Worm Farming for Beginners
Worms are remarkable creatures. Vermi-casts (otherwise known as worm poo) have a lovely friable texture, hold moisture in the soil, do not burn plant roots and are arguably the best fertiliser you can use in your garden. We have found that in unimproved sandy soil, a good ratio of worm casts to soil is 1:3 or if your soil is really poor, 1:2. It's a good idea to always add clay based soil amendments and water before you add any worm casts because if there are any worms left writhing in the vermicasts, the poor things will likely dry out and die when coated with your sandy water repellent soil.
HOW TO ACCESS WORM POWER?
There are many ways to do this. Here are just a few:
1. Buy or make a worm farm
(Google 'DIY worm farms' for ideas or buy one from your local garden centre) and purchase special composting worms to live in it. These are usually sold with the worm farms themselves or are available online. For the quickest worm poo action, mash or blend your scraps in the food processor before adding to your worm farm. Worms adore soft food like off avocados and the slushy remains in your juicer. Despite popular belief, they will eat onions and citrus scraps as long as you don't give them too much. Avoid using horse manure in the worm farm unless you can be guaranteed that the horses haven't been dewormed.
In hot climates, place your worm farm in a cool shady place out of direct sun. Worms are not fans of hot or dry conditions and they need moisture to survive. Avoid drowning them though! If they don't like the living conditions you have provided, they will quickly move out or die, which can be very disheartening when you've gone to all the trouble to house, water and feed them.
2. A no cost method is to simply dig food scraps straight into the ground, being careful not to disturb plant or tree roots too much. Once again, if possible finely chop up or blend your scraps before you dig. Dig your hole deep enough hole to discourage rats or mice, bury scraps and then cover with mulch like leaves and/or recycled tree prunings. Mulch and shade is critical for keeping worms working around the clock to enrich your soil as well as retaining moisture. Place a stick or stone to remind you where you have dug and then move elsewhere next time. In no time you will have beautiful chocolatey soil. Alternatively, some people prefer to bury their scraps into a small lidded bucket which is open to the ground.
3. Buy an Aerobin400 composter. Even though these are sealed units, we have discovered that worms from our garden simply can't resist climbing up the liquid fertiliser spout to feed and breed in the compost. The resultant loamy compost is a joy to behold for any keen gardener. This is a wonderfully lazy way to compost as it is aerobic and doesn't need turning. The other benefit of these bins is that the compost down the bottom may be harvested while you are still adding fresh stuff to it at the top.
4. Mulch with a 5cm layer of compost and a 5cm layer of mulch on top of that. (Note - lay off the mulching in winter/early spring if you experience frosts in your area). Even if you can't see any worms, they will come as this is paradise to them. One hint in hot climates such as Perth is - where possible, create shade for your soil. Mulch is wonderful but mulch and dappled shade from deciduous trees is even better.
5. If you can't be bothered with any of the above, you can buy bags of vermicasts. These may be a little hard to come by these days but are sometimes available at garden centres and organic garden suppliers online. As the worm poo is highly concentrated, a little goes a long way. You can also put a shovelful of these wormcasts in a 10L bucket, fill the bucket with water and make an inexpensive bulk liquid fertiliser. Liquid worm 'juice' is also known as Liquid Gold - and provides a top notch, easily absorbed and nutrient rich food for flowers and vegies.
Happy worm tending!
