Build your own worm farm
May 30th, 2007 by trinatune
About five years ago a friend of mine introduced me to worm farming and since then I have become obsessed with the little critters. I now own two commercially produced farms but my first farm was a home made job created from two polystyrofoam baby broccoli boxes that my local greengrocer was throwing out.
Since the creation of this masterpiece, many people have asked me how to build a worm farm. Building a worm farm is not only easy but really cheap.
My husband and I made our first farm together (romantic I know) and it lasted us for at least two years. It would probably still be working today but we were given a proper worm farm (from the same friend who got me started) for a wedding present (even more romantic I know).
Anyway, here is how to build your own worm farm.
Start with two watertight, durable boxes - polystyrofoam boxes are perfect. Just make sure one of the boxes has no openings or holes in its base to let liquid out.
First create the farm’s base. Choose the sturdiest looking box and punch a hole about the size of a 20 cent coin in one of the corners. Cut the top off a small plastic water or soft drink bottle so that the part the lid screws on and its neck is still in tact. Fit this through the hole so that the bottle’s opening sticks out the corner of the box. This will be the worm farm’s tap.
Cut off the excess bottle inside the box and tape around its edges so the edges of the bottle are flat against the walls of the box and water tight - use a strong water proof tape. You can keep the lid on the bottle to stop liquid from coming out of the box or you can let it constantly dribble out. Just make sure you have a container underneath the bottle to catch the valuable worm juice. To do this, the base of the farm needs to be on top of something else so the container can fit underneath. It also helps to place something under one end of the farm to give it a slight rise. This will encourage the juice to drain out of the base.
Pierce the base of the other box with small skewer sized holes about 1cm apart. Cover the base of this box with a fine non-degradable mesh like fly screen. Tape the edges of the screen to the bottom of the box with water proof tape. The holes allow any liquid to drain out of the box, while the mesh helps prevent worms from falling through the holes.
Although worms must be kept in a moist environment they can drown in too much water. A good way of saving any worms from drowning if they fall through the mesh is to place a rock or brick in the base box so the worms can wriggle onto it and out of the water.
Rest the pierced box on top of the base box. You may need to tape it down with water proof tape to keep it in place.
Next comes the worm bedding. Add shredded newspaper, old compost, leaves or soil over the mesh preferably about 10cm thick. Spread the worms out carefully on the bedding.
Tiger or red worms are the most commonly used. Start with about two thousand worms. In good conditions worms will double in population every eight weeks.
To begin with just add a small amount of organic scraps to the bed. Give the worms more food when they have eaten most of their previous meal. As the worms begin to breed add more food. Worms have voracious appetites and can eat through their own weight in food every few days.
Got any questions about building a farm? Please, post a comment below.
In an organic gardening book I was browsing recently I saw a simple and easy alternative to the ‘box’ style of worm farm. Dig a trench in your garden about 30cm deep and put some compost worms in one end and cover with food scraps and some dirt. Put new scraps in the unfilled part of the trench, and the worms will move along to consume them. I think you would want some sort of cover over the top stop animals getting in, and to stop it drying out.
where’s the best place to buy worms in Perth???
Great to see that your worm farm is going so well !
If you would like to watch a free video about a worm farm being setup… visit http://www.nitrowormfarms.com
Cheers,
Hey Matt, yep digging your scraps into the soil is another way. I have done this by digging trenches. It works well in terms of improving the soil dramatically. Best way to keep vermin out is to dig the organic matter in well and cover it with at least 5cm of soil.
Hi Neilane, I am not from Perth so not sure but check out some of the worm
supplier links here. Maybe they can deliver some worms to you in WA or know
of someone closer to you.
Really, they can get through their body weight in a few days? I am really interested in gettin’ greener. I havent gone down the wormery route yet, but this has made me wonder if now is the time to have a trial run…
If the conditions are right, yep, worms will eat quite a lot. Go for it - worm juice and castings are just great for your plants plus a top way of dealing with most of your own organic waste. If you already compost then a worm farm can also be used along side it.
[...] You can find out how to build a worm farm here [...]
Neilane
Have just noticed your query. If you haven’t found a place to buy your compost worms we supply and send via Austalia Post. Recently sent some from Sydney to Karratha and all arrived well !
See us at http://www.upagumtreeworms.com.au
Ross
[...] Earlier this year I wrote about building a worm farm from scratch and since then I have had quite a few questions about looking after the worms themselves. Worm farms are relatively easy to look after, however things can go wrong.Get their dinner right [...]
Hi Neilane,
Best place to buy worms in Perth that I’ve found is the weigh station on Great Eastern Hwy. just outside Midland.
As your coming out of Midland on Great Eastern Hwy., it’ll be on the left next to the railroad tracks, and you’ll know it because the gent also sells buckets and barrels.
His worms are always healthy and at a great price.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Jackie
Hi
I want to start up a worm farm so I can use the nutrient for my hydroponics
What I would like to know is what amount of the juice would use in a certain quantity of water
Cheers
Hi Bill, I am not sure for aquaponics but if I use the juice on my garden I usually dilute it about 1 part to 20. So that the mixture looks like weak tea.
