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Sustainability

How to create a DIY worm farm

May 3, 2022
hero--How to create a DIY worm farm

Amazingly, a worm farm has many environmental benefits, including recycling food scraps, minimising food waste, and creating natural garden fertiliser. It’s a fun sustainable activity, with benefits not only for your garden but also for your children’s learning during those formative years. Here are some tips on how you can make your very own worm farm at home!

What you need for your worm farm:
• Plastic or wooden container with holes
• Bricks
• Tray
• 1kg of worms
• Soil
• newspaper
• Cover with carpet, tarp or similar

Method:
1. Ensure chosen container is sturdy. If the container does not come with holes, drill holes in the bottom and sides of the container.
2. Place the container on bricks for aeration and place tray underneath to collect excess liquid.
3. Shred newspaper, wet it and place layers inside container. Newspaper must be wet before placing in container. Fill the box to 3/4 full.
4. Add a handful of soil to the bottom of the container. Ensure the whole container bottom is filled.
5. Place container in a shaded area, preferably that receives indirect sunlight.
6. Once soil has been placed in the container, add worms.
7. Cover the worm farm box with an old carpet or similar to provide darkness for the worms and maintain moisture.
8. Feed worms organic food scraps, and bury within the container. Ensure worms have eaten all scraps, before placing more food within the container.
9. After 2 to 3 months, the worms will produce a rich soil conditioner which can be used as fertiliser in your garden!

Materials that can be used in a worm farm include:
• Vegetable, food scraps, tea bags, eggs shells
• egg cartons, paper
• Fallen leaves and soil from your garden

Materials that cannot be used in your worm farmed include:
• Meat
• Fatty and processed foods
• Dairy products
• Highly Acidic foods, e.g. orange peels, onions, chillies
• Manures
• Pesticides
• Potato peelings

Tips to be sustainable:
Ask your local fruit and vegetable shop for two polystyrene boxes, then poke holes in each box. Buckets and other containers that you can find around the house, can be reused to become a worm farm.

With several Green Leaves Early Learning centres already playing host to a worm farm, try your hand today at making your very own worm farm at home!