Why compost?
Why compost?
Your Waste Doesn’t Go to Landfill
21 million tonnes of solid waste goes to landfill each year in Australia alone. 40% of this is organic waste. When organic waste goes to landfill it becomes anaerobic (that is, it starts to break down without oxygen). This is no good for the planet, as we explain in reasons 2 & 3.
Your Waste Doesn’t Contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
When organic waste decomposes anaerobically, it produces the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change and climate change will have an impact on lives all over the planet, including yours.
Your Waste Doesn’t Become a Toxic Leachate
When rubbish breaks down anaerobically in landfills, it produces acids that contaminate groundwater and our waterways. This is the water we want to drink and the beaches we want to swim in.
Your Waste Produces a Kick Ass Fertiliser
Through the process of composting, organic matter decomposes in a way that is healthy for the planet and beneficial for our soil. During this process, microorganisms consume the waste. Carbon dioxide is still produced, but it is mostly retained in the compost rather than being released into the atmosphere. Composting significantly reduces the amount of bad gases released into the atmosphere.
The resulting product of composting, compost, is a nutrient-rich fertiliser that improves plant growth and disease resistance. It is also packed full of beneficial bacteria and microbes that improve the quality of your soil. It’s great for your plants and great for the environment.
Even if you live in the city and only have a couple of indoor plants to your name, composting is a worthwhile endeavor beyond the environmental impacts. It is such a rewarding feeling to have created something spectacular from your waste. Composting will encourage you to greenify your life by acquiring more plants or incorporating a herb garden into your apartment. And if not, you can donate your composting spoil to a community garden near you.
Download Our Fun Factsheet and Put It on Your Fridge as a Handy Reminder for Doing the Right Thing With Your Organic Waste.
What can I feed my worms?
What can I feed my worms?
The key point here is that worms eat organic matter. Don’t feed them anything other than that! But they will thrive on some things over others.
All manner of vegetable and fruit peelings, eggshell, tea (bag and all) and coffee grounds provide a king’s feast for worms. You can be indiscriminate about these items and your worms will thrive. They will also eat shredded newspaper, egg cartons and cardboard. And while this one always prompts people to screw up their faces, worms will also consume human (and pet) hair and nails.
What can’t I feed my worms?
What can’t I feed my worms?
There are a few things you need to be wary of feeding worms. Citrus contains limonene, a substance toxic to worms in anything other than small quantities so be careful of disposing of rind in your worm farm; they don’t tend to like onions and foods from the onion family (leeks, shallots, garlic, chives); meat and dairy in all forms are a no-go zone; and pet poo is toxic and should not be fed to your worms.
There are many and varied opinions on what you can and can’t feed your worms and if you are researching multiple sources, you will find data that contradicts the above (pet poo is probably the only ‘food’ in the list that is universally agreed should not be fed to worms). We consider that the above advice is the best approach for small, urban worm farms. That said if you do feed your worms anything from the taboo list, it’s probably not the end of the worm. And it’s good to remember that a big part of your worm farming success will come down to quantity of food in any case.
You should also remember to feed your worms a balanced diet. Too much of one food item (fruit for example) threatens to upset the pH of your farm and degrade conditions. Try to feed your worms a good mix of different food items to balance out conditions. Your worms will be happier for it.
How much can I feed my worms?
How much can I feed my worms?
It really depends on how many worms you have. But for every 1kg of worms you have, you can feed your worms 500g waste daily.
Overfeeding worms is the number one reason why worm farms fail. You will know your worms have been overfed because it is likely to result in bad smells (because the waste rots before the worms can process it), attract flies and other pests, and ultimately result in death if the conditions become unbearable.
Thankfully, there are some easy tips and tricks that will fix the problem and prevent it from happening again. If you track what you are feeding your worms and monitor the timeframe in which they are consuming food, getting the consumption rate right won’t take long and you will be well on your way to co-existing in harmony with your worms.
If you have overfed your worms, here are some measures you can take to rectify the situation.
1. Remove any rotting food from the farm (don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, it’s all in the name of the healthy worm);
2. Gently aerate the bedding with a garden spade or fork to give the farm a healthy oxygen hit;
3. Wait until your worms have consumed all their food before adding more to the pile. This is a good general tip to prevent overfeeding;
4. Chop or blend your food scraps. Smaller pieces makes for faster consumption, so you can compost more of your waste without threatening the health of your farm;
5. Be prepared to experiment with what you feed your worms and how often you feed them. This will allow you to get to know your worms’ eating habits well and really is the key to a thriving farm.
Download Our Helpful Factsheet as a Reminder of the Dos and Don’ts of Feeding Worms
How many worms do I need?
