DIY Worm Farm – Vermicast, Worm-Juice, Soil Life & More!
The first thing I noticed was the loose, dry soil:
To garden in this is going to be a nightmare! It needs something absorbent, which will knit the particles together & keep the water in. Humus is just the thing. But how do I make that? Well, that’s created by soil life which breakdown organic matter (such as leaf litter) after it falls to the garden surface.
…but how do I do that! How do I make soil life?
Soil life is…
- Micro-organisms (bacteria & protista).
- Fungi.
- Small animals – beetles, worms, insects etc.
I can’t ‘make’ it – but I can farm it!
DIY WORM FARM
I’ll make one from my favourite materials – left over ‘junk’ (aka. my ‘treasure’)!
Make sure the bath-tub drain is not blocked:
- Mesh (folded & doubled over) to cover the drain.
- A brick to hold it in place.
- Bottom layer = gravel through which water can drain (I don’t want the worms to drown – they are animals who breathe air the same as I do).
- Top layer = soil with compost mixed in (this is where the worms will live).
- Red worms! This species consume decaying organic matter. I got mine from a friend, but could have collected them deep in leaf litter, or from cow dung in the field. There are beetles & other living organisms in there too. It’s a natural process, not added – just appeared on their own.
I’m in a warm climate – at times, the summer can be too hot for me…which means it will be too hot for any life, including the worms. So I’ve found & amended a sheltered space:
Add…
- Container to capture worm juice.
- Cover to keep the birds from eating the worms.
- Watering can to keep the soil moist & assist with worm juice capture.
Now, I eat food from my garden & feed kitchen scraps to the worms. They turn it into:
- Worm juice (which I dilute 1:10 with rainwater).
- Worm castings.
I add both to the soil. And include a handful of worms to each new garden bed. My plants are getting healthier all the time – and so am I!
The worms are happy, my garden is happy – I’m happy!
