72 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or choosing a fully insulated system, will help keep the worms flourishing and happy. The level of moisture within the bin crapper be affected by location too.

When a unit is chosen and prepared, the worms will need to be additional to start the farm. Various worms are readily available. Red Wigglers are the best choice for composting farms while European Night Crawlers are best for live bait.

When worms are purchased, they typically come with acclimation instructions. An essential step is to be sure the substance and unit is fully prepared before the worms arrive for placement within the farm.

Feeding the worms is the fun part. They crapper consume any number of items to be utilised as compost including fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, paper products, cotton rags, soaked unreal boxes, leaves, dirt and hair. Items should be revilement down to manageable sizes. Fruits should be sliced into strips for easier consumption by the worms.

Provide a layer of items to be consumed on the top layer of the soil. To avoid over feeding, only add more matter when most of previously fed matter has been eaten.

Worm castings crapper be found in the bottom layer of the soil. This natural chemical crapper be additional directly to bloom beds and gardens. A liquefied chemical crapper be made by adding water to castings for plants and flowers that prefer to be fed directly at the roots.

Worm farming is relatively low maintenance. If the habitat is less than desirable, the worms will off times simply crawl away in search of better living conditions. Keeping the temperature constant, moisture at an appropriate level and matter readily acquirable will help ensure a flourishing and happy cater of working worms.