How To Worm Farm
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STEP 1 Select a location for your worm farm
Your worm farm should be placed in a shady environment sheltered from direct sunlight and rainfall. Worms don't like vibrations or loud noises, and prefer a temperature of between 18-24°C.
STEP 2 Set up your two tiered worm farm
All worm farms should have at least two tiered containers. The bottom container will collect liquid fertiliser (worm wee). The worms will live in the upper container or containers, feasting on your food and paper scraps and producing valuable castings (worm manure).
- Fit the upper container into the bottom container.
- Line this upper container with some sheets of moistened newspaper.
- Add a thick layer of moist compost, distributing it evenly across the container. This provides a bedding
layer for the worms, provides particles to help the worms grind their food and introduces tiny creatures
that assist in breaking down food waste. - Add compost worms! You will need at least 1,000 worms.
- Cover the surface with a layer of damp newspaper (about five sheets), or old
carpet underlay. - Place lid on top of worm farm.
- Leave the worms to settle in. Do not feed them for about one week. They will spend
this time adapting to their new home and burrowing in preparation to do their work -
eating your scraps.
STEP 3 Feed your worms
Start feeding your worms after about 1 week. Paper, vegetables and fruit scraps can be placed directly onto the bedding layer. Chopping or shredding food scraps will help the worms eat scraps faster. Always keep the food scraps covered with moist newspaper or carpet underlay. Try to avoid overfeeding your worms as this may result in left over food rotting and smelling. A sprinkle of garden lime or dolomite every few weeks can reduce acidity and keep the farm smelling sweet.
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Tea bags and coffee grinds
- Egg shells (crushed)
- Bread/pasta (small amounts)
- Citrus (small amounts)
- Plant cuttings
- Tissue paper and Paper towels
- Dry cow or horse manure
- Lime (small amounts)
- Moist shredded paper
No Meat or Dairy products
Worms are sensitive to acid, so keep the amount of citrus and onion you feed them to a minimum. A good way to think about it is anything that will make a paper cut on your finger sting, probably won't make your worms very happy! That said, citrus and onion are fine if not in large amounts.
STEP 4 Harvesting your castings and liquid fertiliser
The process is quick for breaking down kitchen and paper waste, however it may be several months before you have a significant quantity of castings and liquid fertiliser. The liquid fertiliser can be poured directly from the bottom container. Dilute 1:10 and use on your garden. If you find any worms among the liquid carefully place them back into the bedding. If you have a 3 tiered farm, it may be a while before you add the third layer.
To harvest the castings from a two tiered worm farm, carefully move the contents of the top container so that it covers only half of the container. Pick out any of the larger remaining scraps and place them on the empty side of the farm. Put fresh food scraps on top and cover with paper. Replace the lid and leave the farm. If it is a 3 tier farm, do the same, but add the top layer place the uneaten scraps in there.
Within a few weeks the first lot of castings will be complete and all worms will have moved over or up to the new bedding and food. You can now remove the castings from the farm. Carefully sort the castings before mixing into your soil to make sure you leave any stray worms in the farm. Worms are sensitive to light, so they tend to burrow downwards. Scrape off the castings layer by layer, allowing the worms to move down each time so that you keep as many worms s you can in your worm farm. Repeat until you have separated the castings and worms.
Mix the castings with soil or potting mix, or mix them with water to make a nutrient rich smoothie and pour onto your garden.
Some interesting facts about worms!
- Worms are hermaphrodites (they have both male / female organs)
- Worms can eat their own weight daily
- Mature worms (2-3 months old) lay eggs
- Worm eggs have 1-20 babies
- Worms can double their population in 6-8 weeks
- Worms will limit their population to the space they have
There are three main types of composting worms:
- Tigers (Eisenia fetida)
- Reds (Lumbricus rubellus)
- Indian Blues (Perionyx excavatus)
- There are 3,500 species of worms throughout the world
- The largest worm in Australia is the giant Gippsland worm (Megascolides australis)
Where do I Purchase a Worm Farm
Frankston City Council sells Compost Bins for $68.75 and are available from the following outlets:
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- Langwarrin Customer Service Centre on 8786 6512 - Southgateway Shopping Centre, Langwarrin
- Seaford Customer Service Centre on 8773 9601 - 120 Nepean Highway, Frankston
- Frankston Civic Centre on 1300 322 322 - Corner Young and Davey Streets, Frankston
Please Note: Worms are not included.
Where to buy your worms
| The EnviroShop 16 Olsen Street Frankston 03 9781 4005 | Just Worms 28 Tinks Road Narre Warren 3805 03 9708 6110 | Ella Boyen Frankston City 0408 056 185 |
| Browns Compost Worms Leon Brown 48 Milne Street Crib Point 0425 767 264 | Bunning's Warehouse Cnr McMahon Street & Gertrude Street Frankston 03 8790 7100 |
For more information download a copy of the Worm Farming Fact Sheet.
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