By Guest Author Elle Reed.
Worm Farming, also known as vermicomposting, is a popular way of turning organic household waste into nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. In this worm farming guide, you’ll learn about the practice of vermicomposting and how to become successful at it. You might be surprised to learn that worm farming for beginners is much easier than you think!
Let’s start digging, shall we?
Introduction to Worm Farming for Beginners
First, what exactly is worm farming? A worm farm is exactly what the name implies, a farm for worms. It’s an enclosed compost area where worms live and feed off food waste. The major benefit is that the worms leave behind waste of their own (vermicompost or vermicast) which is incredibly nutrient-rich compost.
Aside from producing all-natural garden fertilizer, vermicomposting has many other wonderful benefits:
- Vermicomposting is environmentally friendly: Worm farming is a great way to repurpose organic household waste. This means less waste in landfills and fewer harmful greenhouse gases.
- Worm farming can be done anywhere: Worm farms are very convenient since they’re clean, odor-free and space efficient. They can be set up anywhere: in an apartment, balcony, backyard or garage.
- Worm farming produces nutrient-rich warm tea: Another benefit of worm farms is the nutrient-rich by-product called worm tea (aka worm leachate). This is drained every couple of days and can be diluted with water (ratio of 1:10) and used as a liquid fertilizer to water plants.
How to Start Worm Farming
When it comes to worm farming for beginners, here’s how to get started in 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Setting Up a Worm Farm
These are the materials necessary when first setting up a worm farm:
- Worm Bin: When it comes to worm farming, it’s important to invest in a purpose-built worm composter. Worm farms are designed with trays and often a spigot, which makes it easy when it comes to harvest worm castings and collecting worm tea.
- Worm Bedding: Next, you will need to line the tray with appropriate bedding to create a home for your worms. Leaves, cardboard, compost, and shredded newspaper are all great options.
- Composting Worms: This one’s obvious. You’ll need about one pound of worm for every square foot area of the bin, and there are only certain species you can use (which I’ll get to in the next segment).
- Regular Supply of Compostable Material: This can be anything from a few handfuls of lawn mowing clippings to kitchen scraps. Things like tea bags, coffee grounds, fruits, and veggies are great. Just be sure to avoid meat, onions, citrus, cooking oil, dairy, and other heavily-processed food. Worms dislike these foods and they can also attract pests and make the bin smell.
- Choose a suitable location for your warm farm: Ideally, a worm farm should be placed in an area where the temperature sits between 40 to 80˚F. This means cool, dark areas such as a garden shed, basement, or any area away from direct sunlight. If you live somewhere that experiences extreme climates, be sure to move your composter indoors as snow or extreme heat can kill the worms.
- Select the Right Worm Species: Unfortunately, you can’t use ordinary garden worms for composting but there are other vermicomposting-friendly species to get the job done. Red Wigglers are the most popular option because they are fast breeders. European Nightcrawlers are also a good option since they generate less smell and are adept at eating pests like slugs.
Step 2: Maintaining your Worm Farm
Once you’ve made a new home for your worms and everything is set up, it’s important to keep on top of the maintenance. Here are my top tips to keep your worm farm thriving:
- Don’t Overfeed the Worms: This is the number one mistake worm farming beginners make. Sure, worms eat their body weight in a day, but adding too much food in the bin is a big no-no. This is because any excess food can heat the bin and increase acidity, which can then cause it to smell and attract pests.
- Chop Up Scraps: Worms don’t have any teeth, so it’s good to cut up food scraps into small pieces to help them digest them faster. A food processor is a good way to speed up this process.
- Maintain Moisture Levels: The moisture in your compost bin needs to be monitored because worms breathe through their skin. Any significant fluctuations can adversely affect these critters. If your bin seems too dry, add moisture by lightly spraying water. Conversely, if your bin appears too wet, remove any soggy bedding and replace it with dry material.
- Drain Worm Tea Regularly: The small amount of liquid that sweeps into the bottom of your worm farm is known as worm tea and is an excellent liquid fertilizer. Most worm farms have a spigot tap at the bottom that makes it easy to drain the worm tea. It’s important to drain this regularly so that your farm doesn’t start to smell.
Step 3: Harvesting and Using Vermicompost
It takes 60 to 90 days for vermicompost to get to the point of harvest. Once you notice vermicast (rich, black, loose, crumbly material) in your worm farm you know it’s time to harvest!
You can harvest your vermicompost in several ways including hand harvesting, light harvesting and the bait method. Once you’ve collected your precious worm castings, add them to your veggie garden or pots for a wonderful nutrient boost!
And there you have it, the ultimate worm farming guide to get you started in this popular composting practice. Once you’ve purchased and set up your worm composter, remember to regularly feed your worms and drain the worm tea. In no time you’ll be harvesting your vermicast gold!
Here is an excellent video from North Carolina State Extension on getting started with vermicomposting.
Author bio: Elle Reed, of The Potager Project, is a passionate gardener and advocate for teaching beginner gardeners how to grow their own food. Elle’s mission is to inspire and empower people to get back to basics, start a vegetable garden, and embrace a sustainable lifestyle. “Whether it’s a few herb pots in an apartment, a potager or a full garden plot, we can all ‘start somewhere’ to grow our own food”