It’s important to keep in mind that compost worms won’t survive in your garden soil. The various breeds of compost worms, such as Tigers, Reds and Blues, are capable of eating their own body weight in food each day, so a kilogram of worms will consume that much food daily! By comparison garden earthworms only eat around half their body weight each day, so they aren’t as good at composting lots of material really quickly, as it takes them twice as long. Compost worm are surface feeders and don’t burrow deep into the soil like garden earthworms do. The earthworms used in worm farms are in fact compost worms, which are different to the regular earthworms found in garden soil. The magic of Nature, kitchen scraps become nutrient-rich worm castings!Īll types of earthworms can do the same work, converting organic matter into valuable worm castings, but some breeds do a better job than others, so naturally, we choose the best worms for the job! The kitchen scraps are completely broken down, and are now unrecognisable. Here’s the ‘after photo’, when the process is completed, all that remains are worm castings. In an established worm farm, kitchen scraps disappear in a few days Kitchen scraps in a worm farm break down very quickly, this is the ‘before’ photo, with a mix of fresh scraps, and others in various degrees of breakdown. Worm farms use earthworms to break down organic matter, such as food scraps, to produce worm castings and the liquid ‘worm wee’, properly termed worm casting leachate. (Photo credit: Worms Down Under,, photo used with permission) How Does a Worm Farm Work? Consider your requirements when purchasing, and you’ll be well rewarded, as worm farms last a very long time and are a great investment for the organic gardener! An innovative wheelie-bin worm farm that provides high capacity and occupies very little space, can be purchased complete or as a retro-fit kit to convert existing an existing wheelie bin. It and has the advantage of being moveable because in has wheels. I started with one worm farm, then added one more to cope with extra kitchen scraps, and then was given one – it wasn’t planned to run three side-by side!Ī bathtub worm farm has a capacity of around 200L, and as you’d expect, it occupies the same space as a bathtub, which is a fair bit of space!Ī wheelie-bin worm farm can have a capacity of 140L, 240L or 360L and occupies very little space on the ground. As you can see in the picture above, my three worm farms occupy a fair bit of space, luckily it’s in an unused corner of the backyard. It’s important factor to consider the ‘footprint’ – how much space the worm farm takes up on the ground. My three worm farms on the right, next to one of my compost bins. It’s important to choose a worm farm that will fit in your available space that can cope with the volume of food waste you produce. These larger worm farms are ideal for places that generate lots of food scraps, such as larger families, schools, cafes, restaurants or workplaces in general. If you’re after a larger capacity worm farming system, one that can process large amounts of food waste, you can make one out of a recycled old bathtub or buy one of the commercial wheelie bin worm farms. They are ideal in size for a small household. Most worm farms consist of a set of stacked trays with legs, and don’t take up much room at all. You can buy or build a worm farm, and they come in all shapes and sizes to suit all tastes and requirements.
HAPPY FARMER KITCHEN COMPOSTER KIT HOW TO
In this article we’ll discuss how worm farms work, how to set up a worm farm and how to take care of it. Worms farms are in fact worm composting systems, or more correctly, vermicomposting systems, and earthworms are one of the fastest composters there are.
It’s very easy to maintain a worm farm, it takes very little time and effort, and you can set up worm farms in the smallest of spaces, such as balconies and courtyards. Worm Farms are a great way to recycle kitchen waste and food scraps into one of the best garden fertilizers available!
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