DIY Worm Farm – Vermicast, Worm-Juice, Soil Life & More!

DIY Worm Farm – Vermicast, Worm-Juice, Soil Life & More!

The first thing I noticed was the loose, dry soil:

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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’)!

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Make sure the bath-tub drain is not blocked:

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  • Mesh (folded & doubled over) to cover the drain.

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  • A brick to hold it in place.permaculture
  • 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).

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  • 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:

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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.

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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! 

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About The Author

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About The Author

Chrissy-Tiina Laurikainen

In person + online permaculture teacher. Online permaculture consultant. Upkeep of a 30 acre rural property (using permaculture & other agroecological techniques). A communal research laboratory focusing on free innovation in the works. Doing what I can to support LIFE on planet Earth!!

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