Worm farms are an excellent way to recycle your kitchen scraps into a rich and organic garden fertilizer. 

 

Worm farming has been growing in popularity for a few years now, but Rebecca from the team, has only just got going on her first one, from WormsRus. 

The bottom layer of a worm farm drains to make worm tea. The tea is an intensely rich liquid plant food, that you mix with water, and feed to your plants. After a few months, a tray of worm castings builds up, ready to be dug into your garden. The castings are a great soil conditioner for your garden, and if you don’t have a farm, you can buy the castings in 10L bags

Click here to WIN one of four 10L bags of worm castings from WormsRus.

 I wanted to share a few things I’ve learnt since starting my own worm farm:

-  You initially feed the worms a little bit each day - about one cup. And if your kitchen waste is chopped up, the worms will chew through it faster.

-  It will take a few months to get to full capacity - for the worms to multiply. After this the worm population regulates itself.

-  Keep your farm out of the direct sun, so the worms don’t get too hot. (it’s not like a compost heap that you want to heat up)

-  Raw kitchen waste is best. Avoid onions, citrus and garden waste.

-  They love shredded cardboard, newspaper, egg cartons, egg shells, coffee and tea. Also hair clippings and vacuum dust. Worms really love a mixed diet!

- If you start getting little fruit flies, place a cover over the top of the waste, inside the bins. I used a sheet of cardboard, but you can use heavy material or a square of old carpet. Also add some lime to keep the pH level, and scare the little flies.

- Surprisingly - it doesn’t smell! If it starts to, take a break from adding waste until it sorts itself out.

If you want to learn more from the experts, head to WormsRus.