Worm farming has a lot of advantages than you may think. You are helping the environment by recycling your waste material and at the same time the worms create rich compost which can be used as fertilizer for your home garden. Some people even sell the compost to make some extra income.
A number of people think that building and maintaining a worm farm is very difficult or complicated but that’s not the case. Making a worm farm is a straight forward procedure that anyone can do. And you don’t have to be monitoring your worm farm everyday, just give your worms the proper environment to do their thing.
When starting out in worm farming the first thing you need to do is to locate an isolated area in your yard where you can put your worm bin. The area you choose has to be in a dark away from direct sunlight since worms don’t like living in bright areas. A lot of worm farmers put the worm bin in their garages or basements.
Once you have located an ideal place for your worm farm the next step is to choose the right size worm bin (container). The size of your container depends on the amount of worms you want to keep and the amount of worms depends on how much compost you want to produce.
When starting out you can start with a small worm bin and the container should be made from plastic so that it doesn’t rust. Some worm bins are see through so that you can see the worms but remember that if you get one that is see through you have to put it in a dark place. If the area you have chosen is not dark enough then you can use a foil and wrap it around the container to prevent light from going in.
With your container in place the next step is to put a wet paper in the bottom of the worm bin to help moisten the worm bin. Don’t soak wet the paper but just make it damp. After you have put the damp paper you can then add the garden soil, the soil has to be damp as well since worms like moist soil. With your soil in place you can then add your scraps and mix them together.
Keep in mind that the scraps you add should not be acidic, this means oranges and other citrus fruits are a big no. Make sure that the soil pH is around seven to eight since worms strive well in these conditions. After you have mixed your scraps and soil its time to add the worms. The type of worms you can add are night crawlers, earth worms and red worms. A lot of worm farmers choose red worms because they get the job done quickly compared to the other types of worms.
Congratulations you have now setup your worm farm, now the only thing left for you to do is to feed your worm’s everyday. Just remember to keep the pH low and your worms will produce quality compost.