Worm farm - collecting/harvesting worms?

 

I’ve got a worm farm at home that looks sorta like this:

http://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/upload/munchy/munchypics/WormFarmPhoto.jp=
g

At the moment, I’m strictly in the collecting/harvesting phase, not
the actual farming phase.  I get one of the upper containers that has
lots of little holes in the bottom which I’ve filled with fruit and
vegetable scraps.  They are mainly lettuce, cauliflower, and cabbage
leaves, with some pumpkin, apples, and bananas, but mainly green leafy
vegetables.  I know not to add citrus, pineapple, or meat – well
understood.  I then cover the whole lot with a hessian (burlap?)
sack.  I’ve placed this worm collecting/harvesting box on the ground
just near my old empty compost bin, and I pour a whole watering can
through the hessian sack every day or so, which soaks through the food
scraps and through the holes in the bottom, then into the soil.  I’m
figuring the scraps won’t get too water logged because of the adequate
drainage.
What I want to know is, will the worms in the soil eventually wriggle
up through the holes in the bottom of the container, into the worm
box?  Any advice here?  Anything that will possibly hurry them along?
The reason I’m doing it this way is because it doesn’t cost me any
money at all, even if it takes longer.

 


Gas Bag;859709 Wrote:

I just dig a few up and throw them into the compost bin, a few months
later the
bin is heaving with them. (I tried to train the local
Blackbird population to do
it but they couldn't get the lid off of the
bins.) :-))




--
Granity

 

On Thu, 6 Aug 2009 06:05:22 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag


I would suggest buying some worms from a fishing tackle shop.

These are different from garden worms and are the ones usually used in
wormeries.  you can also buy them online - but more expensive.

I do no think you should water them - if anything add some shredded
newspaper to keep things from going too soggy.

There are a number of wormery sites where you can read up on advice.


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g'day gas bag,

keep the worm farm in a darker cool place.

if you have vege' gardens already then like us you could do away
without the worm farm, cutout the middle man. have your composting
worms in the gardens and tuck your kitchen scraps under the mulch
daily, that way the benefits are where they are needed, the castings
the wee all in the garden.

no extra cost at all this way except for initial purchase of
composting worms, some worms can still be harvested if that is the way
you want to go, we used to harvest them for our composting toilet.

On Thu, 6 Aug 2009 06:05:22 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag

snipped


With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/