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DIY Worm Farm (cheap!)

25/10/2013

5 Comments

 
The four major ways I build my soil by adding nutrient rich materials are: composting, worm farming, manure "teas" and mulching. Being short of dollars, I like to make things myself as cheaply as possible. Here I will show you a worm farm I made recently for less than $30. Worm farm bins sell for between $50 and $130
Picture
This particular set up is excellent because not only does it provide wonderful worm "tea", a happy home for the worms and rich vermicast for the garden, it has the added bonus of providing a bin full of vermicast minus worms without the usual tedious process of spreading the vermicast in the sun, scraping off a layer, and repeating as the worms move away from the light. That process is all taken care of in the proper running of the worm farm, as you shall see.

Materials:
  • Four stacking bins - these bins need to stack in such a way that the bottom of one bin will sit just on the surface of material in the bin below when it is full. I purchased these four bins, which were on special at Hammer Hardware this month for $5.99 each. You can also find them at the Warehouse, or use larger black bins from the Warehouse for about $8 each.
  • A small piece of hose, or a plastic tap fitting (optional). Either will work - inserted into a hole you make in the bottom bin to drain off liquid into a container. The plastic tap cost $4.75

Picture
Method:
  • Number the bins 1,2,3,4 (optional)
  • In bin 1 (bottom bin), drill a hole near the bottom of one side, and insert hose or tap to act as drain. Do not put any other holes in this bin.
  • In the bottom of bins 2, 3 and 4, drill a large number of holes. These holes should be slightly larger than the diameter of a large tiger worm - we used a 7mm drill bit because that was what was handy.
  • Stack the bins one on top of the other, and stand on some bricks or similar to elevate it enough to place a container under the drain.

Picture
How to use the bin:
  • You start using the worm farm one bin at a time. Begin with Bin 2. Place some suitable bedding material in the bottom of the bin - finely shredded newspaper, old hay or straw or even a small amount of soil.
  • Add about a cup full of tiger worms to get started. Ask a friend with worms to donate you some, or they can be purchased. Do not use ordinary earthworms - they are not suited to worm farms.
  • Feed your worms regularly - little and often. They do not like citrus or onions, and meat or dairy is not recommended as it will attract dogs, cats and rodents, who will destroy your worm farm. Otherwise pretty much anything that was once alive can go into your worm farm - grass clippings and manure are excellent. I also add tea bags, vege peelings (I often whizz these first with a little water in my food processor - the worms can use it faster this way), finely crushed egg shells, shredded paper and so forth.
  • Place a layer of paper, cardboard, sacking or carpet on top of the bin in use, to keep it moist and dark, just how worms like it.
  • You can cover the whole bin, but there is really no need - the empty top bins will act as lids for now, the worms cannot drown so long as the drain is open. I place an old brick in the top bin to keep them all anchored down in the wind. However, if heavy rain is likely, I usually do cover the bins with a plastic lid.
  • Once Bin 2 is full, start adding food to Bin 3 only. The worms in Bin 2 will slowly work their way up into Bin 3 all by themselves.
  • Continue until Bin 3 is full, and then begin the process with Bin 4. At this time, take Bin 2 out of the pile, and it place it right on top, uncovered, so it is getting sun shining into the bin. Any remaining worms will migrate down into Bin 4 away from the light and towards the food, and then you will be left with a lovely, clean bin full of vermicast!

Remember:
Avoid releasing tiger worms into your vege garden. They will not do well there, as they like to be in close confines for breeding. Also, one commercial worm farmer told me they will eat the roots of your veges, as they are voracious eaters and always looking for fresh organic material.

Ensure your worm bin does not get too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet. Contents should be moist but not sopping - if too wet, check drainage and add more dry bedding - newspapers, straw etc. If too dry, wet it down. I position my worm farm in a warm, sunny spot in winter, and a shady spot in summer. Worms like it warm but not hot, and don't like too much light. Beware black bins in the summer sun - you don't want to cook your worms!

Don't add more food than they can consume - start slow, and as numbers build up (which happens rapidly!) feed more. I check the bin a couple of times a week, and add more food when what was there is mostly gone. They will also slow down in the cooler months, so feed less then.

I have had zero problems with worms escaping or drowning in the bottom bin, unlike with a regular purchased worm bin set up (I have one of those too, leant to me to get started last year). I think it is because if a worm sticks it's head down through the holes in the bottom worm bin, it encounters nothing but air, and so doesn't bother to crawl downwards. With the regular bins, there is a hole-filled tray that sits between the worm bin and the water-catchment bin, and worms were forever crawling between the two and then falling into the water. Plus the liquid is not sitting in the bottom bin, but draining off, so there is no food/manure-smelling liquid to attract them downwards. At least that is my experience with it so far.
Picture
Please note: I cannot claim credit for the design of this brilliant worm bin system - I saw the idea in a book I LOVE called Green Urban Living by Kiwi author and gardener Janet Luke.

5 Comments
Carol link
28/12/2013 01:05:45 am

Hi, great post. I'm wondering if you've ever had any problems with flies in your worm farm. We have had an infestation in ours for about the last year (tiny black flies, not blowflies) and we just can't get rid of them. We have been told to cover the top with paper, which we've done but it didn't work. Any suggestions. Thanks. Carol

Reply
Kiwi Urban Homestead
28/12/2013 09:32:41 am

Hi Carol - it depends on whether you mean flies like the house fly types, or really tiny ones, like fruit flies or manure flies. If it's the former, then check what you are feeding your worms. If the later, then personally I don't worry about it as they are just part of the process of breaking down the organic material faster, similar to the way a compost heap will also attract such flies to a certain extent. What can help, though, is to make sure fresh materials you are adding are buried beneath a good layer of grass clippings (also good worm food) or hay (good worm bedding) so they are less attractive to the flies, as well as placing a piece of sacking or carpet on top, which will most likely mould to the bin better than paper, and exclude more of the flying critters. Is your bin located somewhere the flies are particularly bothersome to you? Maybe move it further from the house during the warmer months. In winter, flies are less likely to be an issue.

Reply
Carol link
28/12/2013 02:24:36 pm

Thanks for you reply. The flies a small black house flies, not fruit flies. They swarm out at you when you open the lid. I will try the carpet and straw and see if it makes a difference. Thanks again.

Reply
Zenith link
26/10/2015 02:17:12 am

Hi Carol. Firstly thanks for the informative post...! Secondly a quick question. Does bin 4 have to be full before you remove bin 2 and place it on top...? Later on you say that worms won't move down when they feel only air (using it as an example of them not moving from bin 2 to 1). But that would be true as well for them moving from bin 2 to 4 unless it is pretty much full as well.

Reply
Kiwi Urban Homestead
26/10/2015 08:25:57 am

Having a bin full of worms on top of a full bin does make it easier for them to migrate, but in this case it's not so much about food as about their desire to get away from sunlight - they will go downwards to escape the light, and the food that is in the lower bin will help attract them. However, it may make it easier/quicker if you pile the contents of the bin underneath up at one end to that it is touching the bin above. If your worms are reluctant to migrate, then it's not too hard to dump out the bin and separate them manually - spread out the contents on a table top in the sun, wait a few minutes for them to move downwards, scrape off a layer or worm-free vermicast, and repeat until you have most of it removed, and a pile of worms to put back into the other bins.

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    This page is my blog formerly known as Kiwi Urban Homestead.

    I'm a Kiwi homeschooling mother of 5 living in a small town. After growing 1000 kg of produce in my back yard in 2013, I'm now expanding my edible gardens even further.

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