Worms are great for the never-at-home-very-long crowd. They can stand a bit of neglect, but when fed regularly they seem really hungry. My worm bins stay in the garage and I find it’s a great way to recycle the paper materials that find their way into our mailbox.
Hi Trina,
I’m a big fan of your website and have been inspired by it in my own gardening. I’m living up in the tropics on Thursday Island and have been making the transition from Melbourne gardening to tropical gardening….can be challenging!
I built myself a polystyrene worm-farm recently (as per your guidance) and am about 4 weeks into my ‘farming’ and am struggling with rapidly expanding population of blow-fly lavae (maggots!!). What advice could you give me on tropical worm-farming (ratios of wastes, covering etc).
Thanks again.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Because I am in Sydney I am not an expert on tropical worm farming. Have you got the farm covered? Best to keep it covered. And what are you putting in it? Best to keep things like meat/fish and cheese out of it - because they will attract more flies/maggots.
How long will it take the worms to turn the food into compost?
Can one feed the worms some newspaper as well? Is the ink bad for them? Some sites I have seen, mention paper as part of their feed. Seems a bit strange to me
hi everyone,
just wanted to let you know that i have studied worm farming and composting and am willing to let you know my secrets. If you really interrested call 49842928 or email me on
stephy-babe-44@hotmail.com
see ya
Help anyone?!
I live in a unit and have a worm farm on my balcony. I have noticed flies (very small, maybe fruit flies?) multiplying rapidly, that sit on top and under the fabric I have laying on top of my waste. I would not normally have a problem with any other creatures however, I have noticed some of these flies coming inside my unit.. I really don’t want to get rid of my farm but they’re taking over!!
Lime was suggested but do I just chop one up and pop it in?
Great to see your worm farm going so well!
Cheers from BuildAWormFarm.com
Hey Corrin,
check out RedWormComposting.com ’s blog. He’s got all sorts of information on worm farms, including what to do with fruit flies and all that. (I think it’s a vinegar trap).
Hi Corrin,
When people have suggested lime, they don’t mean lime fruit, they mean powdered lime - you can get it from gardening sections in supermarkets sometimes, or any garden supplier - and it works really well to repel and discourage all sorts of uninvited guests in your wormfarm - slugs, maggots, flies etc
A writer mentioned they were worried about the ink in newspapers and printed mater. Quite a few newspapers these days use ink with a soya bean oil base. Some colour printed stuff has water based ink and much newsprint uses recycled pulp. The amount of ink will not be any problem and will recycle easily. Give your worms the news!
Regards, A print worker.
IM starting a worm farm and i just wonted to no what to really feed them and what i should put in the bed thanz
Hi, I am interested in starting a worm farm. Could anyone tell me please how long can I leave the worms un-attended for a holiday? Will 7 days be o.k? Thanks,
Hi Masluki,
7 days should be fine just make sure you leave them with lots of food - depending on how many you have plus make sure they r covered and in the shade.
I leave mine for weeks and they survive no probs - my farms are very well established though.
cheers
if you are looking for worms in Perth , try these guys.
http://www.wormshed.com.au/
the are in the Chittering Valley and deliver free thoughout Perth Metro.
[...] written some guides to setting up a compost system, how to build your own worm farm and looking after worms so have a read and good [...]
there’s a guy that sells worms in casuarina he usually has an ad in the quokka
Hi guys…
I am new to worm farming too, and Corrin I am in the same situation, I have a small balcony with a home made polystyrene box worm farm. I started about 3 weeks ago and I think i put in too much food waste to start with, because i havent needed to put in any more after 3 weeks and they are still making their way through it.
BUT, today when i looked at it, there are tiny white grub/wormy things in there! i dont know whether they are baby worms or maggots..but if they are maggots then eewww!!
one question, if you put powdered lime in there, how do you put it in? directly on the maggots (there are so many!), or just sprinkle it on top? will this kill the worms?
also, i got my worms from City Farm in east perth. it took a while for them to fill up a take away container with worms from their farms, but it was cheap - $5.
can i leave my worm farm unattended for long periods of time on a ruglar basis, if a put a wet sponge in the worm farm and i had it in a shaded spot, would it keep moist enough. does anyone know of ways to keep it wet for long perod of time
Found article to be very useful. Please advise if mixing
different types of worms can be good or bad?
Hi all - i am in the process of making a wormfarm and was wondering if anyone knows somewhere i can get healthy but cheap worms in Brisbane? thanks, Fiona.
Does any one know how to convert a 240 litre wheelie bin into a worm farm? We have outgrown our ‘can of worms’ worm farm and I hate throwing away food that could be recycled.
I heard recently that there is a design and how to build a worm farm using an old wheelie bin in a publication called ‘Composting’ by Tim Marshall. The book should be available at any library but have not managed to find any detail online. Anyone who could help in that regard it would be appreciated as I am in rural Oz and not easy to drop into a local library.
Hello, I am of Brazil, I would very like to know if somebody knows some company who imports Tiger earthworms or red worms. It would like to make one, my email is davilimasantos@biologo.bio.br.
Congratulations to all for the initiative,
I wait a return.
Thanks a lot.