🎉 Hooray! You've just acquired your very own worm farm, or as some like to call it, a worm hotel! 🏡
Prepare to be charmed by your squirmy new mates as they feast on your surplus veggies, fruit, and scraps! 🍏🍆🍌
Your worm farm consists of three trays that stack neatly on top of one another. The bottom tray (worm tea bin) collects the liquid fertiliser, while the top two trays are the working heart of your worm farm. 🌱💧
🚀 Getting started:
- Elevate your bins with a few bricks to keep them off the ground.
- Stack the trays, ensuring the one with the tap is at the bottom. Install the tap facing outwards. 🔧
- Position your worm farm in a shaded area, avoiding mid-day and hot afternoon sun. A bit of morning sun is alright. 🌞
- Place some moist news paper on the floor of the middle tray
- Empty your worm starter kit onto the newspaper and add a handful of chopped up veggies/non-citrus fruit as well as a few handfuls of good quality non fertilised compost
- Cover the worms with more moist newspaper and leave them to start processing the food. Add another handful of kitchen greens and old shredded news paper every few days. 📰💦
💧 Remember to keep the newspaper damp by sprinkling water on it daily.
🐛 As the worms process food, they'll create worm castings/vermicompost. It'll take a few weeks for your worm farm to be fully established and for the worms to multiply. Don't overfeed them, as uneaten food will rot and cause a stink. 🚫💩
When the bottom bin fills up, you can start adding food to the top tray, covering it with moist newspaper. The worms will migrate upwards, and once the top tray is half-full, you can remove the bottom tray and use the vermicompost in your garden. Your plants will love it! 🌷🌻
🍹 Worm tea will collect in the bottom tray. Decant it into a bucket or spray bottle, dilute it with water, and use it as an organic insecticide or fertiliser for your plants. Your roses and fruit trees will be especially grateful! 🌹🌳
🌟 Top tips:
- Feed your worms their favourite treats: raw veggie offcuts, eggshells, non-citrus fruit, tea bags, and coffee grinds. 🥦🍉
- Avo peels and mielie cobs make great hiding places for baby worms. 🥑🌽
- Avoid citrus fruits, pineapple, onion, garlic, chillies, cooking oils, meat, dairy, and processed foods. 🚫🍊🍍
- If other bugs show up, you might be overfeeding your worms. Give them a break for a week or two. 🐜
- Ants in your worm farm might mean it's too dry. Sprinkle more water to keep the soil moist. 💧
🚨 Make sure to use "Red Wriggler" worms, as regular garden earthworms aren't ideal for these farms. You can always order more if needed. 🐛
We hope you enjoy many happy years of worm farming, as you watch your little wormy friends recycle your off-cuts and leftovers. Feel proud knowing you're doing your bit to go greener and to nourish and protect your plants the natural way. 🌿
Happy Farming! 🌱
And now for a worm joke to wrap things up:
Why don't worms like to tell secrets?
Because they're afraid they might worm their way out! 🐛🤣
Enjoy the worm-tastic journey ahead, and don't forget to share your worm adventures with fellow eco-enthusiasts! 🌍💚
Happy Farming! 🌱