How many worms do I need?
If you want to maximise the amount of waste you compost through your worm farm, then it’s useful to know how many worms you will need to consume the amount of waste your household accumulates.
In her legendary worm composting reference guide, ‘Worms Eat my Garbage’, Mary Applehof provides the following formula for calculating how many worms you will need:
Worms: Daily Garbage ratio = 2:1
To put that into figures, you will need 1kg of worms for every 500g waste you produce daily. You will note that worms are measured out in weight here rather than numbers. This is much more practical, but to give you an idea of how weight equates to number figures, approximately 1500-2000 worms makes 1kg.
Now, worm populations require a certain amount of space to comfortably maintain their populations. They regulate their populations according to how much room they have. Populations will continue to grow if they have the space, but will plateau off if their container is reaching maximum occupancy. In short, the more worms you want, the more space you will need.
Exactly how much space do I need?
Exactly how much space do I need?
The logical follow up question is, how big should your container be? For every kilogram of worms (or 500 grams of food waste), it is recommended that you have 30 square centimetres of space. A worm farm can take any shape, but remember, the more surface area you have, the more air you will get circulating through your worm bin - and air is good for the health of your farm. So, a shallow, longer farm will get greater aeration than a taller, thinner farm. Your decision will depend on the space you have available.
All too scientific?
While these measurements are a great guide if you are determined to eliminate your organic waste to zero from day one, you really don’t need to be precise about things. You may prefer to build your worm population over time for example (and this is much cheaper and worms will double their population in around 60 days) or grow your farm as you get to know your needs. This is perfectly fine. In my view the added benefit to this approach is that you get to know the nature and habits or your farm better.
If you have space limitations (a common problem for city folk), then it might not be possible to have a farm large enough to accommodate all of your food scraps. That’s ok. In my experience, starting a worm farm will make you more conscious of the waste you produce - you will likely produce less waste once you start composting and will also come up with alternative ways to dispose of it responsibly.
How much space do I need for my worm farm?
How much space do I need for my worm farm?
A worm farm can be as big or as small as you want it to be. You can keep a farm in a regular household plastic bucket, for example. What you need to remember is that the bigger the container is, the more worms you can house, and the more scraps they will consume. It’s best to build a farm that will be big enough to consume the amount of scraps you wish to compost.
To give you an idea of how much space your worms will need, for every kilogram of worms (or 500 grams of food waste), it is recommended that you have 30 square centimetres of space. A worm farm can take any shape, but remember, the more surface area you have, the more air you will get circulating through your worm bin - and air is good for the health of your farm. So, a shallow, longer farm will get greater aeration than a taller, thinner farm. Your decision will depend on the space you have available.
What does my worm farm need to survive and thrive?
The key to healthy worms really comes down to the following 4 elements:
Food – the right stuff and the right amount
Aeration – enough to breathe
Temperature – neither extreme hot nor extreme cold
Moisture – not too wet, not too dry
Keeping these elements balanced will keep your farm healthy and thriving! Worm composting is not a precise science and striking the right balance will be a matter of trial and error. You will soon get a ‘feel’ for it as you and your worms get to know one another. There are a couple of common problems that worm farmers are likely to face once in a while. If you do strike trouble, see our troubleshooting tips.
Can I keep worms in the city and other small spaces?
Can I keep worms in the city and other small spaces?
Yes! A worm farm can be as big or as small as you want it to be so if you live in the city you can build a farm that fits to the space you have. You can keep a farm in a regular household plastic bucket, for example. What you need to remember is that the bigger the container is, the more worms you can house, and the more scraps they will consume. In a small space, you may have to reduce the amount of scraps you compost if you only have a small space for a farm.
How do I keep worms in a hot climate?
How do I keep worms in a hot climate?
A hot climate will 1) dry out your worm farm more quickly than cooler climates, and 2) increase the rate at which food scraps rot, which may lead to bad smells. To avoid these in a hot climate
1. Keep in the coolest place available. In the shade, in a shed, or even inside. Somewhere that has good airflow is also beneficial.
2. Keep your worms well hydrated. Heat will quickly dry a worm farm out quickly. Add enough water to keep the bedding moist (but not soaking). A watering can is great for evenly dispersing moisture without flooding your farm. You can also add a wet ‘blanket’ (hessian bag, old towel, square of carpet) to keep bedding wet and moisture in.
3. Maximise air flow – This can be done by drilling more holes in your worm bin or simply removing the lid for a period of time. If you choose to remove the lid, watch out for the family dog digging in the bin or, like at my house, the family chickens helping themselves to a snack.
