How to make a worm farm
Built entirely from reused and recycled materials.
You will require:
- Old carpet or sack if available (optional)
- Phone books or old bricks
- 1 piece of corrugated iron - 600mm x 600mm
- Small piece of plastic silage wrap or similar (eg polythene)
- 3 car tyres of similar size
- Something suitable as a lide
- 35 newspapers
- 1 container such as an old pot or bucket
Operating Instructions for your Worm Farm
| 1 | Soak the newspapers in water and stuff all three tyres full, one sheet at a time |
| 2 | Place the corrugated iron on top of the bricks or telephone books, wrap it in silage/ heavy plastic so that the liquid doesn't touch the metal. |
| 3 | Put the first stuffed tyre on top of the corrugated iron. Put an old sack or carpet inside to make a sort of nest for the new worms |
| 4 | Fill this bottom tyre with bedding material (ie horse manure, rotting peastraw, compost) and then tip the worms in. Cover immediately with a thick layer of wet newspaper. Now put the other two stuffed tyres on top. |
| 5 | Feed regularly with kitchen scraps by lifting up the newspaper. Make sure the farm is kept moist to the touch. Always replace the newspaper to keep it dark. |
| 6 | Keep the worms and bedding covered with damp newspaper, plus an old sack or carpet (also damp). Place your lid on top of the tyre stack to prevent fly problems. |
| 7 | As the tyre stack fills up you can slide out the bottom tyre and empty it of worm castings/ vermicast. The paper in the tyre will probably be full of worms and can be replaced as is, used in your garden or compost heap or given to friends to start new worm farms. |
| 8 | The empty tyre is now ready for reuse - stuff with fresh, moist newspapers and place on TOP of the tyre stack. |
| 9 | Regularly empty the pot of worm rum - dilute 8-1 with water and spray or pur on to and around your special plants. |
| 10 | The nutrients from your kitchen scraps are now available for you to use in your organic garden and yoru worm population will have increased remarkably. |
| 11 | Worms suitable for worm farms (tiger worms) can be found in animal manure or rotting pea straw. |
Thanks to Wastebusters Trust Canterbury for the information above.
Feeding Your Worms
Although worms have a tremendous appetite, it is very important not to over feed them. It will not take long until you can judge just how much food the worms will consume daily.
Worms will eat almost anything including:
- Fruit
- Tea bags and tea leaves
- Aged animal manures
- Egg shells
- Hair
There is also some things we should not feed them:
- Citrus fruit or peel
- Onion or garlic
- Meat
- Dairy foods
- Dog and cat manure
- Unweathered manure
Feeding Tips
- When feeding your worms scraps, remember to chop or break them into small pieces as it will be easier for the worms to process.
- Leave the scraps in a container for a few days so that bacteria will start forming - worms love bacteria!
- When feeding, it is best to feed in one position at a time and bury the feed under the bedding so not to attract flies.
More information
- Check out our composting guide (PDF 949kB)
- Christchurch City Council has also produced a handy guide to worm composting - download it here (PDF 280kB)
Contact
For more information, contact the Waste Minimisation Team on phone (06) 871 5000 or email council@hdc.govt.nz