Make your own worm farm
Here is one easy way of making a worm farm. You may need to set up several of these tyre worm farms in a school situation where you want the worms to break down a lot of waste.
There are many other options for worm farms, from raised old baths and wooden box structures to covered rows on the ground. For any of these options, you need to keep the worms' world cool and damp, so covering it is important. Old carpet and canvas are ideal for covering a ground-based worm farm. There are also many commercial types of worm farms available, from the Tag-G Digesters to the smaller black plastic worm bins of various types. Talk to your local council about which is the best option for your school.
Below are instructions for making the Tyre Worm Farm.
Built entirely from reused & recycled materials.
You will require:
Old carpet or sack if available (optional
Phone books or old bricks
1 piece of corrugated iron - 600mm x 600mm
Small piece of silage wrap or similar
3 car tyres of similar size
Something suitable as a lid
35 Saturday newspapers
1 container such as an old pot or bucket
Operating Instructions for your Worm Farm
1. Soak the newspapers in water and stuff all three tyres full, one sheet at a time
2. Place the corrugated iron on top of the bricks or telephone books, wrap it in silage/ heavy plastic so that the liquid doesn't touch the metal.
3. Put the first stuffed tyre on top of the corrugated iron. Put an old sack or carpet inside to make a sort of nest for the new worms
4. Fill this bottom tyre with bedding material (ie horse manure, rotting peastraw, compost) and then tip the worms in. Cover immediately with a thick layer of wet newspaper. Now put the other two stuffed tyres on top.
5. Feed regularly with kitchen scraps by lifting up the newspaper. Make sure the farm is kept moist to the touch. Always replace the newspaper to keep it dark.
6. Keep the worms and bedding covered with damp newspaper, plus an old sack or carpet (also damp). Place your lid on top of the tyre stack to prevent fly problems.
7. As the tyre stack fills up you can slide out the bottom tyre and empty it of worm castings/ vermicast. The paper in the tyre will probably be full of worms and can be replaced as is, used in your garden or compost heap or given to friends to start new Worm Farms.
8. The empty tyre is now ready for reuse - stuff with fresh, moist newspapers and place on TOP of the tyre stack.
9. Regularly empty the pot of worm rum - dilute 8-1 with water and spray or pour on to and around your special plants.
10. The nutrients from your kitchen scraps are now available for you to use in your organic garden and your worm population will have increased remarkably.
11. Worms suitable for worm farming can be found in animal manure or rotting pea straw.