4. When temperatures are really hot you can also add ice to the top of your farm. This will both cool down and add moisture to your bin on extra hot days.
How do I keep worms in a cold climate?
How do I keep worms in a cold climate?
Cold climates can be detrimental to your farm if you allow the conditions to affect your worm farm. Worms tend to be less efficient in the cold and they don’t reproduce as prolifically.
Insulation is key for a worm farm in a cold climate. Keep the heat in by keeping a lid on the bin and covering with a ‘blanket’ inside and out. A hessian bag or an old piece of carpet is a great cover inside your bin - it will provide insulation and your worms will break it down over time. Just place it on top of your worms and cover with a lid. For the outside of your farm, you can cover with a tarp, an old blanket or an old piece of carpet. You can build insulation around your bin in other ways as well. For example, you could build a farm out of an old fridge or esky with built-in insulation. Surrounding your farm with leftover insulation foam or hay bales will also work a treat.
What do I do with the fertiliser my worm farm creates?
What do I do with the fertiliser my worm farm creates?
Your worm farm will produce two products that provide good quality organic fertiliser for your plants:
Worm Leachate
This is the liquid that drains away from your farm. There are conflicting schools of thought on the benefits/harms of leachate for your plants. Erring on the side of caution, The Worm Monger recommends watering leachate down 10:1 and reserving it for your non-edible plants.
Castings/Vermicompost
This is the sh!t (literally). Once your worms have processed your food scraps, their excrement becomes a mighty fine fertiliser. It can take 10-12 weeks before you can harvest the good stuff. It will look like coffee grounds when it is ready to go. Harvesting castings for use in your garden really requires you to get your hands dirty. There are various different methods, which we have listed under How do I harvest worm castings?
How do I harvest worm castings?
How do I harvest worm castings?
Before you start, there are a few things I recommend you do to encourage ideal conditions for harvesting. Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that you can only harvest compost from about eight weeks after first feeding at the earliest – before then your vermicompost won’t be fully processed. Choose a time when the worms have processed all the food scraps already in their bin (you can hold off feeding them for a week or so if that helps). This will ensure that you are accessing only the finished composted product rather than half processed food scraps. Secondly, harvesting will be easier if the farm isn’t too wet. A moist, loose, crumbly texture is perfect for the task (see below – think cheesecake biscuit base for a good comparison). If your farm is a little on the wet side, hold off feeding, check the drainage and station your farm in a dry place to allow some of the moisture to evaporate (if it’s not too hot, put the farm out in the sun or take the lid off for a few hours each day).
What you will need
● A ground sheet or a few sheets of newspaper. The good thing about newspaper is that you can reuse it as bedding once the harvest is complete.
● Daylight, or if you are indoors and working with limited light, a torch.
● Fresh bedding (newspaper, coir, dry leaves, soil) to replenish your farm at the completion of the harvest.
The ‘Simple Dump’ method
This method is an attractive method for those who want to minimize effort and mess. Its simple: remove half of the contents of your farm and disperse it over your garden. This method means you will lose a higher percentage of your worms (around half), but there should still be plenty of worms and eggs remaining to repopulate the farm in time.
Remember that the more worms you lose to your garden, the fewer you will have left and the less food scraps your worms will consume. This will be important if you have a small, urban farm and want to keep your population up so that they are able to take on a good percentage of your food waste.
The ‘Dump & Sort’ method
Dump the contents of you farm out onto a plastic sheet or newspaper and sift your worms from the castings. You can either hand sift your way through one large pile or take it to the next level by creating multiple small pyramid piles. The little guys do not like light and will burrow down to avoid exposure. Leave your pile/s of worms in the sunlight for 10 minutes or so to allow them time to get to the bottom of the mound. Once they have done so, you are free to collect the casting from the top of each pile. You can then return your worms to the farm with their population largely intact.
The ‘Dung Divided’ method
Work your farm in two halves. Create a regular routine of placing food scraps in one half of your farm only. Your worms will seek out the source of the food and congregate in that half of your farm. This will allow you to more easily collect castings from the other half of your farm. Not all worms will migrate to the food, but there will be fewer to sift through when it comes time to harvest.
Once you have harvested castings from one half, swap feeding sides, opening up the other half of the farm to harvesting once the worms migrate across.
The ‘Double-the-dung’ method
An alternative to the ‘Dung Divided’ method is to get two farms running simultaneously. Feed one of the farms exclusively while allowing the second farm to process compost. You will still have to sift the fertilizer from the worm population, but it’s a good way to make sure the compost you harvest is well processed rather than cut with food scraps. Once you have harvested from one farm, switch the farm you feed, leaving the other farm to work on its compost.
