2The perfect home
Worms like a comfortable environment that mimics their natural habitat, so the location of your worm farm is important. Your worm farm comes with instructions for assembling the trays, legs, and lid.
Here are some extra tricks that will keep your new army of worms happy and healthy.
Worm farms are best kept outdoors sheltered from direct sunlight and rain, but you can also keep them indoors. Kitchens, balconies, laundries and garages are all great options.
Initially, your worms will live in the upper tray. Once this tray becomes ¾ full, you should rotate the trays. The trays have holes in the bottom, allowing the worms to move up and down. Worm wee and water drain downward with gravity, through the worm saver tray, and collect in the pan underneath your worm farm.
Line the top tray with a few sheets of newspaper. Soak some coconut peat, shredded paper or pure compost in a bucket until soft, squeeze out excess moisture, and put it in the top tray for the worms to live in. Remember to place your worm wee pan under the farm before you start.
Add your worms to the habitat you've created in the top tray. For best results cover them with a worm blanket, clean old cloth, shirt, towel, damp newspaper, or hessian sack. Allow worms to settle for about a week before you start feeding them.
For a shared system to work smoothly, start with one farm per participating unit, remembering to start small at first to gain buy-in. Consider allocating unit numbers to the farms so people know which one to use and ensure you display clear signage of what can and cannot go into the farms.
Ensure worm juice containers are safely stored when full. Aesthetics are important and it’s up to you to set the expectations from the start that the worm farm area is well maintained and attractive for its users.
You can also encourage your fellow residents to set up a worm farm on their balcony, laundry or garage. By co-ordinating these separate installations you will be achieving a similar result and engaging the community just the same. Consider doing both and that might result in the best outcome.
Tips
- Avoid direct sunlight whenever possible - worms will die if they get too hot. Short periods of direct sunlight are generally ok but are best avoided, especially in summer.
- If you need more worms, you can take a handful or two from a friend's worm farm without any harm because both populations will breed to optimum size.
Did you know?
It's OK if you don't have the perfect shelter for your farm, you should:
- Pick the most sheltered spot available.
- Drape a light-coloured towel or cloth over the whole worm farm to shelter it from wind and sun.
- Wet this towel on hot summer days to keep your worm farm nice and cool.
Setting up in an Apartment Building?
Get permission
Before setting up any composting system on a balcony or in a common area, check your lease or strata/body corporate rules. Some buildings restrict what can be placed on balconies or in a common garden or shared spaces. If in doubt, ask your building or strata manager. Getting permission first saves awkward conversations later.
Identify
- Where the worm farm(s) will go.
- Who will look after it and take responsibility for maintenance and removal if required.
- What will the worm castings and/or worm wee be used for?
- Offer to take feedback or do a trial to build confidence.
A well-run system that never smells is your best advertisement — once neighbours see it working, enthusiasm often grows.
Choose a suitable location or provide options if possible that are easy to access for all, does not obstruct people or vehicle movements and is out of the way. Be willing to consider different locations and remind people it’s easy to move it if it doesn’t work.
