Worm farm

HOW TO GO ABOUT WORM FARMING
There is something very satisfying about recycling the cut offs from veggies and fruit into wonderful organic compost for the garden.  I have a little tub always on the kitchen counter into which everything goes (except meat).
Earthworms are amazing little creatures, they clean and aerate the soil, and bring the soil back to a perfect PH balance.  they like moist soil, and plenty of organic material.

How to make your own worm farm:
It really isn't necessary to buy a worm farm.  They are pretty easy to make.
- Get a few plastic (about 4) washing tubs about 50cm in diameter.
- the bottom one leave as is (this is to collect the 'worm tea or pee')
- drill a whole bunch of holes with a drill bit (not to big) into the bottom of the other 3 tubs.  (this allows the worms to migrate between the tubs and for the worm tea to filter down to the bottom one.
- Put some sort of lid on the top, a piece of old ply wood works well.  Worms like dark, and you don't want them getting too soaked in a rain storm.  But drill a few holes in the lid, as you need some ventilation.
- Now you just needs some worms, and your left over veggie bits.   Easy peasy!
- "Red wrigglers" are your best type of earth worm to get for worm farming.

Some Suppliers of worm farms:
There are quite few suppliers of worm farms in and around SA.  Just search 'worm farms'.  I got mine from Soil Souls. And it was posted right to me out here in the bundu.  I liked their design the best out of the ones I had seen.
- Soil Souls
- Wizard Worms

Feeding your worms
- No COP's (as in Citrus, Onion and Pineapple) - these I put into my separate compost heap.
- No oils, or animal products.
- Worms love: all organic matter.  Veggies, fruit, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grinds, leaves, un-printed paper and cardboard, egg boxes, sawdust, etc.
- Keep the worm's food moist, but not soaked.

Managing your worm farm 
- keep your worm farm out of direct sunlight.
- Always add your organic matter to the top container of your wormery.
- when this is full add another container on top on it, the worms will migrate upwards from the one underneath.
- Repeat this until you have about 3 or four layers.
- other little insects might also make their home in your wormery - most of them just help with the decomposing process.

Utilizing all that tea and compost
- The bottom layer should now look like fabulous compost.  If you want to use this take the container out and place it on the top with the lid off for about 2 weeks, stirring it every other day or so.  Worms hate sunshine, so they will migrate downwards to the layers below, leaving you with lovely worm free compost to use on your veggie patch.
- But be warned - all those seeds you put in your compost will now start germinating in your veggie patch.  Not a bad thing if you are needing tomatoes, peppers, butternut, papaya, etc.
- The tea that can be collected at the bottom of your wormery is full of nutrients to benefit the soil and your plants.  I collect this in a bottle and add to a watering can full of water to be watered over the plants as a natural organic liquid fertilizer

This Post Links to:
Veggie Patch Pinterest
Common Sense Homesteading
The Prairie Homestead
Jill's Home Remedies
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