If you have a multi-level farm, you can also achieve the same result through exclusively feeding one ‘level’ of the farm at a time. Again, the worms will slowly move to the source of the food leaving their castings behind them for easier collection.
The ‘Lighten-your-load’ method
Take a hessian bag or other material with holes big enough for your worms to fit through. Spread some of the contents of your bin on top of the bag and place the bag on top of your farm. Shine a light on your worms or take them out into the sunshine. In an attempt to escape the light, the worms will burrow back through the hessian leaving a layer of castings on top. Hessian also makes for a great worm ‘blanket’ so can be placed on top of your farm after harvest for extra insulation.
Once your harvest is complete, return your worms to their farm and add some fresh bedding. This process will give your worms a new lease on life and will bring joy to your plants!
HELP!, my worm farm stinks
HELP!, my worm farm stinks
If it’s in good condition, your worm farm will be relatively odour free. It will have a musty, earthy kind of smell, but it won’t be offensive and you shouldn’t be able to smell it when the lid is on. The most common reason that a worm farm smells is overfeeding. It is easy to overfeed your worms! Especially if you are still gauging what your worms are capable of consuming.
How to Fix That Sh!t
Don’t feed the worms again until they have finished the last meal you fed them.
Cover food scraps with some damp scrunched up NEWSPAPER so that the scraps are not exposed to your worm farm’s lid.
HELP!, my worms are trying to escape
HELP!, my worms are trying to escape
You will have the odd worm try to ‘escape’ every now and again. This is not a problem – they generally return to their source of food.
If you notice your worms are trying to escape en masse, however, this is a problem. It is likely because the conditions in the farm have become BAD.
There are a few reasons why this would occur:
Overfeeding
Lack of air
The farm is too wet
The farm has become acidic
How to Fix That Sh!t
Aeration - holes in your design should provide ample air to the system as well as to provide the correct level of moisture for the farm, so the most likely cause for escaping worms will be overfeeding or excess liquid as a result of overfeeding. If you are worried that your worm farm isn’t aerated enough, drill some holes in the sides or lid of your farm.
Remove any rotting food from your farm and gently AERATE the bedding with a garden fork.
Give the worms a few days to recover before feeding, and then introduce a small amount of food and monitor their consumption before feeding again.
Don’t feed the worms anything high in acid (eg. scraps that contain citrus or vinegar).
Cover the food scraps with some dry scrunched up newspaper, which will absorb excess moisture.
HELP!, my worm farm is attracting other insects
HELP!, my worm farm is attracting other insects
Your worm farm is a rich eco-system comprised of thousands of microorganisms, that is, other living things. Most critters in your farm are not harmful, indeed they are helpful to the decomposition process. On this basis, The Worm Monger’s overarching advice is to embrace the diversity in your farm and recognize that critters are an important part of a thriving eco-system.
That said, critters can tell you important information about the conditions in your farm so it’s good to know what’s hanging around. It’s also useful to know how to keep critters in check if you get a little squeamish at the site of them or if they start terrorising your worms.
For a pictorial identification guide, check out the BugFiles database!
Pot Worms
Also known as white worms these are tiny little worms that you may have mistaken for baby red wigglers and given yourself a pat on the back for being an exceptional worm breeder. They’re not, but don’t let that hard news diminish your prowess as a composter.
Pot worms are a common sight in worm farms. They are not harmful to your red wigglers, and will in fact assist the decomposition process. What you need to look out for is a sharp increase in pot worm population. I usually notice this if my farm is getting too wet, but it is also a sign that your farm is becoming a little too acidic. While an increased population of pot worms won’t hurt your red wigglers, the increased moisture and acidic conditions might. Worms thrive in a damp environment but if it gets too wet, their population will decline. Worms also like a neutral pH (between 6-7). If it dips below that, the acidic conditions will likely kill off some of your worms.
If you want to get rid of them, hold off on feeding for a few days to allow your farm to dry out. Adding some dry bedding to your farm will also help decrease moisture. Dry bedding can be shredded newspaper, dried leaf mulch or garden waste, compost, coconut coir, straw or wood chips.
To neutralize your pH levels, eggshells work a real treat. Crush or grind them and add them to your farm. Dolomite lime is a good alternative. You can find dolomite lime packaged as compost ‘conditioner’ at garden outlets.
Mites
Mites are always present in my farm. They are tiny red, brown or white balls that you might see gathering in small masses – I usually find them gathering on my hessian worm ‘blanket’ on top of my farm.
There are several different varieties and colours of mites, most are harmless to your worms and some should even be encouraged because they will feed on other unwanted pests in your worm bin. If they get too populous though, the competition for food might put your worms out of a meal and stall their population growth. There is also one variety to be concerned about – the red mite. These guys are parasitic and will feed off your worms and their eggs.
