Earlier this year I wrote about building a worm farm from scratch. Since then I have had quite a few questions about looking after the worms themselves.

Worm are relatively easy to look after, however things can go wrong.

Get their dinner right

To begin with worms need to be fed the right food scraps. You can feed worms most of your kitchen scraps, however, they do not like garlic, chili, citrus fruit, onions, dairy, meat, seafood, bread, fat, bones and oily food. Egg shells are great just crush them up before adding them to the farm.

Stay away from large garden clippings because they will take too long to break down. The smaller the organic material, the faster the worms will break it down. Worms will also eat paper, dry leaves and cardboard that has been ripped up. Torn toilet rolls and egg cartons are also good.

Try to keep animal faeces out of the farm because of possible harmful bacteria or intestinal worm larvae. It is possible to farm pet poo, but it is recommended that you do it in a separate bin and use the castings on non edible plants in your garden. It’s also best to not feed worms animal manure for 3-5 days following any pet medication.

Smelly worm farm

A smelly farm usually means the worms are being fed too much or it is too wet. Cut back on the amounts of food and ensure your farm is well drained.

Worms not breeding

To breed, worms must be kept in a cool, damp and dark environment. Avoid bright light and noise.

Ideal temperatures range from 18-25 Degrees Celsius and their home must be moist but not too wet. Make sure the bed is covered and there is good drainage. Ensure worms are receiving the right food because they will not live or reproduce in acidic conditions.

Little vinegar flies hovering around are a sign the farm is too acidic. Keep acidic foods like citrus and onion out and sprinkle some lime or wood ash over the top - add some shredded paper to help improve conditions.

Breeding generally occurs in autumn, late winter and spring. In good conditions worms will produce an egg capsule every seven to 10 days. Each capsule will contain roughly six to 20 worms, and hatch in about 21 days. Capsules look a little like grape seeds with a pinched end. They start off pale green, then grow darker until they reach a dark brown when they are ready to hatch. Worms reach maturity in about three months. Mature worms have a swollen band or saddle. Worms are hermaphroditic, meaning they can lay and fertilise eggs.

Pests

Cockroaches and ants can sometimes make worm farms their home. They are more of a nuisance than anything because they don’t harm worms. Ants are usually a sign the farm is a little dry. Wet the farm and make sure the cover over the food scraps is moist.

If the farm is on legs, place each leg in a bowl of water to prevent pests from getting in. Vaseline rubbed around the legs also acts as a good ant deterrent.

Mouse and rats are attracted to meat, dairy and seafood so keep these out of the farm. A heavy brick or rock on top of the lid will help keep vermin away.

Going on holidays

Luckily, worms are very low maintenance and will survive for long periods of time while you are away. Just add your usual scraps and some extra shredded paper. They should easily survive for around six weeks.

Harvesting worm poo

To harvest worm poo or castings expose the top of the farm to sunlight. Worms are incredibly sensitive to sunlight so they will burrow down away from the surface. Scrape off the top layer of castings and repeat. A slower way is to move all of the castings to one side of the farm. Add fresh bedding and food to the empty side. In a few days many of the worms will migrate to the fresh bedding, leaving the castings on the other side ready to be used. Or add another tray to the top of the farm and place fresh bedding and food in the top layer. Then wait for the worms to migrate to the top tray.

Check out the worm farming directory for more resources on this topic

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Gardening, Recycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.