To be honest, while I often see mites in my farm, I’ve never noticed them doing any harm. On this basis, I would advise not to be too alarmed by mites unless you notice a change in your worm population. If you do think they are becoming problematic, there are some simple tricks to be rid of them.
Like pot worms, mites are attracted to wet conditions so remedy the situation in the same way you would remedy a problem with pot worms. Another effective remedy for mites is to place a piece of melon rind in your bin. The mites will be attracted to the rind and you can then remove it in a day or two with mites attached (potato peel also works – it’s the sugar that attracts the mites).
Flies
In my opinion, flies are the most annoying of worm farm critters. It’s not that I’m concerned they are killing my worms, I just have an issue with them hanging around. And it makes me worry that my composting venture has inadvertently turned into a breeding ground for flies. Not ideal.
I find that in the warmer months, my farm might start to attract fruit flies or vinegar flies. You might also notice black soldier flies in the mix. Flies are not harmful to your farm. In fact, the black soldier fly larvae is an excellent composter in its own right, but like mites, they provide unnecessary competition for your worms and they might diminish the quality of your vermicompost (and again, if your like me, you just don’t want to create a breeding ground of flies!).
You can set traps for flies but in opinion, the best way to reduce flies is to ‘bury’ your food scraps in your worm farm. Flies are attracted to smell and burying waste will remove that attraction. Flies also like to lay their eggs in a food source so, again, burying your food scraps removes any incentive for flies to visit your farm. Gently work your food scraps into your bin with a garden fork. This will have the added benefit of aerating your farm so it’s an all-round useful activity and only takes an extra minute of your time.
Ants
Ants are the biggest problem in my garden at the moment. There are tonnes of them and they have seriously wreaked havoc on my pepper plants this season. I don’t have a problem with them in my worm farms, but I’m always wary of allowing them to build nests and get out of control. There are also a couple of predatory varieties (fire ants, carpenter ants, army ants), which you should be wary of.
There are a couple of organic solutions for ants, and I usually try a combination of them all to cover all bases.
● A vinegar/water mix (1:1 ratio)
● borax and sugar mix (1:3 ratio)
● coffee grounds
Thankfully worms love coffee grounds, so you can scatter them directly into your farm. Spray vinegar/borax solutions around the outskirts of your farm to detract ants from gaining access.
Sow bugs/slaters
These guys are just a cute pleasure to have around. In my opinion, they are an indication of a good healthy eco system. If you see these guys, give yourself a pat on the back and leave them to continue their good work.
Springtails
Tiny white insects that are a very common sight in composting systems and can be quite numerous. Like the sow bug, they are a friend of your farm and should be left to contribute to the happy ecosystem.
Slugs/Snails
I get slugs in my farm here and there and they fall into the same category as ants for me: that is, I remove them because they eat my plants and I don’t want them to populate.
The fun thing with slugs is that you can set beer traps for them. Place a shallow dish of beer in your garden and they will be drawn to that instead of your precious plants. Vinegar spray also works, as does salt but it also kills them.
Centipede/Millipede
I’ve luckily never come face-to-face with a centipede in my farm, but they are reportedly bad with a capital B. They will prey on your worms and should be removed immediately.
Millipedes on the other hand are worm-friendly. If their similar appearance presents somewhat of a conundrum in what to do with the critter, the difference is all in the legs: as their name suggest, millipedes have more legs. They feature two sets of legs per segment to a centipedes one set per segment. If you’re still struggling, the BugFiles should help!
HELP!, my worms are dying
HELP!, my worms are dying
If you notice carnage in your worm farm, it is likely that the conditions in the farm have become bad.
There are a few reasons this could occur:
- Overfeeding
- The farm is too wet
- The farm is too dry
- The temperature is too hot
- The temperature is too cold
- The design of your farm will rule out most of the above occurring.
For example, the surrounding bedding in your farm will moderate extreme hot and cold temperatures and insulate your worms. Aeration holes will also provide the correct level of moisture for the farm, which should ensure the farm is never too wet or dry. But, sh!t happens to the best of us, and at some stage you may face wormicide in your farm.
If this does happen, DON’T DESPAIR you can bring your worms back from the brink (although this will involve getting your hands dirty).
How to Fix That Sh!t
If you are experiencing very hot or very cold temperatures, move your farm to a warmer/cooler space where it will be protected from the elements.
Remove any rotting food from your farm and gently aerate the bedding with a garden fork.
Give the worms a few days to recover before feeding them again, and then introduce a small amount of food and monitor their consumption before feeding again.